Author: Matt Judkins

Can a Robe Obscure the Gospel?

John Wesley RobeNow, I’m not sure this is really John Wesley, but we’ll let that slide for the sake of the larger conversation I want to have. I’ve heard all the arguments for wearing a preaching robe. Heck, I even like wearing a preaching robe. However…sometimes I wonder if it is something I prefer rather than something that aids in the translation and communication of the Gospel. I preach in a pretty rural area, and most people outside of the United Methodist churches I serve have never seen someone preach in a robe before. Sometimes I wonder if it is so strange to some of our visitors that it obscures the very preaching of the Gospel and even prevents them from returning. I’ve thought about this from a missional/contextual point of view. If we went to Papua New Guinea, for example, would we wear the traditional dress of a minister or pastor who had preached there for years, or would we drag out our pulpit robes or albs and begin to preach regardless of the local culture? I don’t think any responsible missionary would do that. In the same way, is it presumptuous or culturally insensitive for UM clergy to wear a robe (or alb) in a rural setting where people are more familiar with pastors wearing a nice buisness suit when they preach? Perhaps the value of a robe or alb overcomes any objections. What do you think? These are questions that I care about, and I hope there may some of you who can share your thoughts on this. I know these issues might be different for female clergy – I’d like to hear about that as well.  Any experiences or thoughts you’d like to share?

What Kind of Tree Are You?

Barbara Walters is infamous for asking Katherine Hepburn, “What kind of tree are you?” Of course, Hepburn actually said she was a tree before Walters followed with this question, but the strangeness of the question carried the day. There have been quite a few laughs at her expense because of this question over the years. Even though this wasn’t her actual question, maybe it wasn’t so bad to begin with. After all, the prophet Jeremiah was asking this same question some 2,600 years ago!

In Jeremiah 17:5-10, the prophet asks, “What kind of tree are you?” Yet, he suggests there are really only two kinds of trees: shrubs in the desert and trees planted by water. Are you the kind of tree that is only a shrub in the desert, the kind that barely survives in dry wastelands or withers in Tel-Malah, the uninhabitible salt lands? You are if you place your trust in your own strength, Jeremiah says. On their other hand, perhaps you are a tree planted by water. If you trust in the Lord, the you are blessed. It is as if you send out roots to a never-ending stream. You’ll not have to fear the heat or drought, because your source of growth, comfort, and stability comes from the very source of all creation.

Far too often, I’m a shrub in the desert. I rely on my own strength, energy, and perseverance. Instead of sending out roots to the unimaginable source of all strength, I think I can tough things out. Instead of prayerful renewal, I rely on self-sufficient insufficiency. Yet the prophets get it right. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. May God grant me the courage and wisdom to turn from self-sufficiency to God-sufficiency every day of my life.

Fun with Tents & Kids

We’ve been inside quite a bit lately because of the ice-storm and the frigid weather. As a result the kids and their parents have been somewhat stir-crazy! So, the other day I made the kids an indoor tent out of chairs, afghans, and blankets. They absolutely loved going in and out of the “cave.” We had a lot of fun, and now I’m the official cave-builder for our household.

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God is Not a Cosmic Killjoy

10 CommandmentsChuck Gutenson of Imitatio Christi has a great post on the Ten Commandments. While discussing his discomfort with recent arguments for displaying the Ten Commandments, he argues that the commandments lose any grounded meaning when they are taken out of the larger overarching context of scripture in which they are found.  He writes that God is not a cosmic killjoy and instead,

God is more analogous to the parent whose love for his child leads him/her to give instructions that will prevent them from being hurt. God, knowing all the details of our having been created, gives instructions aimed to maximize, not minimize, our longer term well-being.”

Some folks who come from strongly fundamentalist backgrounds tend to undertsand GOd’s commands in a far different way. It seems to me they understand the commandments more as tests of our obedience rather than as life-giving instructions designed to teach us how to be truly human. I hope that we can extend the teachings of scripture as grace-giving and life-filled instead of merely casuistic guidelines meant to test our ability to obey God.

United Methodist Church: Nothing but Nets

Nothing but NetsWhat will cause a child to die in the next 30 seconds and causes neurological impairment and chronic anemia in some of those who survive? If you happen to know about the Nothing but Nets campaign, then you may know that the answer is malaria. The people of the United Methodist Church have entered into a partnership with groups such as NBA Cares in response to a challenge in an article by Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly. Reilly describes this terrible illness, carried by mosquitoes, that kills some 3,000 kids every day. In response to this challenge, you can purchase a mosquito net for $10, all of which goes to purchase nets that can help reduce malaria by nearly 60%.

For United Methodists, this is also an advance special, and has its very own number – Advance #982015. I’m going to challenge both of my churches to give to this campaign in the months ahead, and I figure basketball season is the perfect time. Perhaps we can even use our in-state rivals, The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, as motivation for people to give. There is such an intense rivalry between these teams, folks will be excited to give to help their team “win” by purchasing nets for their particular team to see which team can give the most. In the meantime, the kids around the world who are in danger of malaria are the real winners when we give nets that will literally save lives. I challenge you to think of a creative way to raise money for this. Someone is counting on you.

Did Jesus Know He Was God?

N.T. WrightOne of the big questions many folks wrestled with at the seminary I attended was the question of Jesus’ self-understanding. If Jesus was fully-human and fully-God as we confess, then did Jesus know he was God? One of my professors, Dr. Chuck Gutenson, posed this question to the subject of his dissertation, Dr. Wolfhart Pannenberg, who quickly reminded him that our very definition of “know” is wrapped up in a certain Greek understandings of epistemic certainty that muddy the waters significantly. Of course, one can point to a bible verse here and there that “prove” Jesus knew he was God, most notably the “I Am” passages within John. However, the question seems to be deeper than mere proof-texting can handle.

Fortunately, we have wise and prayerful guides like Dr. N.T. Wright who have addressed this question. Here are some of Wright’s thoughts in an article on Jesus’ self-understanding
that pushes some boundaries but seems to still be faithful to the deep confessions of Christian believers.

In modern Jesus studies Wright believes,

We still live in a climate of thought in which two propositions are assumed as axiomatic: (a) no first-century Jew could think of incarnation, let alone believe it, let alone believe it of himself; (b) no sane people (and we hope Jesus was sane, though even his family said he was mad!) could think of themselves as the incarnate Sons of God.

Wright’s own argument is that Jesus’ self-understanding are only understood in temrs of the return from exile and the return of YHWH to Israel. These two events were wrapped up in a personal appearance of God rather than some idealized figure, and Jesus, according to Wright, understood himself to be fulfilling the very actions of YHWH himself when he entered Jerusalem and was eventually killed. In other words, Jesus’ self-understanding was intimately tied to his vocation as the one who would enact YHWH’s return and Israel’s restoration.

Wright summarizes,

My case has been, and remains, that Jesus believed himself called to do and be things which, in the traditions to which he fell heir, only Israel’s God, YHWH, was to do and be. I think he held this belief both with passionate and firm conviction and with the knowledge that he could be making a terrible, lunatic mistake. I do not think this in any way downplays the signals of transcendence within the Gospel narratives. It is, I believe, consonant both with a full and high Christology and with the recognition that Jesus was a human figure who can be studied historically in the same way that any other human figure can be.

So, for Wright, Jesus’ understanding of himself was wrapped up in a complicated understanding of his vocation to act in ways that were only appropriate of God, but still had some room for doubt. If this is true, it should give us signficant hope for our own vocational struggles. What are some problems you see with this proposal?

7villages in the UMC

Our conference has introduced the use of a web-tool called 7villages. It’s sort of like MySpace or Facebook for people who are trying to make a difference in the world. Our conference is one “village,” as is the United Methodist Church as a whole. I can see a lot of things this would have to offer for the United Methodist Church in Oklahoma. Perhaps we’ll be even more connectional. Maybe we’ll develop better networks of people with particular skills, passions, and gifts for ministry. Perhaps this will lead to easier recruitment, development, and deployment of Christian leaders. I hope so.

I hope that this doesn’t neglect the primary constituency of our denomination. Only 4.69% of elders are under the age of 35. Will the other 95% of elders make use of this system? What about the members who fall into that same over-35 category? It seems as though MySpace and Facebook are highly popular among teenagers, but not so much among 30-90 year olds. Maybe this whole effort will increase the interest of younger folks. Maybe this will be a tool that can develop near the leading edge of culture. I hope that it is.

Maybe youth groups, young adults, and SS classes can use this as a tool to create an online presence. Maybe pastors can develop deeper friendships while serving in remote rural communities. Maybe, just maybe, we can use this to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Come to think about it, I think I might just be excited about the possibilities…

Breviary Envy

During my Clinical Pastoral Education stint at the University of Kentucky, I had the pleasure of working with three Catholic seminarians. They were great guys and as different as you can possibly imagine. Yet, one thing they held in common was a large black book called a Breviary. As you may know, the Breviary is a book used to pray the Divine Hours. It contains the Psalter, prayers, scripture, excerpts from the lives of Saints, and so on. Well, as a good United Methodist I had what I like to call “Breviary Envy.” We don’t really have something like that, with the exception of the materials from the Order of Saint Luke, and we are certainly under no orders to pray the Divine Hours.

Even though I had this envy, I never purchased any of the Catholic Breviaries. Maybe I felt like it would be too “Catholic,” or some Protestant sentiment like that. However, a few months ago I heard about The Anglican Breviary, and thought that would be something a good Wesley-honoring United Methodist can get a little more excited about! Perhaps having Anglican on the cover would give me a good Protestant excuse to pray the Ave, Maria! So I went to Daniel Lula’s website and began to check it out.

From 1916 to 1955, scholars laboriously translated the Anglican Breviary, but according to Lula, it fell out of favor as early as the 60s due to modernizing trends. As he puts it:

By the early to mid 1990s, the Anglican Breviary was all but extinct. Apart from the quiet recitation of Tridentine Catholic priests and religious, a few devoted Anglo-Catholics, and those students of Gregorian Chant, the historic Daily Office had virtually perished in the Western Church.

Once again citing from Lula’s website, he decided to keep the Breviary in print through organizing a reprint,

In early 1998, I first considered the possibility of organizing a private reprint of the Anglican Breviary. Believing that only such a move could save this great liturgical work for future generations, I commissioned the reprint, taking the example of the Breviary’s original creators in trusting God to bless the enterprise. The response has been overwhelming, and by early 2001 a second reprint was necessary. I am committed to keeping the Breviary in print in perpetuity, and to assisting all those who wish to learn to recite the historic Divine Office to do so.

As formidiable as the Anglican Breviary is, I look forward to using it as a tool to deepen and enrich my prayer life. I don’t plan on using it exclusively at this point, but I do plan on becoming familiar with it and learning from the depth of Christian Tradition that is contained therein.