Thursday, September 07, 2017
Tuesday, August 01, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
I wrote two weeks ago that I wished the presidential candidates would address the serious issues before our nation and world. Thank you for the reader response to that column, some of which asked that I write more. Below is more, some of it borrowed from a keynote speech I gave.
Politics is not primarily about campaigns or candidates or even elections. Politics is about the water you drink and the air you breathe and making sure both are clean. Politics is about children not going to bed hungry. Politics is about all of us having access to the health care we need. Politics is about people being at war or at peace.
Politics is about distributing economic goods and defining what property rights are. Politics is about determining what a crime is and how it will be punished. Politics affects the degree to which we can speak or write or even worship. Politics defines who will be accepted as members of a community and who will be placed in the margins. Politics even seriously influences how you raise your children by determining the circumstances of family life and, don't forget, establishing much of the subject matter of their education.
So, then, the question "should religion have a role in politics" is the wrong question. It does. Religion matters. A better question is how should religion and politics interact or relate? Religion has long been important to people who are concerned about politics, and politics have been important to the people who are most concerned about religion.
Let me say it another way. Those who are serious about politics must also take religion seriously and those who are the most deeply religious must pay attention to politics.
Throughout history, and perhaps never more so in this country than in the last 25 years, many different avenues have emerged for religious people to become active in politics. For example, some have portrayed their struggle for political power as the very essence of religious life.
At the other extreme, some religious folk have conceived politics as a summary of all the evil against which the righteousness of God stands. Both of these perspectives, while they differ sharply in the details, take politics seriously. So then, how should religion and politics interact?
If religious values are to influence the public sphere, they ought to make our political discourse more honest, more civil, and more spiritually sensitive especially to those without the voice and power to be fairly represented.
Recently, the increased visibility of partisan religion in politics has often made our political discourse even more polarized and even less sensitive to the poor and the dispossessed. You see, what is at stake here is not just politics; it's deeper than that.
In a way, it's deeper even than faith itself. At stake here is the very meaning of our life together.
I challenge, even reject, any political litmus test that distorts the independent moral conscience that faith can bring to politics.
I challenge those who want to undermine the integrity of any religious conviction that does not conform to some narrow ideological agenda. I am deeply concerned about the distortion of prophetic religious faith when wealth and power are extolled rather than held accountable and when more comfort is brought to those on top of society than to those at the bottom.
At the West Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, we are seeking to bring all of this and more to the table. It is the table where some families, at least, still gather together for a meal. It is the table that cements social and spiritual connections. It is the table of gathered loved ones that sometimes marks a reunion or a holiday celebration. It is the table where we have conversations sometimes light and lively and sometimes difficult, even uncomfortable.
When we come to this table, we see each other's faces, and we remind ourselves of the ties that bind us together regardless of our race, our religion, and our economic or social status. At this table, we rededicate ourselves to who and what we are meant to be. At this table, we have an opportunity to be thankful. At this table, new political visions can be born. At this table, we can see the possibilities for poor as well as rich that can bring us together.
Anyone can come to this table and if there are not enough chairs we will get some more. If there is not enough room, we will make the table larger. Even the shape of this table will change as we discover who we are and who we are becoming.
All of us, you and I, can find a place at this table. At this table, we will have some honest discussions and maybe even debates. At this table, we will share our resources - resources of time, energy, finances and connections.
Who knows, at this table, we may even laugh together or shed a tear. We will write letters, we will organize visits, and we'll study issues and do credible research. We will educate others and try, oh we'll try, to mobilize. We will advocate with and on behalf of those underrepresented. Some of us may support forums, town meetings. Some of us may march or do a demonstration.
You see, at this table we will remind each other and apply the lessons of David and Isaiah, of Jeremiah and Nehemiah, of the councils and teachers, of Jesus and his followers. The lessons of Gandhi and George Fox, of Rosa Parks and Saul Alinsky, of Martin Luther King Jr. and Oscar Romero, of Hussein Nasar and Martin Buber.
These are lessons that will teach us that new politics depend on all of us and on each of us. Each of us is like an individual trickle of water, which, when they come together, turn into streams and then merge and become rivers. And with enough energy and force these rivers can become mighty rivers, so mighty that they could have the power to shape or reshape the very landscape around them.
Today, our public landscape could use some new shaping. So let's create a new table. All of us, a whole bunch of little trickles, let's form together into streams that become a mighty river.
Let us join our voices with the prophet Amos and say let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Politics is not primarily about campaigns or candidates or even elections. Politics is about the water you drink and the air you breathe and making sure both are clean. Politics is about children not going to bed hungry. Politics is about all of us having access to the health care we need. Politics is about people being at war or at peace.
Politics is about distributing economic goods and defining what property rights are. Politics is about determining what a crime is and how it will be punished. Politics affects the degree to which we can speak or write or even worship. Politics defines who will be accepted as members of a community and who will be placed in the margins. Politics even seriously influences how you raise your children by determining the circumstances of family life and, don't forget, establishing much of the subject matter of their education.
So, then, the question "should religion have a role in politics" is the wrong question. It does. Religion matters. A better question is how should religion and politics interact or relate? Religion has long been important to people who are concerned about politics, and politics have been important to the people who are most concerned about religion.
Let me say it another way. Those who are serious about politics must also take religion seriously and those who are the most deeply religious must pay attention to politics.
Throughout history, and perhaps never more so in this country than in the last 25 years, many different avenues have emerged for religious people to become active in politics. For example, some have portrayed their struggle for political power as the very essence of religious life.
At the other extreme, some religious folk have conceived politics as a summary of all the evil against which the righteousness of God stands. Both of these perspectives, while they differ sharply in the details, take politics seriously. So then, how should religion and politics interact?
If religious values are to influence the public sphere, they ought to make our political discourse more honest, more civil, and more spiritually sensitive especially to those without the voice and power to be fairly represented.
Recently, the increased visibility of partisan religion in politics has often made our political discourse even more polarized and even less sensitive to the poor and the dispossessed. You see, what is at stake here is not just politics; it's deeper than that.
In a way, it's deeper even than faith itself. At stake here is the very meaning of our life together.
I challenge, even reject, any political litmus test that distorts the independent moral conscience that faith can bring to politics.
I challenge those who want to undermine the integrity of any religious conviction that does not conform to some narrow ideological agenda. I am deeply concerned about the distortion of prophetic religious faith when wealth and power are extolled rather than held accountable and when more comfort is brought to those on top of society than to those at the bottom.
At the West Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, we are seeking to bring all of this and more to the table. It is the table where some families, at least, still gather together for a meal. It is the table that cements social and spiritual connections. It is the table of gathered loved ones that sometimes marks a reunion or a holiday celebration. It is the table where we have conversations sometimes light and lively and sometimes difficult, even uncomfortable.
When we come to this table, we see each other's faces, and we remind ourselves of the ties that bind us together regardless of our race, our religion, and our economic or social status. At this table, we rededicate ourselves to who and what we are meant to be. At this table, we have an opportunity to be thankful. At this table, new political visions can be born. At this table, we can see the possibilities for poor as well as rich that can bring us together.
Anyone can come to this table and if there are not enough chairs we will get some more. If there is not enough room, we will make the table larger. Even the shape of this table will change as we discover who we are and who we are becoming.
All of us, you and I, can find a place at this table. At this table, we will have some honest discussions and maybe even debates. At this table, we will share our resources - resources of time, energy, finances and connections.
Who knows, at this table, we may even laugh together or shed a tear. We will write letters, we will organize visits, and we'll study issues and do credible research. We will educate others and try, oh we'll try, to mobilize. We will advocate with and on behalf of those underrepresented. Some of us may support forums, town meetings. Some of us may march or do a demonstration.
You see, at this table we will remind each other and apply the lessons of David and Isaiah, of Jeremiah and Nehemiah, of the councils and teachers, of Jesus and his followers. The lessons of Gandhi and George Fox, of Rosa Parks and Saul Alinsky, of Martin Luther King Jr. and Oscar Romero, of Hussein Nasar and Martin Buber.
These are lessons that will teach us that new politics depend on all of us and on each of us. Each of us is like an individual trickle of water, which, when they come together, turn into streams and then merge and become rivers. And with enough energy and force these rivers can become mighty rivers, so mighty that they could have the power to shape or reshape the very landscape around them.
Today, our public landscape could use some new shaping. So let's create a new table. All of us, a whole bunch of little trickles, let's form together into streams that become a mighty river.
Let us join our voices with the prophet Amos and say let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Fostering cooperation
My most recent column about interfaith cooperation, religious awareness and diversity. Comments are invited!
Friday, October 07, 2011
Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize Goes to 3 Activists for Women’s Rights and Democracy
October 7, 2011
Three women who have pursued a nonviolent path to advance women’s rights and democracy in Africa and Asia shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced this morning. The winners are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia and Africa’s first democratically elected female president; Leymah Gbowee, who organized and mobilized women across ethnic and religious lines to bring an end to civil war in Liberia; and Tawakkul Karman, a leading activist for women’s rights, democracy, and peace in strife-torn Yemen. They will receive the prize, worth about $1.5-million this year, at a ceremony in December.
October 7, 2011
Three women who have pursued a nonviolent path to advance women’s rights and democracy in Africa and Asia shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced this morning. The winners are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia and Africa’s first democratically elected female president; Leymah Gbowee, who organized and mobilized women across ethnic and religious lines to bring an end to civil war in Liberia; and Tawakkul Karman, a leading activist for women’s rights, democracy, and peace in strife-torn Yemen. They will receive the prize, worth about $1.5-million this year, at a ceremony in December.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Sep 11, ten years later
10 years after 9/11, reflect and remember
by Nathan Day Wilson
Sept. 11, 2001, is personal.
That day, I was supposed to be in Washington, D.C., at a place not far from the Pentagon.
Instead, due to change in my itinerary, I was in a meeting in Charleston, W.Va. During a break in the meeting, my brother called. He was nearly breathless when he asked if I was in D.C. and if I knew what was happening. Since my answer was "no" to both, he fussed at me for the time he and my parents worried and then told me to find a TV immediately!
While watching replays of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center, the 12 gathered around our conference table suspected that this was not -- as one TV commentator insisted -- simply pilot error; however, it wasn't until the second plane crashed that one person in our group uttered the word "terrorism."
That very moment -- the moment I heard that word and tried to process what it meant -- still sends chills up my back.
I received many calls that day from family, from friends, from colleagues, from the media. One call was from a religious leader asking me to help write a response to the terrorism. I said yes because of my respect for this person, but at that moment I was still in so much shock that I had a hard time imagining what we would say.
After (long) conference calls and reviewing multiple drafts over the next 48 hours, we had a statement to circulate. We titled the statement "Deny Them Their Victory: A Religious Response to Terrorism."
The excerpts below are as relevant today as they were 10 years ago:
"We, American religious leaders, share the broken hearts of our fellow citizens. The worst terrorist attack in American history that assaulted New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania has been felt in every American community. Each life lost was of unique and sacred value in the eyes of God, and the connections Americans feel to those lives run very deep. In the face of such a cruel catastrophe, it is a time to look to God and to each other for the strength we need and the response we will make. We must dig deep to the roots of our faith for sustenance, solace and wisdom.
"First, we must find a word of consolation for the untold pain and suffering of our people. Our congregations will offer their practical and pastoral resources to bind up the wounds of the nation. We can become safe places to weep and secure places to begin rebuilding our shattered lives and communities. Our houses of worship should become public arenas for common prayer, community discussion, eventual healing and forgiveness.
"Second, we offer a word of sober restraint as our nation discerns what its response will be. We share the deep anger toward those who so callously and massively destroy innocent lives, no matter what the grievances or injustices invoked. In the name of God, we too demand that those responsible for these utterly evil acts be found and brought to justice. Those culpable must not escape accountability. But we must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even more loss of innocent life. We pray that President Bush and members of Congress will seek the wisdom of God as they decide upon the appropriate response.
"Third, we face deep and profound questions of what this attack on America will do to us as a nation. The terrorists have offered us a stark view of the world they would create, where the remedy to every human grievance and injustice is a resort to the random and cowardly violence of revenge -- even against the most innocent. Having taken thousands of our lives, attacked our national symbols, forced our political leaders to flee their chambers of governance, disrupted our work and families, and struck fear into the hearts of our children, the terrorists must feel victorious.
"But we can deny them their victory by refusing to submit to a world created in their image. Terrorism inflicts not only death and destruction but also emotional oppression to further its aims. We must not allow this terror to drive us away from being the people God has called us to be. We assert the vision of community, tolerance, compassion, justice, and the sacredness of human life, which lies at the heart of all our religious traditions. America must be a safe place for all our citizens in all their diversity. It is especially important that our citizens who share national origins, ethnicity or religion with whoever attacked us are, themselves, protected among us."
We concluded the statement this way: "Let us make the right choices in this crisis -- to pray, act, and unite against the bitter fruits of division, hatred and violence. Let us rededicate ourselves to global peace, human dignity, and the eradication of the injustice that breeds rage and vengeance."
Ten years later, how well are we doing? Have we denied the terrorists their victory? Have we advanced global peace and human dignity?
Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of terrible tragedy. It was also day that we witnessed terrific acts of courage, compassion and commitment to a better future. Strangers became neighbors, thrown together by outrage, drawn together by concern. People of different races, religions, nationalities and even political parties remembered what is important in life: Each other.
Let's make this year a time to mark our progress, honor our first responders, remember courageous acts and, above all, work for peace for peace, not hostility, for all of God's children!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
by Nathan Day Wilson
Sept. 11, 2001, is personal.
That day, I was supposed to be in Washington, D.C., at a place not far from the Pentagon.
Instead, due to change in my itinerary, I was in a meeting in Charleston, W.Va. During a break in the meeting, my brother called. He was nearly breathless when he asked if I was in D.C. and if I knew what was happening. Since my answer was "no" to both, he fussed at me for the time he and my parents worried and then told me to find a TV immediately!
While watching replays of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center, the 12 gathered around our conference table suspected that this was not -- as one TV commentator insisted -- simply pilot error; however, it wasn't until the second plane crashed that one person in our group uttered the word "terrorism."
That very moment -- the moment I heard that word and tried to process what it meant -- still sends chills up my back.
I received many calls that day from family, from friends, from colleagues, from the media. One call was from a religious leader asking me to help write a response to the terrorism. I said yes because of my respect for this person, but at that moment I was still in so much shock that I had a hard time imagining what we would say.
After (long) conference calls and reviewing multiple drafts over the next 48 hours, we had a statement to circulate. We titled the statement "Deny Them Their Victory: A Religious Response to Terrorism."
The excerpts below are as relevant today as they were 10 years ago:
"We, American religious leaders, share the broken hearts of our fellow citizens. The worst terrorist attack in American history that assaulted New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania has been felt in every American community. Each life lost was of unique and sacred value in the eyes of God, and the connections Americans feel to those lives run very deep. In the face of such a cruel catastrophe, it is a time to look to God and to each other for the strength we need and the response we will make. We must dig deep to the roots of our faith for sustenance, solace and wisdom.
"First, we must find a word of consolation for the untold pain and suffering of our people. Our congregations will offer their practical and pastoral resources to bind up the wounds of the nation. We can become safe places to weep and secure places to begin rebuilding our shattered lives and communities. Our houses of worship should become public arenas for common prayer, community discussion, eventual healing and forgiveness.
"Second, we offer a word of sober restraint as our nation discerns what its response will be. We share the deep anger toward those who so callously and massively destroy innocent lives, no matter what the grievances or injustices invoked. In the name of God, we too demand that those responsible for these utterly evil acts be found and brought to justice. Those culpable must not escape accountability. But we must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even more loss of innocent life. We pray that President Bush and members of Congress will seek the wisdom of God as they decide upon the appropriate response.
"Third, we face deep and profound questions of what this attack on America will do to us as a nation. The terrorists have offered us a stark view of the world they would create, where the remedy to every human grievance and injustice is a resort to the random and cowardly violence of revenge -- even against the most innocent. Having taken thousands of our lives, attacked our national symbols, forced our political leaders to flee their chambers of governance, disrupted our work and families, and struck fear into the hearts of our children, the terrorists must feel victorious.
"But we can deny them their victory by refusing to submit to a world created in their image. Terrorism inflicts not only death and destruction but also emotional oppression to further its aims. We must not allow this terror to drive us away from being the people God has called us to be. We assert the vision of community, tolerance, compassion, justice, and the sacredness of human life, which lies at the heart of all our religious traditions. America must be a safe place for all our citizens in all their diversity. It is especially important that our citizens who share national origins, ethnicity or religion with whoever attacked us are, themselves, protected among us."
We concluded the statement this way: "Let us make the right choices in this crisis -- to pray, act, and unite against the bitter fruits of division, hatred and violence. Let us rededicate ourselves to global peace, human dignity, and the eradication of the injustice that breeds rage and vengeance."
Ten years later, how well are we doing? Have we denied the terrorists their victory? Have we advanced global peace and human dignity?
Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of terrible tragedy. It was also day that we witnessed terrific acts of courage, compassion and commitment to a better future. Strangers became neighbors, thrown together by outrage, drawn together by concern. People of different races, religions, nationalities and even political parties remembered what is important in life: Each other.
Let's make this year a time to mark our progress, honor our first responders, remember courageous acts and, above all, work for peace for peace, not hostility, for all of God's children!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
PGC Basketball
Last week I was part of a very solid educational event -- about basketball. It was a PGC basketball course, and it was very strong. I recommend their courses.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Shelbyville IN City Track Meet
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, December 24, 2010
No more waiting: Rejoice, for a child is born
Today is Christmas Eve. The church I serve will celebrate tonight at 7 and 11 p.m., with the first celebration featuring songs led by children and the second celebration culminating in the beautiful lighting of candles at midnight.
For Christians, Christmas Eve represents the end of Advent, a season of longing for the birth of Jesus. It's a time during which Christians anticipate and wait.
Waiting for something important is difficult, isn't it? Test results. College admission. Job application. Waiting for something important is difficult.
I was reminded of the difficulty of waiting when my nephew was born. At my sister-in-law's regular visit that week her doctor discovered that her baby did not grow since the previous visit. After consulting with colleagues and not determining what the problem was, the doctors felt it best to get that little guy out. Delena was admitted to the hospital on a Wednesday night so that she could be observed and induced into labor the following morning.
There were tests, some waiting and then the doctor met with my brother and sister-in-law to advise doing a C-section immediately. The baby was showing signs of distress. The anticipation increased greatly.
The C-section was scheduled for 11 p.m., so I called a friend who worked at that hospital to find out the best "back door" place to see my nephew as soon as possible after delivery. She gave me stellar advice and I went to stake out my spot and wait. 11 came and went, as did 11:15 and 11:25.
While waiting, I realized that there was a set of doors behind the doors I could see. The creakiness of these hidden doors let me know somebody was coming. Around 11:30, I heard the creak. I quickly grabbed my camera and turned it on. The doors opened and out came ... not my brother, but a different new father, child and nurse.
The nurse asked the name of the family for whom I was waiting and then told me that "our" C-section was rescheduled but she didn't know why. Why would it be rescheduled? Until when? How can I find out? My anticipation increased drastically. I wanted answers, but I didn't want to leave my spot; I also didn't know where to go.
After some more waiting, my brother came from a different direction to confirm that the C-section was moved to midnight because they had a more urgent C-section. More waiting.
Midnight came and went, as did 12:10, 12:15, 12:20, 12:25. The first set of creaky doors opened. I turned on my camera. The second set never opened. I checked my watch. The first set of creaky doors opened again. I turned on my camera. The second set never moved. I checked my watch.
A nurse walked by. I offered to buy some WD-40 for the creaky doors. She wasn't amused.
I thought my watch quit, it was moving so slowly. 12:30, 12:35, 12:38, 12:40, 12:42, 12:43, 12:45. I waited. I anticipated.
If my watch moved any slower, it would have been going in reverse. I never knew a C-section to take so long. What was going on in there?
I longed to see my sister-in-law. I longed to see my brother. I was tired of waiting. I was eager to know something. Anything: bad news, good news, anything. I wanted to know something.
The creaky hidden doors opened. I grabbed my camera. The second set of doors never moved. I considered taking the doors off their hinges. 12:50, 1:00, 1:05, 1:10. I waited. I anticipated.
There were no chairs in the hallway, but I did not want to sit on the floor. I did not want to sit at all. I wanted to be on my feet, camera in hand, ready. I wanted to be ready to take pictures if the news was happy. I wanted to be ready to give hugs and support if the news was not. My back ached and my feet hurt, but I would not sit; I wanted to be ready. 1:11, 1:12, 1:13, 1:14 AM. I waited. I anticipated.
The first set of doors creaked. I grabbed my camera. I was tired, but I was ready. Let this not be yet another false alarm. Let this not be yet another time the outer doors defiantly stood still, mocking my eagerness, disrespecting my anticipation.
Was the sound growing stronger? Yes, I think it was. Did the doors start to move? Yes, they did. Out came my nephew, all five pounds and some change, held by his relieved and happy dad.
There was much relief! There was much rejoicing! A child was born.
Today is Christmas Eve. Christians stand waiting for the Christ-child with great anticipation. For long we have waited; for long we have anticipated.
Friends, the doors are beginning to creak. Friends, the time is now.
Merry Christmas!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
For Christians, Christmas Eve represents the end of Advent, a season of longing for the birth of Jesus. It's a time during which Christians anticipate and wait.
Waiting for something important is difficult, isn't it? Test results. College admission. Job application. Waiting for something important is difficult.
I was reminded of the difficulty of waiting when my nephew was born. At my sister-in-law's regular visit that week her doctor discovered that her baby did not grow since the previous visit. After consulting with colleagues and not determining what the problem was, the doctors felt it best to get that little guy out. Delena was admitted to the hospital on a Wednesday night so that she could be observed and induced into labor the following morning.
There were tests, some waiting and then the doctor met with my brother and sister-in-law to advise doing a C-section immediately. The baby was showing signs of distress. The anticipation increased greatly.
The C-section was scheduled for 11 p.m., so I called a friend who worked at that hospital to find out the best "back door" place to see my nephew as soon as possible after delivery. She gave me stellar advice and I went to stake out my spot and wait. 11 came and went, as did 11:15 and 11:25.
While waiting, I realized that there was a set of doors behind the doors I could see. The creakiness of these hidden doors let me know somebody was coming. Around 11:30, I heard the creak. I quickly grabbed my camera and turned it on. The doors opened and out came ... not my brother, but a different new father, child and nurse.
The nurse asked the name of the family for whom I was waiting and then told me that "our" C-section was rescheduled but she didn't know why. Why would it be rescheduled? Until when? How can I find out? My anticipation increased drastically. I wanted answers, but I didn't want to leave my spot; I also didn't know where to go.
After some more waiting, my brother came from a different direction to confirm that the C-section was moved to midnight because they had a more urgent C-section. More waiting.
Midnight came and went, as did 12:10, 12:15, 12:20, 12:25. The first set of creaky doors opened. I turned on my camera. The second set never opened. I checked my watch. The first set of creaky doors opened again. I turned on my camera. The second set never moved. I checked my watch.
A nurse walked by. I offered to buy some WD-40 for the creaky doors. She wasn't amused.
I thought my watch quit, it was moving so slowly. 12:30, 12:35, 12:38, 12:40, 12:42, 12:43, 12:45. I waited. I anticipated.
If my watch moved any slower, it would have been going in reverse. I never knew a C-section to take so long. What was going on in there?
I longed to see my sister-in-law. I longed to see my brother. I was tired of waiting. I was eager to know something. Anything: bad news, good news, anything. I wanted to know something.
The creaky hidden doors opened. I grabbed my camera. The second set of doors never moved. I considered taking the doors off their hinges. 12:50, 1:00, 1:05, 1:10. I waited. I anticipated.
There were no chairs in the hallway, but I did not want to sit on the floor. I did not want to sit at all. I wanted to be on my feet, camera in hand, ready. I wanted to be ready to take pictures if the news was happy. I wanted to be ready to give hugs and support if the news was not. My back ached and my feet hurt, but I would not sit; I wanted to be ready. 1:11, 1:12, 1:13, 1:14 AM. I waited. I anticipated.
The first set of doors creaked. I grabbed my camera. I was tired, but I was ready. Let this not be yet another false alarm. Let this not be yet another time the outer doors defiantly stood still, mocking my eagerness, disrespecting my anticipation.
Was the sound growing stronger? Yes, I think it was. Did the doors start to move? Yes, they did. Out came my nephew, all five pounds and some change, held by his relieved and happy dad.
There was much relief! There was much rejoicing! A child was born.
Today is Christmas Eve. Christians stand waiting for the Christ-child with great anticipation. For long we have waited; for long we have anticipated.
Friends, the doors are beginning to creak. Friends, the time is now.
Merry Christmas!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Higher education
What should we cut; what should we cut?
That's the question many religious communities, like many families, are asking. They want to reduce spending by eliminating all that is inessential.
In theory, that is a great idea, of course. To put the theory into practice, however, the operative question is "What is essential?"
One area often targeted by religious communities to cut is ministry with college students. I'm not sure why, though I think it has to do with college students being so transient, so irregular in their attendance and so minimal in their volunteering and giving.
Recently I was asked to address this trend. My response was that ministry with college students should be amplified, not diminished. Now, I bet you are wondering "Why did he say that?" Since I like you, I'll tell you.
First, during the college years, there is a distinct openness to new ideas and to the exploration of faith. This openness allows college ministry the opportunity to soothe some and stir up others searching to connect their spiritual hunger, social commitments and academic pursuits. In college, many choices and challenges are raised — be they moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, economic or other — which should be held in dialogical tension to create a healthy and whole person.
Second, college ministry can provide tools to live a faithful and informed life. It is unfair for college ministers to create false security, a sheltered environment where every question is answered, and all needs are met. The more appropriate approach is to invite students to be honest with questions about faith, to take a critical look at their inherited faith and then to begin the task of clarifying what is helpful and what is not. There may be periods when the ground of one's faith is shaky; into that uncertainty, however, can come recognition that life is uncertain, and that faith is grounded in a reality that embraces such times and tells us the truth about those times. What seems to be endless wilderness may be an opportunity to go farther and deeper with one's faith.
Third, college ministers have important opportunities as pastors to bring word of hope and peace in times of crisis, whether personal, institutional, national or worldwide. College ministers are blessed with opportunities for pastoral counseling: the great privilege of being invited into the sanctuary of someone else's soul.
Fourth, college ministers have important opportunities as prophets. In the midst of an academic community, college ministers can prod others to deeper engagement of issues that matter, to more honestly asking how we should respond. College ministers should always complement "cogito ergo sum" with "amo ergo sum," challenging the community to love as well as think.
Fifth, when done well, college worship informs and inspires. What is worship that is done well? It is worship that is genuinely ecumenical; emphasizing that God's grace is wide enough to receive us all. It is worship that allows room for the Holy Spirit to affirm our gifts, challenge our frailties and enlarge our perceptions. It is worship that reminds us that the strength of love reaches us wherever we are and brings us together. It is worship with order and flow, but is not stale or stiff. It is worship filled with songs and images from all over the world, with prayers and proclamation, with drama and dance, with art and flowers. Most of all, it is worship filled with the gifts of the gathered community.
Finally for now, college ministry can simply be fun! It should be. The college years should be challenging; they should be formative; they should be a bit confusing, at least from time to time. Amid all that, college should be this fun time of trying on ideas and perspectives, learning everything possible, figuring out how to save the world, playing hard, working hard and more.
Any metabolizing minister could not help but love to be in that mix!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
That's the question many religious communities, like many families, are asking. They want to reduce spending by eliminating all that is inessential.
In theory, that is a great idea, of course. To put the theory into practice, however, the operative question is "What is essential?"
One area often targeted by religious communities to cut is ministry with college students. I'm not sure why, though I think it has to do with college students being so transient, so irregular in their attendance and so minimal in their volunteering and giving.
Recently I was asked to address this trend. My response was that ministry with college students should be amplified, not diminished. Now, I bet you are wondering "Why did he say that?" Since I like you, I'll tell you.
First, during the college years, there is a distinct openness to new ideas and to the exploration of faith. This openness allows college ministry the opportunity to soothe some and stir up others searching to connect their spiritual hunger, social commitments and academic pursuits. In college, many choices and challenges are raised — be they moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, economic or other — which should be held in dialogical tension to create a healthy and whole person.
Second, college ministry can provide tools to live a faithful and informed life. It is unfair for college ministers to create false security, a sheltered environment where every question is answered, and all needs are met. The more appropriate approach is to invite students to be honest with questions about faith, to take a critical look at their inherited faith and then to begin the task of clarifying what is helpful and what is not. There may be periods when the ground of one's faith is shaky; into that uncertainty, however, can come recognition that life is uncertain, and that faith is grounded in a reality that embraces such times and tells us the truth about those times. What seems to be endless wilderness may be an opportunity to go farther and deeper with one's faith.
Third, college ministers have important opportunities as pastors to bring word of hope and peace in times of crisis, whether personal, institutional, national or worldwide. College ministers are blessed with opportunities for pastoral counseling: the great privilege of being invited into the sanctuary of someone else's soul.
Fourth, college ministers have important opportunities as prophets. In the midst of an academic community, college ministers can prod others to deeper engagement of issues that matter, to more honestly asking how we should respond. College ministers should always complement "cogito ergo sum" with "amo ergo sum," challenging the community to love as well as think.
Fifth, when done well, college worship informs and inspires. What is worship that is done well? It is worship that is genuinely ecumenical; emphasizing that God's grace is wide enough to receive us all. It is worship that allows room for the Holy Spirit to affirm our gifts, challenge our frailties and enlarge our perceptions. It is worship that reminds us that the strength of love reaches us wherever we are and brings us together. It is worship with order and flow, but is not stale or stiff. It is worship filled with songs and images from all over the world, with prayers and proclamation, with drama and dance, with art and flowers. Most of all, it is worship filled with the gifts of the gathered community.
Finally for now, college ministry can simply be fun! It should be. The college years should be challenging; they should be formative; they should be a bit confusing, at least from time to time. Amid all that, college should be this fun time of trying on ideas and perspectives, learning everything possible, figuring out how to save the world, playing hard, working hard and more.
Any metabolizing minister could not help but love to be in that mix!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
college students today
The generation of young people who are filling college classrooms today are more globally aware and less concerned about material wealth than their predecessors. Agree?
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Young adults want change, not charity
Column: Today’s youth understand the true value of charity
Published: Friday, December 3, 2010 8:13 AM US/eastern
FAITH MATTERS
BY NATHAN DAY WILSON
Columnist
When it comes to giving money to charity, Americans are without equal. Every year, and especially during the holiday season, many of us donate money out of religious commitment or to take advantage of the U.S. tax code.
To some degree, this entire process depends on the availability of extra money. Even before the current economic crisis, many were scrutinizing the decreasing purchasing power of their paychecks and wondering if they could once again financially support the causes they believed in.
Yet there remains a potential reservoir of resources that could very well lead us into a renewed time of productivity and purpose: time.
Last year, almost 55 million people volunteered. People cleaned riversides, chopped vegetables for food programs, painted shelter walls and helped to rebuild troubled neighborhoods.
This is great stuff! This is commendable. It is important.
However, it beckons a question: If we continue to use volunteerism in the same way that we use material goods, will time become the next resource we deplete?
Two years ago, though it seems like a lifetime, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama said that they would expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. Both said they would increase the ways students can earn education stipends for using their time to help others.
The Obama Administration has expanded AmeriCorps, but has not successfully broadened the use and availability of education stipends beyond some rather minor adjustments.
Of course college is no longer a place where people start volunteering; by the time they begin their freshman year, four out of five students have worked as volunteers. By the time they graduate, many college students have spent at least seven years donating their time to good causes.
As one local example, the congregation I serve supports an annual summer trip for high school students who want to serve others. I am very proud of the hard work and commitment of the students and a host of adult chaperones.
Seeing charity from the inside has prompted many students to question whether traditional charities make the best use of the one commodity they can afford to donate: their time. More to the point, students openly state their dissatisfaction in working for causes that are not making a difference in solving vital problems. In short, they don’t have time for charity; they want change.
That is why students are now beginning to merge their academic courses with lessons learned in the process of performing community service and are spending time devising public policy ideas that will make a difference. Perhaps most exciting, they are also running for elected office to put those policies into action.
For example, at all of 22, Kesha Ram, freshly graduated from the University of Vermont, was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. She ran a very dedicated race. Seeking elected office was not Ram’s first exposure to public life. In high school, she helped to pass legislation banning carcinogenic chemicals from dry cleaning, started a recycling program for her school and led a delegation of students to India for the World Social Forum, where she made a documentary about globalization.
Unlike previous generations who divided their time between work, social activities and spiritual commitments, today’s young adults seek to merge all three.
We’ve raised this generation to think this way, and now maybe it’s time for us to learn a lesson from them.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Published: Friday, December 3, 2010 8:13 AM US/eastern
FAITH MATTERS
BY NATHAN DAY WILSON
Columnist
When it comes to giving money to charity, Americans are without equal. Every year, and especially during the holiday season, many of us donate money out of religious commitment or to take advantage of the U.S. tax code.
To some degree, this entire process depends on the availability of extra money. Even before the current economic crisis, many were scrutinizing the decreasing purchasing power of their paychecks and wondering if they could once again financially support the causes they believed in.
Yet there remains a potential reservoir of resources that could very well lead us into a renewed time of productivity and purpose: time.
Last year, almost 55 million people volunteered. People cleaned riversides, chopped vegetables for food programs, painted shelter walls and helped to rebuild troubled neighborhoods.
This is great stuff! This is commendable. It is important.
However, it beckons a question: If we continue to use volunteerism in the same way that we use material goods, will time become the next resource we deplete?
Two years ago, though it seems like a lifetime, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama said that they would expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. Both said they would increase the ways students can earn education stipends for using their time to help others.
The Obama Administration has expanded AmeriCorps, but has not successfully broadened the use and availability of education stipends beyond some rather minor adjustments.
Of course college is no longer a place where people start volunteering; by the time they begin their freshman year, four out of five students have worked as volunteers. By the time they graduate, many college students have spent at least seven years donating their time to good causes.
As one local example, the congregation I serve supports an annual summer trip for high school students who want to serve others. I am very proud of the hard work and commitment of the students and a host of adult chaperones.
Seeing charity from the inside has prompted many students to question whether traditional charities make the best use of the one commodity they can afford to donate: their time. More to the point, students openly state their dissatisfaction in working for causes that are not making a difference in solving vital problems. In short, they don’t have time for charity; they want change.
That is why students are now beginning to merge their academic courses with lessons learned in the process of performing community service and are spending time devising public policy ideas that will make a difference. Perhaps most exciting, they are also running for elected office to put those policies into action.
For example, at all of 22, Kesha Ram, freshly graduated from the University of Vermont, was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. She ran a very dedicated race. Seeking elected office was not Ram’s first exposure to public life. In high school, she helped to pass legislation banning carcinogenic chemicals from dry cleaning, started a recycling program for her school and led a delegation of students to India for the World Social Forum, where she made a documentary about globalization.
Unlike previous generations who divided their time between work, social activities and spiritual commitments, today’s young adults seek to merge all three.
We’ve raised this generation to think this way, and now maybe it’s time for us to learn a lesson from them.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Make a Difference
Today is the easiest time to make a difference
FAITH MATTERS
By Nathan Day Wilson
Columnist
Recently my daughter reminded me of a phrase I used in a sermon a few years ago:”Four things you cannot recover in life: the stone after it is thrown; the word after it is said; the occasion after it is missed; the time after it is gone.”
I don’t know who wrote or spoke that idea originally. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me. And by this point, it’s more likely paraphrase than quote.
I like it, though, partly because it can have many different life applications. For instance, the saying reminds me that we should make the most of our fragile lives.
We all know that life is fragile. No matter how careful we are, how closely we watch what we eat, how faithfully we exercise or how regularly we use our seat belts, life is still fragile. Loved ones die. Jobs end. Illnesses strike. Marriages dissolve. Wars kill.
A well-known teacher reminded his followers that life is fragile when he said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
I’m glad Jesus, with those words from Matthew 6, didn’t only remind us that life is fragile. I’m glad he suggests that we have opportunities to use our ephemeral lives for something that will endure, something that will make a difference.
Isn’t that what we want? No one really expects to live forever, no matter how careful we are, but we want our lives to matter.
We can’t stand the thought that we are just taking up space on the planet, and we cannot even settle for a quiet comfortable life. We want our lives to count and to have impact. We want to have done a good job with life. We want to make a difference.
There’s one more line in that passage above from Matthew 6. In it, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
In other words, think about what you are doing with your money. Money indicates how we invest our hearts, and thus how we choose to make a difference with our lives.
Want to know how you can tell where your heart is? Look at the ledger of your checkbook or the statement of your credit cards. They will tell you where your treasure is going and thus how you are investing your heart.
Want to know the values of a family, or a business, or a religious organization, or a country? Don’t ask what it values, just look at where it spends its money. Those are the actual values.
None of us can say, “Look, such and such has a big piece of my heart, but my money has to go other things right now. The future is uncertain. I had better hang onto as much as possible.”
Don’t you see? There is never going to be an easy time to make a difference. There is today.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
FAITH MATTERS
By Nathan Day Wilson
Columnist
Recently my daughter reminded me of a phrase I used in a sermon a few years ago:”Four things you cannot recover in life: the stone after it is thrown; the word after it is said; the occasion after it is missed; the time after it is gone.”
I don’t know who wrote or spoke that idea originally. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me. And by this point, it’s more likely paraphrase than quote.
I like it, though, partly because it can have many different life applications. For instance, the saying reminds me that we should make the most of our fragile lives.
We all know that life is fragile. No matter how careful we are, how closely we watch what we eat, how faithfully we exercise or how regularly we use our seat belts, life is still fragile. Loved ones die. Jobs end. Illnesses strike. Marriages dissolve. Wars kill.
A well-known teacher reminded his followers that life is fragile when he said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
I’m glad Jesus, with those words from Matthew 6, didn’t only remind us that life is fragile. I’m glad he suggests that we have opportunities to use our ephemeral lives for something that will endure, something that will make a difference.
Isn’t that what we want? No one really expects to live forever, no matter how careful we are, but we want our lives to matter.
We can’t stand the thought that we are just taking up space on the planet, and we cannot even settle for a quiet comfortable life. We want our lives to count and to have impact. We want to have done a good job with life. We want to make a difference.
There’s one more line in that passage above from Matthew 6. In it, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
In other words, think about what you are doing with your money. Money indicates how we invest our hearts, and thus how we choose to make a difference with our lives.
Want to know how you can tell where your heart is? Look at the ledger of your checkbook or the statement of your credit cards. They will tell you where your treasure is going and thus how you are investing your heart.
Want to know the values of a family, or a business, or a religious organization, or a country? Don’t ask what it values, just look at where it spends its money. Those are the actual values.
None of us can say, “Look, such and such has a big piece of my heart, but my money has to go other things right now. The future is uncertain. I had better hang onto as much as possible.”
Don’t you see? There is never going to be an easy time to make a difference. There is today.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Vote for Lake Orion football team
Cast your vote for Utica Eisenhower (10-1) vs. Lake Orion (10-1) to be the WDIV Game of the week !! They are currently in 2nd place.
“Vote for Team of the Week” box is on the right side of this page:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/4frenzy/index.html
“Vote for Team of the Week” box is on the right side of this page:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/4frenzy/index.html
Saturday, November 06, 2010
CROP Hunger Walk
Column: Help the hungry with community
FAITH MATTERS
NATHAN DAY WILSON
Let me tell you a story about a man. I’ll call him Thomas, only since that is his name.
Thomas was a child of the Great Depression. He recalls what his father did after the Depression to help keep his family nourished, including spending many long hours in lines for construction jobs and planting a garden with tomatoes, corn and potatoes.
Thomas graduated from high school and received a scholarship to an Indiana college. He earned a degree in marketing. Only a few years into his first job, his father unexpectedly died and his mother grew ill. Thomas returned home to help care for her.
With no marketing jobs available, Thomas began working in construction. It was difficult to balance construction with caring for his mother, so Thomas sought a different job. He worked for a company cleaning offices and homes.
Even after many years of in this line of work, it was necessary for Thomas to utilize our area food pantries, including the Matthew 25:35 Community Food Pantry and The Salvation Army. Thomas depends on our food pantries and other support to have enough food to survive.
Unfortunately, his story is not rare; some 2.7 million seniors in the United States depend on food panties for food security.At the other end of the age spectrum are the 13 million children under the age of 18, 3 million of them young children, who depend on food pantries to survive.
For that reason, dozens of Shelby County residents will lace up shoes and slip on sweatshirts this Sunday to participate in the Shelby County CROP (“Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty”) Hunger Walk. Registration for the walk begins at 1:30 p.m. at Intelliplex Park.
Those participating will join approximately 2 million people will take part in a CROP Hunger Walk this fall. Collectively the efforts are expected to raise an estimated $16 million to end hunger and poverty.
A colleague who ministers in Michigan has been involved in CROP Hunger Walks for years. In an e-mail, she wrote, “I love our CROP Walk. It brings people together. It gives us a way to meet practical needs. It helps us focus on our community.”
“Sometimes I pray for our community silently while I’m walking,” she wrote. “I pray for the day when we won’t need the CROP Walk anymore because everyone will have enough to eat.”
That’s part of my prayer, too: A day when everyone will have enough to eat. Until then, participating in things such as CROP Hunger Walks is worthwhile.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com, and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
FAITH MATTERS
NATHAN DAY WILSON
Let me tell you a story about a man. I’ll call him Thomas, only since that is his name.
Thomas was a child of the Great Depression. He recalls what his father did after the Depression to help keep his family nourished, including spending many long hours in lines for construction jobs and planting a garden with tomatoes, corn and potatoes.
Thomas graduated from high school and received a scholarship to an Indiana college. He earned a degree in marketing. Only a few years into his first job, his father unexpectedly died and his mother grew ill. Thomas returned home to help care for her.
With no marketing jobs available, Thomas began working in construction. It was difficult to balance construction with caring for his mother, so Thomas sought a different job. He worked for a company cleaning offices and homes.
Even after many years of in this line of work, it was necessary for Thomas to utilize our area food pantries, including the Matthew 25:35 Community Food Pantry and The Salvation Army. Thomas depends on our food pantries and other support to have enough food to survive.
Unfortunately, his story is not rare; some 2.7 million seniors in the United States depend on food panties for food security.At the other end of the age spectrum are the 13 million children under the age of 18, 3 million of them young children, who depend on food pantries to survive.
For that reason, dozens of Shelby County residents will lace up shoes and slip on sweatshirts this Sunday to participate in the Shelby County CROP (“Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty”) Hunger Walk. Registration for the walk begins at 1:30 p.m. at Intelliplex Park.
Those participating will join approximately 2 million people will take part in a CROP Hunger Walk this fall. Collectively the efforts are expected to raise an estimated $16 million to end hunger and poverty.
A colleague who ministers in Michigan has been involved in CROP Hunger Walks for years. In an e-mail, she wrote, “I love our CROP Walk. It brings people together. It gives us a way to meet practical needs. It helps us focus on our community.”
“Sometimes I pray for our community silently while I’m walking,” she wrote. “I pray for the day when we won’t need the CROP Walk anymore because everyone will have enough to eat.”
That’s part of my prayer, too: A day when everyone will have enough to eat. Until then, participating in things such as CROP Hunger Walks is worthwhile.
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com, and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Vote Values this Tuesday
Voting biblical values into office
FAITH MATTERS
BY NATHAN DAY WILSON
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s going to be an election Tuesday. Yes, I know that you are impressed with my observational skills.
While that shocking news is settling in, let me ask a question: What priorities or values will inform how you vote? I mean surely you, like I, look deeper than what letter is beside the candidate’s name — a D, R or I — when choosing which candidates to support. Surely there is something else, something more that informs us when we step into that booth and cast our votes, right?
Below are five priorities that will influence my votes:First, I believe every human is made in God’s image and that the Bible clearly supports choosing life. Thirty-thousand children dying globally each day of preventable hunger and disease, health care, war, genocides, abortion — all of these are life issues. The candidates I plan to support are those who, according to the realistic functions of their desired office, propose to address all the threats to life and dignity. Along the same lines, I will support the candidates who are most likely to protect human rights and human dignity. With sexual and economic slavery increasing around the world, an end to human trafficking must become a top priority. The immigration system needs comprehensive reform, but it must be changed in ways that are consistent with the biblical command to “welcome the stranger.”
Second, as one who values the Bible, which contains more than 2,000 verses about money and sharing God’s resources, I will examine the promises and proposed policies of the candidates about overcoming extreme global poverty and unnecessary domestic poverty in the world’s richest nation. For me, such a central biblical theme cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. Any solution to the economic crisis that bails out the rich, and even me in the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom is entirely unacceptable.
Third, from the prophets to Jesus, there is the hope of beating our swords into instruments of peace. I will support the candidates who seem to best understand that our security depends upon other people’s security more than upon how high we can build walls or stockpile weapons. I do not expect a pacifist president, now or ever, but I do want one who views military force as a last resort and never as a preferred response to conflict.Fifth, God’s creation is clearly under assault. I will support the candidates who will likely be most faithful in caring for God’s delicate creation. Energy resource dependence, job creation, national security are all unmistakably interconnected.
Finally for now, I am concerned about the values our leaders model. Am I looking for a Pastor in Chief? No, but I will support the candidates that best exemplify and articulate strong family values, using the White House and other offices as bully pulpits to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity and healthy families of all different shapes and formations.
So, there you have it — a portion, at least, of the priorities that will influence my voting this year.
How about you? What are your priorities?Whatever they are, please be sure to exercise the privilege and responsibility of voting!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com, and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
FAITH MATTERS
BY NATHAN DAY WILSON
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s going to be an election Tuesday. Yes, I know that you are impressed with my observational skills.
While that shocking news is settling in, let me ask a question: What priorities or values will inform how you vote? I mean surely you, like I, look deeper than what letter is beside the candidate’s name — a D, R or I — when choosing which candidates to support. Surely there is something else, something more that informs us when we step into that booth and cast our votes, right?
Below are five priorities that will influence my votes:First, I believe every human is made in God’s image and that the Bible clearly supports choosing life. Thirty-thousand children dying globally each day of preventable hunger and disease, health care, war, genocides, abortion — all of these are life issues. The candidates I plan to support are those who, according to the realistic functions of their desired office, propose to address all the threats to life and dignity. Along the same lines, I will support the candidates who are most likely to protect human rights and human dignity. With sexual and economic slavery increasing around the world, an end to human trafficking must become a top priority. The immigration system needs comprehensive reform, but it must be changed in ways that are consistent with the biblical command to “welcome the stranger.”
Second, as one who values the Bible, which contains more than 2,000 verses about money and sharing God’s resources, I will examine the promises and proposed policies of the candidates about overcoming extreme global poverty and unnecessary domestic poverty in the world’s richest nation. For me, such a central biblical theme cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. Any solution to the economic crisis that bails out the rich, and even me in the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom is entirely unacceptable.
Third, from the prophets to Jesus, there is the hope of beating our swords into instruments of peace. I will support the candidates who seem to best understand that our security depends upon other people’s security more than upon how high we can build walls or stockpile weapons. I do not expect a pacifist president, now or ever, but I do want one who views military force as a last resort and never as a preferred response to conflict.Fifth, God’s creation is clearly under assault. I will support the candidates who will likely be most faithful in caring for God’s delicate creation. Energy resource dependence, job creation, national security are all unmistakably interconnected.
Finally for now, I am concerned about the values our leaders model. Am I looking for a Pastor in Chief? No, but I will support the candidates that best exemplify and articulate strong family values, using the White House and other offices as bully pulpits to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity and healthy families of all different shapes and formations.
So, there you have it — a portion, at least, of the priorities that will influence my voting this year.
How about you? What are your priorities?Whatever they are, please be sure to exercise the privilege and responsibility of voting!
Wilson pastors First Christian Church, 118 W. Washington St., Shelbyville, blogs at www.nathandaywilson.blogspot.com, and reads e-mail sent to revnathan@fccshelby.org.
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