Enneagrams and Episcopalians' Search For Self Awareness

The following notice about an "Enneagram conference" came from the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina Newsletter, and it led me to think about why pop-psychology and Episcopalians tend to go together.

Enneagram conference at Kanuga to offer teacher training, self-discovery October 21-24
Enneagram expert Joe Howell to lead Oct. 21-24 program at WNC retreat center

Clinical psychologist Dr. Joe Howell of Anniston, Ala., will bring his 25 years of Enneagram study to Kanuga Conferences October 21-24 for three days of reflection, transformation and understanding of this ancient spiritual tool of self-discovery.

“The Power to Change: The Enneagram and an Emerging Consciousness” will offer two tracks of study: Enneagram basics and Enneagram for trainers.

For those intrigued by the Enneagram, the basics track will provide an introduction and an opportunity for individual exploration and expression. While paper Enneagram tests and online quizzes show basic personality types and dynamics, Howell will take a deeper, more prayerful stance when teaching.

“The Enneagram is a tool of self-inquiry of the spirit, not of the ego, not of the external personality,” he said. “It’s a spiritual tool to understand how we were … when we were fresh from heaven and what happened to us.”

For those who wish to translate what they have learned into transforming the lives of others, the track for trainers will give practical tools for teaching the Enneagram system on a church or community level. Participation in this track will count toward Enneagram teacher certification.

“There are not adequate numbers of teachers of this spiritual system,” said Howell, a regionally known expert on the Enneagram, which he has studied and taught for more than 25 years. “In fact, the system has lost much of its power in the recent past because it was packaged and reduced to a static psychological personality typing system. It is actually an amazing spiritual transformational tool and can be brought forth only by those who understand the soul of the Enneagram.”

In addition to large and small group discussions, morning yoga and daily worship, the conference will include workshops on dream exploration, the body-mind-spirit connection, using the Enneagram with children, mandalas and meditation.

Affiliated with the Episcopal Church since 1928, Kanuga is a 1,400-acre retreat center near Hendersonville, N.C. Financial aid and discounted rates for commuting Western North Carolina residents are available. For more information, visit www.kanuga.org or call 828-692-9136.

A little research into the subject of enneagrams left my head spinning, 

h/t pointbonitabooks.com.

It is understandable that Episcopal priests who, in their pastoral roles engage in a lot of counseling of troubled souls, might find themselves looking for help from whatever is popular in the psychology circles of the day.

But is that where we should be looking for answers?

I have, from my mother's collection, an autographed copy "Beyond Anxiety" a 1953 book written by the late Bishop James Pike. It is strong on 50's pop-psychology, and in it I can see hints of the desire to escape from "repression" imposed on us from external forces. This was a harbinger of what was to be the push for freedom from "inhibitions," the sexual liberation movement of the 60's, and the ultimate journey of Bishop Pike into divorce, remarriage, a call for a heresy trial, censure, madness, and death in the desert of the Holy Land.

Madalas, Dreams, and the likes of Bishop Gene Robinson have all been featured at Episcopal camp conferences in the past, and in the Church Publishing Company (they have cleaned up their catalog, but you can still find  things like From "Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ" by Patrick S. Cheng) so it seems to me that the further "out there" something is, the more likely an Episcopalian will be found nearby.

For example, you may have missed the SUMMER DREAM & SPIRITUALITY CONFERENCE:
GOD’S FORGOTTEN LANGUAGE held at Kanuga on May 27– June 1, 2012. Here are some of the workshops:

Dreamscapes: Integrating Sandtray with Dream Work
Spirit Guides in Dreams
Native American Spirituality: Plants & Animals, Health & Sickness, Heavens & the Earth
Just Who is the “I” [Dream Ego] in Our Dreams?
Writing Your Own Book of Life
Hieroglyphic Thinking: The Symbolic and The Real
Taming the Inner Tyrant
Quantum Science: The Mystics got it Right
How Shadow Effects Our Contribution to the Universe and Our Connection to God
Sacred Feminine Oracle
Implications of Tibetan Lucid Dreaming Practices for
Western Dreamers
Body/Soul Integration
Myth and Dreams
The Self and Mandala Motifs in Dreams
Radical Incarnation and Unity Through Self, Symbol and Dream
The Healing Power of Poetry: Using Poetic Forms to Work Through Difficult Times
The Luminous Woman
Issues in Shadow Work
The Future in Quantum Mechanics & Dreams
Your Life Stages as Determined by your Meyers Briggs
Wisdom in your Dreams
Six Magic Questions
What is the Significance of Color in Dreams
Six Principles of Dreamwork
Who are You in The Tarot?
Exploration of Dreams and Prayer
Dream Archetypal Architecture: The Staircase
Starting a Dream Group at your Church

While a certain amount of self reflection can be a good thing, this Episcopal obsession seems to tell me that we Episcopalians must feel that we are missing out on something important in our lives. You will notice that the name of Jesus is missing from all of the spiritual realization false pathways outlined above. Knowledge of the "authentic self" must be what we are being taught as "missing" and the cause of our spiritual emptiness. Such efforts to know the authentic self are things that can misdirect us from what might otherwise be the desire to totally surrender to and to grow in Christ.

As I was reading up on Enneagrams, I came across something from another figure popular in progressive Episcopalian circles that pretty much sums it up,

"You’ve been fearful
of being absorbed in the ground,
or drawn up by the air.
Now, your waterbead lets go
and drops into the ocean,
where it came from.
It no longer has the form it had,
but it’s still water.
The essence is the same.
This giving up is not a repenting.
It’s a deep honoring of yourself."  The Essential Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995) p. 153.

There is nothing to repent after all. Those things you were taught to think of as sinful were just oppressive ideas imposed on you from outside. Let go of all those repressive things. Look to the truth inside. Its all about yourself.

I'll close this reflection with a look at the back cover of James Pike's book, "Beyond Anxiety" to give you an idea about how the 50's attempt to merge Pyschology and Religion had a larger audience than just Episcopalians:

"SELF-UNDERSTANDING will be of invaluable aid to everyone confronted with the pressing problems of today's living."

That may not be exactly what the Rev. Hiltner intended, but if kind of sums up my thoughts on the trajectory and focus of the quest for self awareness, and the dangerous temptation to become more self-centered and less Christ-centered.

I find myself sighing everytime recommendations for programs like these show up in our Diocesan communications.

The sighing must mean that it is time for me to work on my "ennuiagram." 

The Last Temptation of the Gnostics

On a Sunday when we heard about God creating Eve from Adam's rib and Jesus' stern teachings on divorce and adultery in Mark 10, I was taken aback when our preacher chose to begin her sermon by bringing up the "was Jesus married" schlock that has been in the news recently. If the subject is to be discussed in church on Sunday, it should be to debunk it and not to give it a passing nod, and certainly not to pass on the impression that it is at least a possibility. And to compound the error, we had to hear about the "DaVinci Code" and the "Last Temptation of Christ" (the latter in far more graphic detail than I ever wanted to know).

I just don't understand why Episcopalians love this stuff, or maybe I do. I wonder if the fascination with novel ideas and extracanonical "discoveries" is due to a deficiency of love for the Bible, a deficiency that has as its basis inadequate teaching and preaching.

I had followed the story of the recently "discovered" fragment of papyrus, but I had never intended to waste blog space on it. I will refer interested readers who were confused by today's sermon to Albert Mohler's more sensible commentary on the subject in which he concludes,

“'The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife?' Not hardly. This is sensationalism masquerading as scholarship. Nevertheless, do not miss what all this really represents — an effort to replace biblical Christianity with an entirely new faith."
 

Shame on anyone who gives this fragment of gnostic nonsense the time of day, particularly on a Sunday morning.

Task Force 10 to Gomorrah: A Little Backtracking From +DUSC

One week after announcing his Task Force on Unity, Bishop Waldo of Upper SC must have heard some protests and sent out the following explanation:

"The Task Force on Unity has been named and will begin its work in late October. In mid-August, I sent an email in to all clergy of the diocese – active, retired, supply, licensed – with attachments that included a letter, nomination form, and biographical information sheet for persons to be considered for the Task Force."

Stop right there. Given the make up of the clergy in this Diocese, people who easily elected Bishop Waldo all the while knowing his position on the major issues of the day, can anyone guess who they might nominate to be part of a task force?  

"After receiving nominations from these clergy and others in Upper South Carolina,"

Whoa! Just who might these "others" be? Folks who didn't get the e-mail? Folks who got it forwarded to them by a friendly priest?

"I asked applicants to respond in writing to several questions about their qualifications. In selecting the members, I looked for five primary qualifications, in the following order of priority:

1. Astute theological acumen;
2. Theological diversity;"

If these characteristics are being sought from the same individual, this would be non-sensical. For one thing, I don't know what Theological diversity means unless the Bishop is actually desiring the group to be "Theologically diverse," but if all members possess "Astute theological acumen" wouldn't the group by definition be limited in theological diversity?  

"3. A desire to find a way forward;"

Forget the diversity talk. This means that all those do not desire for the rite of same-sex blessing to move forward need not apply.

"4. Additional skill sets and experience that would help the Task Force in its work – writing, editing, research, etc., and..."

Spin-meisters will be desperately needed.

"5. Geographical diversity."

Nobody from our neck of the woods was even nominated. So did the Bishop get on the blower and call anyone? I wouldn't think so since he won't even reply to a simple letter from a mere pewsitter.

"I have heard concerns from a few of you in the diocese that there are more participants from the Midlands than from the Upstate. The simple truth is that I did not receive many applications from the Upstate and received none from the Catawba convocation. There are two individuals on the Task Force from the Upstate – one from Greenville and one from Boiling Springs."

So qualification #5 is a bust.

"I have also heard questions about the theological diversity of the group. I assure you that the Task Force participants represent the broad diversity of this diocese, as you will read in the bios each member submitted with their applications."

 All assurances aside,  there is no statement of the members' theological positions in the bios. We can guess from their prior history, and this leads me to conclude that +Waldo's idea of theological diversity is weighted heavily on the revisionist side.

"The diversity and qualifications are important and will guide the Task Force in its work over the next many months. With that said, the more important aspect of the Task Force is the result that comes from it – God willing, a way forward that articulates the boundaries within which all of us can live and serve Christ together, even as we disagree about same-sex blessings."

I think he should re-phrase that "God willing" to read, "Waldo willing."

"This whole process is challenging: the work ahead is hard; some believe we shouldn’t be asking these questions; some believe we can’t get the work done fast enough; many simply want us to do our work with the integrity, compassion, and rigor that it deserves. Much is at stake and we all know it. And yet by our baptism into Christ Jesus, we are called to 'lead a life worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' –Ephesians 4:1-3

 Oh, those Ephesians... I am glad he brought them up. I think there was something in 1 Timothy about them.

“…stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work–which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about our what they so confidently affirm.” (1 Tim. 1:3-7)

I call it false doctrine when certain men teach that a man shall lie with a man like a woman.
I call it false doctrine when a leader of the Church permits such teaching to be promulgated. 
I call it meaningless talk to teach that two opposing doctrines can be united in one Church.

"So I ask for your trust and for your prayers, as this work is about our unity in Christ. We can and will find a way forward if we stay together and trust in the peace of God that passes all understanding.

The following link (http://www.edusc.org/Resources/Task%20Force%20Announcement.pdf) will take you to my letter announcing the Bishop's Task Force on Unity and offering some details about the Task Force's charge as well as biographical information submitted by each member of the task force so that you might know something more about them. I ask you to support and pray for each member of this group in this difficult work."

Yours in Christ,
W. Andrew Waldo
VIII Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina

Ultimately, the question boils down to this, "Can a Church remain united in Christ when its leadership fails to stand firm upon the Gospel of Christ, and when that leadership insists on elevating unsound doctrine to the level of sound doctrine and holding both up simultaneously as equal?"

Sound doctrine is like a fire that won't be quenched.

Unsound doctrine is just so much T.P.

Why can't paper and fire live together?  

Because they can't!

Let me close with an answer or two from some reliable sources.

"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." Matthew 10:35 (KJV)

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:1-2).

“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing.  He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain” (1 Tim. 6:3-5).

“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good deposit that was entruted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Tim. 1:13-14).

“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.  Just as Jannes and Jambres oppose the truth–men of depraved minds, who, as fas as the faith is concerned, are rejected” (2 Tim. 3:1-8).

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep you head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:2-5).

Elders “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.  For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.  They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach–and that for the sake of dishonest gain” (Titus 1:11).

“Rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth” (Titus 1:13-14).

“You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1a).

Polydenominationalism

This morning as we watched several flocks of geese fly overhead, I was asked, "Why don't they all fly together in one big flock?" I speculated that a large number of smaller groups might give the species as a whole a better chance of success given the possibility that a bad leader might cause the flock to get lost. Losing a small group would not be as bad as extinction.

Today's preacher spoke of his faith journey from one of the smaller denominations of Christianity to his current position of retired Episcopal priest, and he tied this in with the Gospel reading from today.

John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell, And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’ Mark 9:38-50
 

I guess that polydenominationalism may not be such a bad thing after all (as long as those denominations are full in it for Christ). Unfortunately, there will be some flocks that wind up being misled or picked off by predators, and they will never make it to the promised land.

I wondered what changing one little word in Mark 9:38 would do for this reading,

+KJS said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Oh yeah, polydenominationalism is okay as long as those geese over there don't look too much like yourself.

+Upper SC Appoints Team Members of Task Force 10 + 1 Waldo to Gomorrah

The following letter was sent from the Diocese to the membership last Friday. After reading it, I wonder, why we are paying this guy's salary?

21 September 2012

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Following General Convention’s vote in favor of a provisional liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions, I promised to follow up on my own “no” vote on that resolution (A049) with a process to articulate the boundaries within which we can live in unity within this Diocese, even in our disagreements on this issue. In late July, through a communication with diocesan clergy—active, licensed and retired—I sought applications for membership in a task force to work with me in doing that work.

As I chose members of the task force from a healthy number of applications, I sought to balance theological acumen, perspective, congregational representation, passion and availability for the work, and other, in some cases quite specific, gifts for this work. Required of all, and indeed present in all the applications I received, was a devotion to the good news of God in Christ Jesus and to articulating a way forward in the church that holds us together. Such a way forward will by definition ask all of us to remember our servant ministry towards one another and ask us to live graciously in a tension we are unlikely to resolve.

That way forward must be deeply rooted in the evangelical imperative, and it must engage scripture, tradition and reason—both in the very pastoral and human dimensions that have challenged the church to address same-sex relationships and, more rigorously, in the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition. Our task will be to help me articulate the boundaries within which we might live together that includes same-sex relationships and those who struggle with the church’s decisions with clarity and substance.

This will be hard work. But it will also be work with unexpected blessings for the members of the task force and for our entire diocesan community. I have asked each member to be ready to listen, to pray, to work, to write, to present and, above all, to love one another.

We will need each of you to pray for us—not for us to fully resolve our differences, because that would be more than we could deliver. We will need for you to pray that we listen deeply for and to God and to each other, that we might have wisdom and clarity, and that we devote ourselves fully to work that might faithfully, truthfully and authentically unify us in our diversity.

The members of the task force, in alphabetical order, are these:

Ms. Caroline Avenger, Christ Church, Greenville
Mr. Frank Ballard, St. Mary’s, Columbia
Ms. Jennifer Bull, St. Michael & All Angels, Columbia
The Very Rev. Tim Jones, Dean, Trinity Cathedral, Columbia
The Rev. Alan Leonard, Rector, St. Margaret’s, Boiling Springs
Ms. Sally McKay, Diocesan Staff Liaison
The Rev. Jim Neuburger, Rector, St. John’s, Winnsboro
The Rev. Dr. Ellen Francis Poisson, Order of St. Helena/Priest in Charge, All Saints’, Beech Island
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Waldo, Bishop, Chairperson
The Rev. David Wagner, Assistant Rector, St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Columbia
The Rev. Bradley Wilson, Licensed Supply Clergy, Columbia

Brief bios of each member of the task force may be found below. While I have not set a specific deadline for completing our work, I am working with a 6-18-month framework. We cannot rush, and yet we will be deliberate in moving forward in our work.

“Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.” —Ephesians 3:20, 21

Your brother in Christ,

+Andrew

The Rt. Rev. W. Andrew Waldo, Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina



Bishop’s Task Force on Unity – Member Bios

Caroline Avenger

Caroline is a life-long Episcopalian and grew up at Holy Comforter in Sumter. She has been a parishioner at Christ Church, Greenville, for 12 years, and she and her husband, Mauldin, have two daughters, both baptized at CCG. Caroline has served on the vestry for the past two and a half years, acting as the vestry representative on the Christ Church Episcopal Preschool board. She attended Cursillo #100 and has participated in Alpha as well. Caroline chaired the ECW bazaar twice and has served on the ECW board in a number of positions. Caroline has also been involved in nursery, children’s church, and VBS.

J. Franklin Ballard

Frank Ballard has served Episcopal parishes and the Diocese of Upper South Carolina for the past 35 years. He is a graduate of Southern Wesleyan University with a major in psychology and minor areas of concentration including statistics and biological sciences – genetics concentration. Frank completed a terminal master’s degree in clinical psychology with a minor in neurological disability assessment at Appalachian State University in 1977. He retired after 33 years with the State of South Carolina (28 years with SCDMH inpatient services as a staff psychologist and psychiatric treatment coordinator and 5 ½ years with the USC School of Medicine as chief research coordinator for clinical trials in the department of Neuropsychiatry). Frank has been Parish Musician and Associate for Liturgy at Saint Mary’s, Columbia for the past 13 years and is a Safe Church trainer of many years.

Jennifer Bull

Jennifer Bull grew up in Greenville, SC, and was active in her Southern Baptist church. She completed her Bachelors of Arts in Dance and her Masters of Education in Divergent Learning with an Arts Emphasis, both at Columbia College. Jennifer has been teaching classes in dance, theatre, and the arts for 12 years in public schools in Dorchester School District Two, Richland School District One, and Richland School District Two. She has two children, one of whom has a rare genetic disorder. Since receiving her daughter's diagnosis in 2004, Jennifer has become enthusiastically involved in arts education and mainstream arts opportunities for students with special needs. In 2007, Jennifer was confirmed at St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church where she is an active member of the congregation, serves in the Children's ministry, and participates with the Praise Choir. She is married to Susan and lives in Irmo.

Sister Ellen Francis Poisson, OSH

Ellen Francis is a native New Yorker. In the late 1960s and most of the 1970s, she lived in Iran and England. She has a M.L.S. from Teheran University and received a doctorate in library science from Columbia University in 1983. She worked for the following 25 years in medical and other libraries in the New York area. In 2000 Ellen Francis graduated from General Theological Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of New York. She entered the Order of Saint Helena in May, 2000, and served as a supply and interim priest. She was a member of the Episcopal-Muslim Relations Committee in the Diocese of NY and following 9/11 she participated in several peace delegations to Iran and Afghanistan.

Ellen Francis is currently a member of the OSH Leadership Council and serves as treasurer and webmaster, and she also serves as Priest-in-Charge at All Saints’, Beech Island. She is a founding member of the Interfaith Fellowship of Augusta, and is a member of the CSRA Peace Alliance and the Progressive Religious Coalition (in Augusta). She is a member of the advisory board of South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light.

The Very Rev. Tim Jones

The Very Reverend Timothy Jones is Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Until recently he was senior associate rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He holds a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and an STM from the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee. He has published widely in the area of spirituality and formation, including articles in academic journals and books with wide appeal.

Tim is married to the Rev. Jill Zook-Jones and Tim and Jill have three grown children and three grandchildren.

The Rev. Alan Leonard

Alan Leonard has been rector of St. Margaret’s, Boiling Springs since December 2005. Previously, he was an Army chaplain serving in the United States, Germany and Iraq. Alan is the chaplain for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9539 in Spartanburg. He also serves on the advisory board of Harvest Family Ministries, a nonprofit organization that assists people in need in the Boiling Springs area and the advisory board of Seniors Take Charge, an educational and advocacy organization for Senior Citizens in Spartanburg County. Alan graduated from Ripon College with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Leadership Studies, and earned a Master’s in Counselor Education from Northern Illinois University. He did his M. Div. at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Alan spent two years as Assistant Rector of Holy Spirit Episcopal Parish in Missoula, Montana. He is married to the former Brenda Heidhoff-Killen, a cellist, and has one son, Tim.

The Rev. Jim Neuburger

Jim Neuburger currently serves as Rector of St. John’s in Winnsboro, SC. Prior to his ordination, Jim served in a variety of secular capacities in business operations, management consulting, and national and international sales and marketing. Jim’s interests focus on the Christian life, bringing the Gospel from the head to the heart, and on strengthening congregations, having served as a Diocesan Congregational Consultant prior to his ordination. Jim recently completed a study of the strategies employed by 60 of the top Episcopal congregations – those that have grown 25% or more from 2004 to 2009.

Jim and his wife, Carol, live in Ballentine. They are the parents of three children and the grandparents of two grandchildren.

The Rev. David W. Wagner

David Wagner was born and raised in the Diocese of Atlanta, where he spent many summers and retreat weekends at Camp Mikell (the Atlanta equivalent of Camp Gravatt). There, he met and married his wife, Kathleen – aka Beano – a social worker in Columbia. David graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York City in May 2011, and he is in charge of the Youth and Young Adults programs at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields in Forest Acres, Columbia.

The Rev. C. Bradley Wilson

Brad Wilson is from the wheatlands of Kansas and is a graduate of the University of Kansas, Trinity College in Bristol, England, and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. Ordained in 1980, he served parishes in Oregon, Alabama, and Pennsylvania before moving to Columbia in 2009. Brad served on the Board of Examining Chaplains in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, in Moral Theology, and he taught Introduction to Ethics at the seminary level the Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. His wife Carol keeps him alive and comfortably ensconced; two daughters and their families in Atlanta bring him joy, and his son (still in school!) brings him much pride. He often supplies at parish churches in the diocese when not editing Richard Baxter’s A Christian Directory for an updated republication.

Sally T. McKay

Sally is a life-long Episcopalian and member of Trinity Cathedral. She completed the Education for Ministry (EFM) program in 2003 and has served on Trinity’s vestry and foundation board. She currently chairs the Communication Committee, serves on the Bicentennial Committee, and has been a lector of more than 25 years. Sally is a communications consultant to the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. She also works with clients on public speaking and presentation skills. Sally is a devoted practitioner of Yoga and teaches at City Yoga in Columbia. Sally and her husband, Walker, have two boys – Walker and Mitchell.

Jennifer married to Susan? I didn't know that was recognized in SC. Unless of course she is married to a boy named Sue.



As expected, the task force is stacked with "progressives," and there is little doubt that the majority will help pen a document proporting to help us "to live graciously in a tension we are unlikely to resolve."

Who needs 18 months? I think any Bishop worth his paycheck should be able to do it himself in 18 minutes.

Classical Revisionism

Today's lay preacher presented to the congregation a classic revisionist look at how we should interpret the stories found in the Bible. He began by stating that he was not going to preach on the appointed Gospel reading for this Sunday, Mark 9:30-37, but instead would be talking about the subject that he really wanted to talk about (See rule 1 towards the end of this post).

Our preacher reached for Matthew 14:22-33 instead.

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
 

Next, he drew from Greek mythology the story of Sisyphus who is condemned to roll a stone uphill, again and again for eternity.

He then pointed out that nobody these days believes that the story of Sisyphus is literally true, and that the story has to be read metaphorically, and likewise, no 21st century, rational, modern, thinking person can believe that Jesus or Peter actually walked on water. The story from Matthew 14 has to be read as a metaphor for giving up the safety of whatever boat you are in and placing your trust on some nebulous something outside of yourself. (See rule 2)

No good sermon leaves out the Cross and the Resurrection. So today we got a taste of the revisionist "resurrection as a metaphor" story to round out the sermon.

Sermons like this are probably pretty common in the Episcopal universe. While this kind of thing may appeal to a small elitist subset of American "progressives," I don't think a strictly metaphorical approach to Biblical exegesis does anything but create a self pleasuring trap for people to fall into. What does such an approach, in which the congregation is told that they can't believe the events in the Bible literally, do for people who, immediately after the sermon, are asked to stand and say the Nicene Creed? (Rule 3)

CREED: (From the Revisionist Dictionary) What we usually say after the sermon, together professing things that none of us individually believes. “Those creeds are not about checking off a bunch of propositions. They are about giving our heart to a sense that Jesus shows us what it looks like to be a divine human being” (Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori).

 

Is it any wonder that "...Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power" (shamelessly borrowed from the title of a book by Marcus Borg being studied in the adult Sunday School class).

I was working on the Revisionist Rule Book (revised edition) and today's sermon suggested four additions:

1) Talk about the subject you desire most because the Gospel reading for the day really doesn't matter (it never happened anyway).
2) Focus on a metaphorical approach when events in the Bible cannot be believed as actual events.
3) Increasing doubt is good.
4) Stay in your self made pleasure craft, and you will never be in danger of sinking.

I also wonder if it is time for TEc to come out of the closet and break out,

THE "EMERGING" REVISIONIST CREED (Rule 4)

We believe in a higher power, the divine,
which is worshipped by many religions,
like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.
We believe that Jesus was an exemplary human being.
He was so good that people thought he was the Son of God.
He was dedicated to justice and helping the poor.
He preached love.
People thought that he was the Savior.
He died on a cross, and, similar to the ancient belief
in atonement through sacrifices,
people believed that he died for their sins.
Like Socrates, he was a teacher of a subversive wisdom.
Like Buddha, he had an enlightenment experience.
Like a shaman, he was a healer.
Like Gandhi, he sided with the minorities and the outcasts.
He was a classical prophet of Israel.
He was concerned with the shape of society and criticizing the elites. He was a most remarkable man whose example we should follow.
We believe that, as the church, we are a group of people
who stand up for justice and the acceptance of diversity... 

We believe that the New Testament was mostly made up by the followers of Jesus. But it is a good book that teaches people to love each other, look after the environment and engage in social justice. AMEN  (H/T Articles)

Diocese of Upper South Carolina: Task Force 10 To Gomorrah

The following notification came from the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina last week:

"Task Force on Unity to be announced" -
"Bishop Waldo will name the members of the Bishop's Task Force on Unity early next week. The Task Force will consist of 10-12 people who will work for six - 18th months on defining the boundaries within which we can live together even as we differ on same-sex blessings. The group will also work to articulate a rigorous theological understanding of same-sex blessings that will acknowledge the broad spectrum of belief in Upper South Carolina. Finally, the Task Force will create a plan by which our diocese will address the specifics of General Convention resolution A049"

Bishop Waldo just can't make himself be a leader on this issue. He has stated that he wants same sex blessings to happen, but he just can't bring himself say "Yes" or "No."

So instead, he will create and launch a "task force" to do the dirty work. Which means we better lift our eyes unto the hills and run as fast as we can towards them.

Given the overwhelming support for ssb's among the clergy, how can the result of the task force's deliberations be anything but the very thing that Bishop Waldo desires most? Let's see who they come up with as the members of this special ops unit. I'll be checking my mail box, but I don't expect to have to unpack the old foot locker and join the task force. And don't look for anyone to try to torpedo the fleet which I am sure will be carefully screened and shielded. If things hold true to form, the only thing coming out of the Task Force on Unity will be a smokescreen that allows +Waldo's precious ssb's to move forward.

We don't need 10 or 12 people to waste a year of their time on this when, as Sartre would say, "Les Jeux Sont Faits" (or as my High School French teacher translated it, "the die is cast").