The Wired Word for 2/28/2010

Dear Class Member,

Two recent events -- a shooting on a university campus and the flying of a plane into a public building -- appear to be anger-driven acts. Innocent people's lives were taken in both cases.

 

Those events, along with the observation by some commentators that our culture as a whole is becoming more angry, make looking at what the Bible has to say about anger a meaningful exercise. So that will be the topic of our next class.

 

If you wish to start thinking about our topic in advance, below is some introductory material. 

 

 

Anger-Driven Acts Take Innocent Lives

The Wired Word for February 28, 2010 

 

In the News

 

On February 12, Dr. Amy Bishop, a neurobiology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, pulled a gun at a biology department meeting and opened fire, killing three of her fellow faculty members and wounding three others.

 

On February 18, Joseph Stack III flew his private plane into a building in Austin, Texas, that housed an office of the Internal Revenue Service. The crash caused an explosion and fire that killed one IRS employee, injured several others and ended Stack's own life.

 

The two incidents were unrelated, and the perpetrators had no known connection, yet reports of the two crimes include a common theme: anger.

 

After delving into Bishop's background, The New York Times topped an article about her with this headline: "For professor, fury just beneath the surface." Among the things the article reported about her was that "Her life seemed to veer wildly between moments of cold fury and scientific brilliance, between rage at perceived slights and empathy for her students." In the past, Bishop had shot and killed her brother (which was claimed to be an accident at the time), physically attacked a woman in a restaurant for taking the last child booster seat, and had been questioned in a mail-bomb plot against a doctor at Harvard. On another occasion, she became enraged when, on a paper she coauthored with another professor, her name appeared second.

 

The shooting at the university may have been a response to Bishop being denied tenure at the school.

 

Several reports about Bishop suggest she may have a mental disorder, but that makes her rage no less real.

 

The Times article about Stack's suicide flight into the IRS building reported that in recent weeks, his wife had complained to her parents about her husband's "increasingly frightening anger." It also said that on the night before his airplane attack, she had taken her daughter and gone to a hotel to get away from her husband. Before leaving for his flight, Stack posted online what the article called "a rant" against the government and set the family home on fire.

 

Although Stack apparently didn't have a history of rage-driven behavior, he did have a longstanding grudge against tax authorities due to personal dealings with the agency. The details of his tax circumstances haven't been reported, and it isn't known what caused him to act against the agency at this particular time.

 

Anger, a common and basic human emotion, has been a factor in many crimes throughout history. But there seems to be a growing number of anger-driven crimes to cite as examples today, especially of the kind where the perpetrator forfeits -- or at least is prepared to forfeit -- his or her own life.

 

Quite apart from criminal acts, anger also appears to be on the rise in aspects of life from how we deal with other drivers to how we view politics. One recent newspaper editorial that referred to "our increasingly angry culture" wasn't talking about crime at all but about complaints over snow plowing!  

 

No statistics are available to confirm that anger is more of a factor in life today than in the past, but plenty of examples in the news show the damage that anger-driven behavior can cause.

More on this story can be found at these links:

 

For professor, fury just beneath the surface. NY Times

Man crashes plane into Texas I.R.S. office. NY Times 

 

The Big Questions

Here are some of the questions we will discuss in class:

 

1. As long as you don't break the law, is expressing your anger, even in a way that might be considered abusive, your right?  

 

2. What is the Christian view of anger? 

 

3. Anger can be harmful, but it can also be helpful, such as when indignation motivates us to fight injustice. So how do we tell when our anger is righteous and when it isn't? Should all plans that arise from righteous anger be acted on? Why or why not? 

 

4. Because anger often has a negative effect on the ability to think clearly, what things can you do to ensure that decisions growing out of anger are appropriate and in keeping with your commitment to follow Jesus?

 

5. In "angry times," do Christians have a greater responsibility to control their anger? Why or why not?

 

Confronting the News with Scripture

We will look at selected verses from these Scripture texts. You may wish to read these in advance for background:

 

Psalm 7:9-16

Mark 11:11-19

2 Kings 5:1- 14

Ephesians 4:25-32

Colossians 3:1-17

 

In class, we will talk about these passages and look for some insight on the big questions, as well as talk about other questions you may have about this topic. Please join us.

The Wired Word for 2/21/2010

Dear Class Member,

The news story that is the basis for our next lesson concerns "outsiders" who were invited to move to a small town but then not made to feel welcome. The dynamics in the story are similar to what sometimes happens in a church when new people come.

 

Most congregations say they want to grow, but this story invites us to consider whether we actually want new people in church when it means that we have to adapt to changes they might bring. So that will be the topic of our next class.

 

If you wish to start thinking about our topic in advance, below is some introductory material. 

 

 

Feeling Unwelcome, Family Plans Departure from Town that Invited Them

The Wired Word for February 21, 2010 

 

In the News

 

Four years ago, Michael and Jeanette Tristani and their twin children accepted the invitation from Hazelton, North Dakota, to move there from their native Florida and receive two free lots and up to $20,000 in startup money. They received the free land and some cash, but not much of a welcome, they say.

 

Now they're planning to return to Florida.

 

In 2005, the Hazelton Development Corp., formed by a group of citizens concerned about the town's dwindling population (currently about 240), ran ads across the country to lure new families, offering land and cash. They also invited businesses, offering them free lots and $50,000, but no businesses accepted the offer.

 

The community had hundreds of inquiries from families around the world, and several families actually visited the town. But the Tristanis were the only family to actually move there. They heard the offer as "an answer to our prayers," Michael Tristani said. The couple was tired of Florida's crime, traffic, hurricanes and high cost of living. After the move, they found that Hazelton indeed has a low crime rate, low tax rate and a low cost of living. And the Tristani kids like the school.

 

Despite those benefits, the Tristanis didn't find the welcome they expected. "It's been quite an experience, 50-50 at best," Michael said. "No one really wants new people here."

 

The couple came prepared for the bitter North Dakota winters, where wind chills are sometimes 50 degrees below zero and snow is measured in feet rather than inches. They weren't prepared, however, for the small-town drama.

 

When Michael Tristani came to town, he was wearing gold necklaces and a Rolex and driving a Lexus -- in a place where pickup trucks, farm caps and bib overalls are more common. "People thought I was a drug dealer," Michael said.  

 

"People prejudge you without getting to know you," Jeanette Tristani added. 

 

Tom Weiser, one Hazelton city leader behind the project to bring in new residents, said, "Not everybody fits in a small town." 

 

Initially, the Tristanis opened a bistro and coffee shop, but they soon had to petition for a restraining order against the owners of another coffee shop, who, they allege, drove by their house yelling obscenities and threatening to damage their home. Now both shops are closed. 

 

Hazelton isn't the only small town on the Great Plains that has used the land-and-cash lure, but those that have been successful with it are near larger communities -- no more than a 30-minute drive away. Hazelton is a 45-minute drive to Bismarck -- in good weather.

 

The Tristani home is now for sale. Jeanette says the main reason she wants to move back to the Miami area is to care for her elderly parents. Michael said his in-laws have no interest in coming to Hazelton because of the cold weather.

 

But it may also be because of the feared cold shoulder they might receive.

More on this story can be found at these links:

 

Florida family gives up on small-town North Dakota, Yahoo! News

Hazelton, North Dakota, Community Web Site

Hazelton, North Dakota, Wikipedia

 

The Big Questions

Here are some of the questions we will discuss in class:

 

1. What are the reasons your congregation would like to attract new people? What do those reasons indicate about your congregation's goals? 

 

2. What do you think a visit to your worship service feels like to new people who don't know anyone in your congregation? How might that experience be different for people who are unlike your usual congregants in economic, educational or social status? How might it be different for people of another culture or race?

 

3. What obligations about hospitality does Christianity include?

 

4. What things help new people to become integrated into a congregation? 

 

5. Do you personally really want new people in your church? Why or why not? To what degree are you willing to institute changes in your church's practices to attract new people? To what degree is it the responsibility of the new person to fit into your church the way it currently is?

 

Confronting the News with Scripture

We will look at selected verses from these Scripture texts. You may wish to read these in advance for background:

 

John 12:12-26

Hebrews 13:1-6

Matthew 25:41-46

1 Corinthians 16:13-21

1 Peter 4:7-11

 

In class, we will talk about these passages and look for some insight on the big questions, as well as talk about other questions you may have about this topic. Please join us.

The Wired Word for 2/14/2010

Dear Class Member,

Recently, a mission team from two Idaho churches was detained while trying to take "orphans" out of Haiti. Their arrest and the subsequent developments have caused many people to consider what operational philosophy should guide mission work in our time. So that will be the topic of our next class. 

 

There's a lot of room, starting with that story, to talk about how we serve others.

 

If you wish to start thinking about our topic in advance, below is some introductory material. 

 

 

Idaho Missionaries Held on Child-Napping Charges in Haiti

The Wired Word for February 14, 2010

 

In the News

 

On January 30, 10 Americans, most of them members of two Idaho Baptist churches, were detained at the Dominican Republic border with a busload of Haitian children. The Americans didn't have documents giving them permission to remove the children from earthquake-ravaged Haiti, and a subsequent investigation revealed that at least 20 of the 33 children weren't even orphans. Eventually, a Haitian magistrate charged the group's members with child kidnapping and criminal association.

 

The Americans characterized their work as a humanitarian mission to rescue children following Haiti's catastrophic January 12 earthquake. Some parents of children on the bus later told reporters that they gave their kids to the group because the missionaries promised to educate them at a Dominican Republic orphanage where parents could visit.

 

As of this writing (on Thursday), the 10 remain jailed in Haiti, though efforts are ongoing to sort out the matter. It appears to many observers that the intentions of at least nine of the team members were good, though not carried out in the proper way. Several of the Americans have since told NBC News that the group's leader, Laura Silsby, deceived the others by telling them she had the proper documents to remove the children from Haiti. They have since indicated that Silsby "wants control" and is "lying."

 

The Sunday Times of London reports that former President Clinton is brokering a deal for the release of all the group members but Silsby.

 

The children from the bus are now back in Port-au-Prince where they're being cared for at the Austrian-run SOS Children's Village.

 

A full report and timeline of this story's developments can be found in The Idaho Statesman at

Idahoans in Haiti: 'We fear for our lives'. Idaho Statesman.

 

Although the incident itself may soon be resolved, it has opened a discussion of what format mission work ought to take today and what values should guide it. For example: 

 

In the New Haven Register, syndicated columnist Eugene Robinson wrote, "Even in the midst of a terrible natural disaster, spiriting away a busload of kids -- with vague plans to worry about the 'paperwork' later -- is no act of charity. The missionaries' misadventure can only make more difficult the work of those truly interested in the welfare of neglected or abandoned children."

 

Paul Proctor, a regular columnist with NewWithViews.com, wrote, "Now I don't for a minute believe those missionaries wanted to do anything but help the 33 children they were found trying to cross the border with into the Dominican Republic; but according to reports, they did not have the proper documentation nor the permission of Haitian authorities to do so. It does, however, serve as a painful reminder that, in spite of what many churches teach, preach and practice these days, the end does not justify the means."

In direct correspondence with The Wired Word, Dr. James Berger, a former mission pastor in Alaska and then in the Bahamas, said, "This reflects a colonialist attitude toward missions -- i.e., they are simple savages, we are the omniscient paternal caregivers, so they need us to rescue them from themselves. ... [as in] 'Everyone knows those children will be better off in America.'"

 

"Yes, this is a tragic situation," Berger added. "But human rights, international law, national sovereignty and due process are givens, even in the midst of the chaos. The U.S. Air Force may not commandeer the airport tower because it is inefficient; [it] must negotiate with the Haitian authorities to offer assistance. American citizens have no right or authority to transgress national or international law, whether in the name of Jesus or the U.S. government. This is the height of hubris and self-aggrandizement." 

 

More broadly, the incident has focused international attention on Haiti's child-welfare system, which was inadequate before the earthquake and has been in shambles since. Although the 10 Americans probably were well-intentioned, the ease with which they moved through Haiti's capital and gathered a busload of children without documents exposed how vulnerable the children of Haiti are.

 

Frantz Thermilus, chief of Haiti's National Judicial Police, said that although there are responsible, well-run orphanages in Haiti, some others are "fronts for criminal organizations that take advantage of people who are homeless and hungry And with the earthquake, they see an opportunity to strike in a big way." Authorities fear that some less-scrupulous orphanages are taking advantage of the chaos to scoop up children and offer them for sale as servants and sex slaves.

 

Patricia Vargas, regional coordinator for SOS Children's Villages, which provides services to abandoned children around the world, said of the incident involving the Idaho 10, "This has called the world's attention because it is the first clear piece of evidence that our fears have come true. Our concern as an organization is how many other cases are out there that we are not aware of."

More on this story can be found at these links:

 

Southern Baptist leaders ask Obama to intervene on behalf of missionaries. Associated Baptist Press

Gwinnett pastor who aided Baptist missionaries says they're no kidnappers. Atlanta Journal-Consititution

Haiti parents testify they gave kids to Americans. Yahoo! News
Even if intentions good, missionaries are at fault. New Haven Register

American charged in Haiti had some troubles in Idaho. New York Times

Bleak portrait of Haiti orphanages raises fears. New York Times 

 

The Big Questions

Here are some of the questions we will discuss in class:

 

1. What operational philosophy ought to guide Christian mission efforts to meet the material needs of people today? What view of others should guide us in these endeavors?

 

2. What operational philosophy ought to guide Christian mission efforts to spread the gospel today? What view of others should guide us in these endeavors?

 

3. In situations of immediate and desperate human need, do good ends ever justify questionable means? At what point does our help do as much harm as good?

 

4. Under what circumstances, if any, do Christian groups have the right to override other people's freedom to make decisions about their well-being? 

 

5. How can we move toward partnering with people in need, rather than looking at them as the recipients of our largess? How does this even begin to happen in a situation as desperate as Haiti's? How can we do that with the people in our own area who come to our churches seeking assistance?

 

Confronting the News with Scripture

We will look at selected verses from these Scripture texts. You may wish to read these in advance for background:

 

Isaiah 58:1-14

Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 10:1-15

Mark 9:33-37

Acts 11:1-18

 

In class, we will talk about these passages and look for some insight on the big questions, as well as talk about other questions you may have about this topic. Please join us.

The Wired Word for 2/7/2010

Dear Class Member,

The story we are using as the basis for our next class concerns Grant Desme, a minor-league outfielder who was on the brink of moving up to the majors but who instead decided to answer a different call and enter the priesthood.

 

The story gives us an opportunity to consider what it means to be called by God, whether that call is to move into professional ministry or to make some other significant change in our lives. It also invites us to consider what it means to be called by God in the career or job we currently have. So those will be our topics of discussion. 

 

If you wish to start thinking about our topic in advance, below is some introductory material. 

 

 

Baseball Prospect Called Up ... to Priesthood

The Wired Word for February 7, 2010 

 

In the News

 

At 23, and ranked by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect on the Oakland A's farm team, Grant Desme was likely on a fast track to the major leagues. But last month, he informed the A's management of his intention to retire from the game and enter a Catholic seminary this August.  

 

Desme said he has been feeling the call to the priesthood for the past year and a half but decided to play the last season as a way of testing the call. Ironically, his success on the ball field during that season convinced him that the call he needed to answer wasn't the one to the majors but the one to the church. 

"I'm doing well in baseball," Desme said. "But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. It took awhile to trust that and open up to it and aim full steam toward him. ... I love the game, but I'm going to aspire to higher things."

 

Of Desme's decision, Rob Fai, assistant general manager of the Oakland affiliate in Vancouver, B.C., said, "All I hope is that, at the end of the day, he never regrets [making the decision now]. So few players get to the point where he's at. In my perspective, the guy could be a priest when he's 35 or 60. … Here's a guy who's so unbelievably close to making it. The timing is the one factor I can't figure out." Fai wondered aloud if current events, such as the earthquake in Haiti, had nudged Desme to make the move to the priesthood now.   

 

After informing the ballclub of his decision in late January, Desme said he felt at peace.

 

The process of becoming a priest takes about 10 years. "It's like re-entering the minor leagues" Desme said.

 

"I desire and hope to become a priest," he added. "But it's all up to God."

More on this story can be found at these links:

 

A's prospect leaving baseball for priesthood. Fox Sports 

Grant Desme discusses decision to become priest. San Francisco Chronicle

A's prospect leaving baseball for call of the priesthood. Yahoo! Sports

 

The Big Questions

Here are some of the questions we will discuss in class:

 

1. How can we tell the difference between a call from God and a "career opportunity"? Can they ever be one and the same? How do we know?

 

2. How do we distinguish between a call from God and a prompting of our own for change?

 

3. Many of the things God calls us to do involve sacrifice on our part. Does every call from God require sacrifice from us? Why or why not?

 

4. Does God have a call for every Christian? Is ministry the only calling, or are some of us called to other kinds of service, including things such as folding worship bulletins and shoveling snow off the church sidewalks? Are all callings equal, or are some "higher" than others? Explain your answers.

 

5. What helps you discover God's will for you?

 

Confronting the News with Scripture

We will look at selected verses from these Scripture texts. You may wish to read these in advance for background:

 

Amos 7:10-17

Judges 6:11-24 
Luke 5:1-11
Acts 16:6-10
Exodus 3:1-12
Jeremiah 1:4-19

Jeremiah 25:1-14

 

In class, we will talk about these passages and look for some insight on the big questions, as well as talk about other questions you may have about this topic. Please join us.