Notes From Jon

A few years ago, when we lived in Birmingham, Tanya and I watched with interest as the concern about global warming came to the world’s attention.  We took it for granted that this was a fact, and apparently everyone else around us did, too.  Businesses in Birmingham started “going green,” and there was an increased emphasis on things like recycling, water and energy conservation, and decreasing ozone emissions.  We jumped right in – it was the “in” thing to do.

Then we moved here, and assumed that things were the same.  But they weren’t.  We tried to recycle, but there were no facilities within reasonable driving distance (fortunately there’s one nearby now).  We were concerned about conserving water and energy, but it didn’t seem that anyone else was.  Things like ride-sharing, car-pooling, and selecting times to mow your yard… these things are simply not a priority out here.

Why conserve in a place like this?  After all, we use much less electricity and water than our nearby urban neighbors!  We don’t have any mega-businesses that process thousands of pounds of paper a day.  Volunteers (or inmates) keep our roadsides clean of trash.  And ozone emissions are far from the minds of folks who don’t have to experience everyday the realities of smog and air pollution.

Come out to Southside Virginia and you’ll see what I mean.  Take the drive we usually make to Wal-Mart or into Richmond.  Seeing beautiful countryside like this everyday makes it hard to believe that our environment might be in trouble.

And because of that, we frequently encounter attitudes that are indifferent – if not downright hostile – to any kind of “green” activities.  Global warming is a hoax, some claim, and say that all this “green” stuff is useless… especially out here in the country.

So does “going green” make a difference in rural, small-town communities?  After all, many of these folks have been “green” for a long time – relying on agriculture and nature for their livelihood, it’s in their best interests to make sure they take care of some of those necessary things.  Talk about recycling – any farmer knows you have to “recycle” the land by leaving it fallow sometimes.  Conservation seems only natural when we’re in drought and the crops aren’t getting enough water!

But there’s so much more to taking care of the world than just doing what benefits us directly.  And that mindset – “We’re a small town and don’t contribute much to the problem… why does it matter if we’re ‘green’?” – can be used to excuse almost anything.  “I only have one vote… why does it matter if I vote?”  “I’m not tithing on a million dollars or anything… why does it matter if I give?”  “We’re just one household in a few billion… why does it matter if we recycle?”

It matters.  It always does.  Usually when we talk about how insignificant our contribution to something might be, we are trying to excuse ourselves of some responsibility that inconveniences us.

While I breathe deeply and say a prayer of thanks each time I notice the beautiful scenery on our country roads, I sometimes feel my breath catch with fear.  I know that, global warming notwithstanding, if things continue the way they are, even these beautiful scenes will one day be erased.  Melting ice caps may or may not be a reality – but as the cities expand, as people look for quieter places to live, and as our global society changes, things like trash, smog, and energy shortages will someday be as common in Lunenburg county as they are in third-world mega-cities.

The science of global warming, while persuasive, is still far from being solid fact.  But that doesn’t matter – stewardship is a fact of life for Christians, and (like it or not) the world is something we’ve been made stewards of.  From the very beginning, the greatest resource entrusted to human beings was not money, not precious minerals, not vast oil fields… but creation itself.  We were placed here to “care for it and maintain” the earth (Genesis 2:15), not simply to use it to our own devices.  Jesus didn’t explicitly speak to global warming, but I cannot imagine that he would come to our polluted planet today, and not be appalled at the waste and misuse we inflict on it.

So earth stewardship is the oldest of all stewardships.  It’s not our only task, and maybe not our foremost, but it is certainly our oldest.  And now that we’re aware and able to be better stewards of our world, we simply must.  It’s not a suggestion, or something we can decide to do later when it looks like things really are getting worse.  It’s a command for the here, the now.  It’s not simply a political command, or a corporate one.  It’s a spiritual and personal command – “take care of what you’ve been given, or even what you have will be taken away.” **

For more information on how the Bible speaks to earth stewardship and how Christians can do our part, go to the new website set up by the Baptist Center for Ethics – www.thegreenbible.org.

** – A free paraphrase of Jesus’ moral of the Parable of the Talents.  See Matthew 25:14-30 for one record of this parable.

I’ve been taking a class in Richmond at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, and one of the friends I met there is an intentional interim pastor.  He’s currently at a church in Virginia that seems to be in decline, with around 150 regularly attending and EIGHT full-time staff people.  I’ll let you do the math.

Anyway, this guy makes me want to be an interim minister.  He gets away with stuff some pastors only dream about.  For instance, he said his newsletter article at the end of last year was “Are We A Church Or a Nursing Home?”  He reviewed the characteristics of a church: People come voluntarily, they come with a primary objective of taking care of others, and a good portion of the group’s money goes toward helping others.  Nursing homes, however, are places where people don’t really want to go, where people let others take care of THEM, and places where most of the money is spent on taking care of themselves.

Just as a matter of reference, he called the local country club and asked them what percentage of their yearly budget was donated to outside charitable causes.  The answer was surprising in light of his current church’s budget: 15%.  As a closing statement, he said, “We don’t even qualify to be a Country Club.  So what ARE we?”

Please know that my current church is NOTHING like this, but it sure would be nice to feel like you could say something like that.

Maybe I WOULD have the courage to write something like that… with my letter of resignation copied on the opposite page.

As I sat in the coffee house a couple of days ago working on my sermon, a man came in who was obviously the delivery man from Sysco or some-such. The TV caught his attention as he came across the room – coverage of upcoming primaries happened to be on at the time, particularly a look at Hillary Clinton’s recent campaign ads. With a big sigh, he went to the counter and began unloading his things, then started broadcasting his political views to everyone.  Since it was impossible to work or to carry on a conversation while he loudly ranted, everyone listened – though most of us pretended not to. The unfortunate woman behind the counter had no choice but to acknowledge his tirade.

“Can you believe we might have to choose between some woman for president and this athiest guy?”

“Hmmm,” she said, looking down at the order form she was filling out and keeping her thoughts about his comment to herself.

“I mean, she’s some kind of communist, and he doesn’t believe in God. Wouldn’t even take his oath on the Bible, can you BELIEVE that?” he asked, though he wasn’t really asking. And no one answered. He then proceeded to unfold his theory on how Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton (or both) are somehow the Antichrist, using references to the book of Revelation.  His prediction for the November elections – Obama will be President and Clinton the VP, and the world will come to an end sometime in 2009.

I seemed to recall getting both “Obama the Atheist” and “Obama the Muslim” emails forwarded to me, and figuring from the sources of those emails that their claims were false. But just for fun, since the Coffee Shop Pundit wouldn’t allow me to work, I decided to check out the stories for myself. Turns out this guy knows a lot more about Revelation than he does about the candidates.

I was reminded of the little fliers that the Christian Coalition of Alabama used to send to all the state churches every voting season – a “Candidate Report Card,” covering only issues which they deemed “important to Christian voters,” and sometimes smudging the truth a bit. Those made me chuckle, too – until I started seeing editorials and talking to friends at seminary who were using arguments and language that was all too familiar. It was upsetting to know that lots of folks – even my educated seminary friends – let “Christian experts” do their election research for them.

Silly as the coffee house episode was – and I did chuckle while he ranted for a few minutes – it ended up leaving me thoughtful and, honestly, a little scared. I take facts from email about as seriously as I take facts from cartoons. But if the number of these emails I get a week are any indication, someone out there obviously believes this stuff.

What else would these kinds of people believe if you sent it over email? All you have to do to convince some people is use big words and say you know someone at the CIA who confirms it. I’ve read (and heard with my own ears) people IN THE PULPIT make statements that they obviously got from these kinds of sources. And you know that if you hear it from the preacher AND you saw it on the internet, it might as well be written in the Bible.

The reporters and pundits say that religion and the internet will be big factors in the outcomes of this election, and I think they’re right. I’m just not so sure it’s a good thing…