A Biography of A Mountain --- Review

What a gift to be offered a copy of A Biography of a Mountain by Matthew Davis.  I received this ARC from Net Galley and St Martin's Press.  If you have any interest in native culture and history, this book is a must read.

It is a fascinating tale about so much more than Mount Rushmore. but that iconic monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota makes for a amazing adventure. My wife and I visited Mount Rushmore for the first time last August -- on our way back to Chicago following a cross country trip to Portland.  I remember being awed by the majesty of the monument, but something felt off in the whole experience.  Thankfully, Matthew Davis helped to identify that dis-ease that was in my soul.  

This is an exceptional book that will give insight into the process that lead up to the building of the monument, the men who built it, and the worldview that they attached to the "four boys".  But, fortunately,  it doesn't end there.  Davis also gives us insight into the "Land Back" movement and how it relates to Mount Rushmore.

I know our history isn't perfect, and I appreciate opportunities to learn and grow from some of the mistakes we have made along the way.  Thank you Matthew Davis for this eye-opening look at the Black Hills. I am sure that many will not share this view, but I am always grateful for the opportunity to see the world from another's perspective and I now have a whole new appreciation for the Mountain we call Mount Rushmore.

Are you willing to Stand Up for Jesus?

If I am honest, I need to admit that I struggle going to church. One of the things I have noticed among my retired friends is you tend to go one of three ways: accept an appointment in retirement or fill in as often as possible, find a church and attend almost every Sunday, or be like me, attend a couple of times a month at best. This political climate has made me dislike going to church even more. It feels like the church has done its best to stick its head in the mud and ignore what is going on in our world.

Case in point, a friend sent a brief Tick-Tock video to a group I am in (https://www.tiktok.com/@backbench_animations/video/7352635006763732229?lang=en) to the song “Come and get your love”, and my response was “Wish that was what the US church proclaimed” and someone responded: “relax steve, it’s just meant to be a little humor.” Another friend regularly posts what the administration is doing and a person responds: “can’t you give it up, it’s Easter”. If there is a better time for the church to crawl out of the tomb we have put ourselves into it is Easter Sunday!

Sunday, Nancy and I attended Gary Memorial UMC in Wheaton Il, our church home since retiring. It was a great Sunday. The music was wonderful, the children’s time reminded us of transformation, the prayers were powerful and the sermon by Pastor Chris Pearson was one of his best. (https://vimeo.com/1077078960 ). Chris invited us to stand up and to be honest, I felt compelled to do so (but being the good white middle class male inside me wouldn't let me 🤷); and I regret it. But what struck me the most was watching a person sitting in front of me squirm.

Every time Chris called the church to justice, every time he called out white nationalism, every time he encouraged us to live out what Jesus called us to do, this guy visibly squirmed in his seat. It was amazing. THAT IS WHAT THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO DO, make us uncomfortable in our numbness.

The church has become what Pink Floyd aptly called comfortably numb, not wanting to rock the boat, wanting instead to grow in power and prestige that we have lost our way (obviously I am stereotyping). But the truth is, too many “Christians” who 10 or 15 years ago would have been appalled by what our government is doing have unfortunately either become silent or become encouragers. Power is more important than values.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of the far left either. Those who know me know that I have argued for decades that the far right and the far left are much more similar than either would care to ever admit. What I pine over more than anything is the loss of the center. (A Stephen King reference to those who are keeping score). It was the far left that drove me out of the church to a greater extent than the far right. Although the right drove me crazy with their incessant whining that preaching Jesus was in their words; “political”. Now I am happy to admit that I am farther along on the left, but I do my best to keep a finger on the center as much as possible (lol).

Cameron Trimble, in her “almost” daily post wrote today “What If Collapse Makes Room for Something Better?” (https://www.pilotingfaith.org/p/what-if-collapse-makes-room-for-something ) the interesting notion that maybe our economy collapse can open us up for change? She writes: “We’ve lived for so long under the myth that there is no alternative—that capitalism, in its current form, is the only way. But that myth is breaking down. And in the breaking, we are invited to become co-creators of something new. Not simply to resist collapse, but to compost it. To take what is decaying and turn it into soil for a future that is more just, more loving, more alive.” I needed her message today, it fits so well with Pastor Chris’ call for us all to stand up and Richard Rohr’s calling us to embrace the prophet within in his newest book. (The Tears of Things).

I have rambled long enough for Easter Monday. If I was still pastoring a church I might still be in bed, I don’t have that excuse anymore! Today I am busy watching my phone and my nephew Bryan as he runs in the Boston Marathon.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

In 1981, Tom Petty released Hard Promises, and on it was a song called “The Waiting.”  At many points in our lives, we all can related to the song:

The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you get one more yard

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

The waiting is the hardest part

On Monday, I had a biopsy done (actually 14 biopsies) on my prostate.  And I am not sure which was harder, the run up to the biopsy or sitting here now waiting on the results.

My father had prostate cancer, that is part of the reason the Urologist wanted the biopsy. My PSA had been rising (crossed the dreaded 4 threshold in the fall) and was now over 5, and an MRI done in late January resulted in these reassuring results 🙄 “Indeterminate (the presence of clinically significant cancer is equivocal).  Why can’t they spell out the results in plain English?

So with those equivocal results in hand (and a family history) the urologist wanted to go to the next step: biopsy.  To be honest, before I got the call, that is what I expected him to do.  My father always used to say: “most men will die WITH prostate cancer, not from it.”  Which is exactly what he did.  The prostate cancer, even though his was extremely aggressive (Gleason 9), did not kill him.  He was able to successfully treat the cancer.

I don’t think I slept at all the two nights prior to the procedure.  The waiting for Monday morning was eating me up.  Cancer runs in my family, Stewart died of cancer, and my mom has battled breast cancer.  So you can imagine all the thoughts running through my brain.  The unknown of what it would feel like to have them biopsy me certainly played a part, and I can confidently say, it wasn’t terrible, but I would not recommend it to anyone unless necessary!

Now it is Thursday, and I have been waiting for three years for the results (you mean it's really only been three days?)  Sure there is still some fear, but to be honest, I am comfortable with whatever the results may be.  What I am anxious about is the path forward.  The waiting is the hardest part.  At the same time I know that whatever happens, I will take it on faith, and know that I walk this journey not alone.  And for all of you that are also on this journey, I have a whole new appreciation of you. I love you all!

My brothers, if you are of a certain age (😉😉) go and get your PSA checked.  It is a very simple blood test.  

Yes, I am slowly becoming WOKE, thank you Jesus!

I went straight from High School to University (majored in History and Political Science) and upon graduation I immediately went to Divinity School (Duke Divinity).  In June of 2022 I retired after serving churches in Indiana.  I served rural churches, county seat churches, urban and suburban churches.  Much has changed during those years.  

When I first started serving as a solo pastor at a church in 1984 (prior helping start a campus ministry and doing field education), the church was the center of the community.  In many ways, it was the community.  Sure there were sports (particularly High School), but the church took precedence  Sunday was sacred, and in many communities so was Wednesday evenings.  The schools did not have events happening on either of those days, but by 1990 or so, things began to change.  First, Wednesday evening began to have school programming.  That was not a significant deal, since my church did not have Wednesday evening services, but the Baptist churches in town tried to raise a stink, and to be honest, we all just sat on our hands and said nothing but: “Oh well.”  

Before we knew it, bitty basketball and baseball practices were being scheduled on Sunday mornings.  While most of the churches in town were not happy, by then the cat was out of the bag, and there was nothing we could do.  As my girls grew, they often came to church in their soccer uniforms and left quickly to get to their Sunday morning games that were held throughout NW Indiana.  I either missed their games, or hustled over after church was concluded and watched in my suit and tie.

While those changes were inconvenient, they pointed to a bigger transition that was taking place.  The “church” was no longer central.  Oh sure, we talked a good game, but incrementally the church (and the role of the clergy) became relegated to the sidelines.  The sex abuse cases of the 80’s and beyond really accelerated this change.  The institution, instead of dealing with its problem, shuffled the guilty clergy around where they often continued their behavior.  In the local communities, clergy who were once revered were now looked at like lawyers or used car salesmen.

Instead of confronting those changes, some in the church decided that the best approach was to buy into the political climate and seek power.  Thus we saw the rise of the “moral” majority and other such interest groups.  I remember getting a packet sent to me every year around election time so that I could appropriately instruct my congregation on which candidates were the “correct” ones.  Thus began the politicization of the church.

But what really changed was the recent rise of “using” the church to meet a political candidate's agenda which often did not align with the message of Jesus.  Any pastor who spoke out against this agenda with the words of Jesus was seen as being political, while the other candidate just stood and smiled.

Today, many in the church have no longer any idea what the message of Jesus really is.  Instead we are being told that putting ourselves and our families first is the ideal, and Jesus' message of putting ourselves third is lost in all the noise.

For me, Jesus' message is clearly defined by what Scot McNight, and many others call the “Jesus Creed”: “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

The second place I look is the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), a series of statements and blessings spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to encourage all Christians in how to live their life in practical and powerful ways.  The last time I preached a series on this, I received comments from people complaining about my applying them to today’s situation (and it was not during an election cycle).  

The truth is, we (as Christians) no longer want to walk the way of Jesus but would rather ascribe to statements of belief as if that is all that Jesus wants or expects of us.  As long as I say YES to Jesus being Lord, then I think I have salvation and my life and how I live it doesn’t really matter.  Saying YES is important, but one cannot say yes, and still not care for the least, the last and the lost; and really mean YES.  If the Yes doesn’t change me (or at least begin the process of change — I think that is called being woke), I am not really following Jesus.

Until we once again embrace Jesus and his powerful message of transformation, not just of individuals but of society we will continue to see the marginalization of the church in our society and in the world.  We must examine closely our motives and desires to see if they align with Jesus.