Frank Moore

Overcome by Our Love

A story on the morning news caught my ear this week as I got dressed for work.  Sixty major national-chain television advertisers – I mean the heavy hitters with the big bucks, not the late-night, low-budget guys – are pulling their support from The Learning Channel’s weekly program All-American Muslim.  The show looks into the lives of Muslim families living in Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb which is reported to have a 30% Muslim population.  

Those who criticize the show have successfully appealed to advertisers to pull their support, alleging that the program is un-American and calls America’s traditional values into question.  Those who support the show say it does nothing more than cast a spotlight on the daily lives of Muslim families living, working, and raising their children in this country.  What’s more, supporters say the First Amendment and the Constitution protects freedom to practice religion as anyone sees fit; that's what America is all about.

A Charitable Accommodation

Usually when I sit at my computer to put my thoughts to paper for the Epworth Pulpit I write about something which excites me in some way.  I have no trouble making my point and giving you several illustrations of it.  This is not one of those times!  Today’s contribution comes as much as a reminder to me as it might be to you.  In fact, I think I might even surprise myself with some of the things I am about to say.  This is not one of those articles that has been burning in my heart, just waiting for the right opportunity to share with you.  Rather, its message hit me unexpectedly; I’ve been pondering it for days.

The catalyst for this article came from a tearful conversation I had last week with the mother of one of our university students.  Her words floored me, to say the least.  In order for you to understand the impact of her words, let me tell you two unrelated stories.  These two stories will soon converge in an interesting way.

Story #1.  A young man moved to our campus to start college this fall in answer to many prayers.  His story fits the classic model of a young person still seeking his way spiritually, needing a fresh start, away from home for the first time, and ending up providentially at our university.  I got the word that he was coming our way after he was already packed and on the road.  His was one of those situations where we wanted desperately for all the pieces of life’s puzzle to come together quickly for him.  We wanted all of his classes to go well; we wanted him to make friends quickly; we wanted him to get involved in campus life and like it!

Break into Song!

Department store window displays, music in the elevator, and holiday lights on the street lamp poles of our town all remind us that the Advent Season is upon us.  We Christians certainly recognize the spiritual meaning of the season.  We often wonder, however, if culture in general knows what Advent is all about.  Does the average man or woman in the store look past the decorations and holiday parties to contemplate the deeper meaning of the season?

A video currently finding its way around the internet offers insight into this question.  The video was shot in a crowed Philadelphia Macy's department store on October 30, 2010.  Seemingly without warning the Wanamaker organ, the world's largest pipe organ, began playing as shoppers broke forth singing "The Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah.  Every aisle of every floor of the store resounded with echoes of this holiday classic.  What a sight and sound!  Not exactly what you'd expect to see and hear at your local department store.  For a few brief minutes the voices of total strangers united in declaration of the true message of the Advent season.  Time seemed to stop as shoppers shared this unique moment together.

Finding the Line

I'm teaching a class this semester to graduate and senior religion students entitled: 21st Century Trends in Theology. And, I'm having the time of my life. I can remember the day when my professors walked into the classroom with handouts containing lists of heretical statements and positions of contemporary Christian thinkers and writers. We were taught how to listen for the code words these folks used and how to discern when they drifted into unorthodox waters.

A lot has changed since I was a college and graduate student. Rather than providing handouts, most professors these days place information into Power point presentations and drop them into an electronic folder on the internet. Many of my students download the Power points before coming to class and take their notes right on the screen pages of their computer. My how technology has changed the way we do higher education!

Magic Words from a Kangaroo

Like a lot of people my age, I grew up strongly influenced by Captain Kangaroo.  I hardly missed an episode and waited with anxious anticipation for the next installment of the series.  The Captain made my day!  He often referenced certain words which he called "magic words."  They weren't magic because he used them to perform slight-of-hand tricks like a magician.  They were magic because they encouraged viewers to treat others with respect and kindness.  The Captain insisted that Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose, and Mr. Greenjeans begin requests with the magic word "Please" and accept responses with "Thank You."  I suppose that was my introduction to the basic building blocks of civility for human interaction.

Mission Impossible

One of my favorite television series as a kid growing up was Mission Impossible.  I saw every episode more than once.  I know Hollywood has updated the concept in recent years with three new installments from Tom Cruise.  I'm not talking about that series; I'm talking about the black and white version.  I'm talking about the one without special effects, unless you count exploding reel-to-reel tape recorders!  The thing that kept me tuning in week to week was the notion of the Mission Impossible team taking on seemingly insurmountable odds to reach what seemed to be an impossible goal.  I never doubted their superhuman ability; I had confidence that within the next 60 minutes they would triumph, and the world would be safe again.

What is the Best Way?

We have focused our attention for the past few months on ways Christian believers assess their culture and relate to it.  Some believers find ways to successfully interact with culture as they encounter it on a daily basis.  Others prefer to withdraw from much of what culture has to offer and limit the flow of culture's influence on their lives.  Most of our attention in previous months has assumed that culture is the way it is and devised ways of relating to it on those terms.

But, what about Christians who seek to change their secular culture for the better?  What is the best way to do that?  I've been giving some thought to those questions in recent days as I have been looking at material we are discussing in my class on History of Christianity 2.  We began the course by looking at the Reformation era of Church history.  What caught my imagination on these questions about changing dominant culture was the different methods employed by a couple of the central figures of the Reformation.  I think their efforts can inform our approach today and offer us food for thought for our own efforts.

A Positive Influence on Culture

I am teaching a course this semester to our freshman honor students entitled Exploring Humanity through Film.  We watch films one night each week that illustrate key phrases of the Apostles Creed.  This week we watched The Mission by Roland Joffe.  Even though it premiered in 1986, its powerful message gives it holding power to the present.  The story takes place in the 1750s in South America where the present-day borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet.  If you know anything about that part of the world, you know the area is just upstream from the world-famous Iguaza Falls.

The plot line of the film chronicled the ministry of Jesuit missionaries working among the Guarani Indians.  I suppose the film intended to inform viewers of how missionaries and their outpost mission got caught in the winds of conflict brought on by the economic and political tug-of-war between Spain and Portugal for this land and its people.  That message came through loud and clear, and I understood it well.  The film left me with deep feelings of support for the missionaries and their converts who found themselves caught in this battle.  What's more, the film reminded me of the struggle that continues to this day between Christian ministry and geopolitics around the world.

And The Survey Says

An NBC News poll reached my desk today that has the news media abuzz.  This poll had the highest number of responses that NBC has ever received with a research question.  The question: "Should we keep the words "in God we trust" on our money and "under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance?  The American people affirmed with a resounding 86% positive response that we should keep references to God in both our pledge and on our money.

The overwhelmingly positive response to this poll pleases me.  At the same time, however, I stop and pause at another question.  That is, why are we as a culture questioning societal references to God in the first place? 

Better Felt

We've come full circle.  Over the past three months, we have considered the notion of our Christian faith from three different perspectives.  First, we talked about the importance of knowing for certain what we believe as we move further into an age of uncertainty.  Next, we talked about the importance of having a common vocabulary in declaring our faith.  Last month, we looked at the requirement of agreeing upon our vocabulary definitions.  This month I want us to consider drawing this discussion together with one more essential requirement for our Christian beliefs, especially as it relates to holiness.

A belief system with a common vocabulary and set of definitions will always top the list of requirements for articulating our Christian faith.  However, more than just talking about what we believe, we must also experience it.  Without personal experience, our belief system remains sterile and academic.