Hacking Christianity

God is no longer male...if you want.

There's usually a debate over inclusive language in the worship service, liturgy, or hymnody. In an established congregation, moving them to use an inclusive version of a hymn or the Lord's Prayer takes a lot of time and grace. In new or planted congregations, using inclusive language from the get-go usually makes for a smooth transition as people know if they attend that congregation that this version will be used.

I do respect that for some people, using the traditional language and masculine references to God are deeply personal and comfortable. There's also the orthodox position which holds tradition and biblical references sacrosanct so changing the gender is out of the question for them. Thus movements towards inclusive language of God and humanity have a lot of conversation partners!

To this chasm, I think the Scottish Episcopal Church has a good way of going about it: exploring non-masculine language liturgies as an option for priests who want to use them.

The new form of worship, which removes words such as "Lord, he, his, him" and "mankind" from services, has been written by the church in an attempt to acknowledge that God is "beyond human gender". Episcopalian bishops have approved the introduction of more "inclusive" language, which deliberately removes references suggesting that God is of male gender.
...
The alterations have been made to provide an alternative to the established 1982 Liturgy, which, like the Bible, refers to God as a man. The new order of service, which can be used by priests if they have difficulties with a male God, has been produced by the church's Liturgy Committee in consultation with the Faith & Order Board of General Synod and the College of Bishops.

There's no top-down dictation of "this is how your service should be run." There's no throwing away of tradition in churches that want to hold tight to the traditional liturgy. Instead there's official blessing for an alternative order of worship and liturgy that allow priests and worship leaders to use them if they choose.

What's wrong with exploring the different liturgies and presenting them as options? As United Methodists, we have four version of the Word and Table: some with music, some with long liturgies. Why not one with inclusive language for those that want it?

Thoughts about alternative liturgies that you don't HAVE to use but are made with official blessing for the diversity of the church body?

(picture credit: Womanist Musings)

Bohemian Star Wars Rhapsody

There are some days that I RT anything Star Wars that my google reader spits at me. Usually I wait to make it not seem obvious that I'm RTing, but this one is just incredible I can't wait. BIG hat tip to Prof. McGrath and Locusts and Honey. (edit: originally attributed to John the Methodist...thanks Matt for catching the false attribution)

It's a parody of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen with Star Wars content. They walk through the entire prequel trilogy in various stages of drama of the song.

Favorite line: "Mace Windu No!"

Brilliant, eh?

The Lord's Prayer, Aramaic Peshitta version

I'm doing a wedding for a couple in two months and they requested a different version of the Lord's Prayer than I've seen before. The footnote states that it is "adapted from a literal translation of Matthew 6:9-13 from the Aramaic Peshitta text." Check it out:

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Our Creator who is everywhere, let Your name be set apart,
Your spirit come. Let Your desire be, as in the universe, also on earth.
Provide us our needful bread from day to day
and free us from our offenses, as also we have freed our offenders.
And do not let us enter into temptation, but separate us from error.
For to You belong the kingdom, the power, and the song and praise, from all ages throughout the ages. Amen.

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Thoughts?

Random: HTML5 , Google Chrome, and Ministry

This is an INCREDIBLE experience. If you have Google Chrome as your browser, check out this website and input an address in a major city. It's a really neat experience.

Can you imagine the immersive effect this could have on a church website?

(h/t John Saddington "Church Crunch")

Gospel Ewok Song

This is why the Internet was born. There's even a cameo sermon by Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). It's magic.

(h/t Prof. McGrath "Exploring Our Matrix")

[Followup WWJB] Then you might be a...

Faithful readers will remember the discussion of the church in Florida that is hosting a Qur'an-burning day in a few weeks. We talked about their lack of hospitality or understanding of the issue (What Would Jesus Burn?).

Well....it got better. Or worse.

They accepted the help of a Christian Militia group called "Right Wing Extreme" to help with security for the event. The Militia was going to send anywhere from 500-2000 gun-toting members to its defense. Violence to the Qur'an begats violent calls to arms it seems.

But then today, the group decided to cut ties with the event:

“Right Wing Extreme has pulled support for the International Burning of the Koran day and will not attend the event,” the group announced in a 1:50 a.m. press release on its website. “After much thought and prayer the organization’s leadership determined this event does not glorify GOD in way that leads the lost to Jesus Christ.”
The group, which bills itself in the release as an “armed Christian conservative group,” says they got started in April 2009 after a department of Homeland Security report called “Right Wing Extremism,” which highlighted the radical far right’s revitalization since President Barack Obama took office.
The group considers Islam a “cult” and blasts the President for his support of the Park51 Islamic center which a Muslim group plans to build near Ground Zero in New York. But they do not think burning Islam’s holy scripture will solve any problems.
“Dove World Outreach are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” the release says. “However we ask that they not hold this event for the reason that it may diminish the work of the Holy Spirit to witness to Muslims.”
The release also quoted James 1:19: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Here's the lesson for today, and I think it is a true one. I'll put it in big caps.

If a militia decides you are too radical, then you might be on the wrong path.

I suspect we've got a Pharaoh situation where the pastor and church have hardened their hearts beyond the point of backing down. But I'm certainly in prayer that their violent act will not escalate to the injury of anyone else, and I'm thankful for the militia group deciding to not participate in the escalation.

Is the Church too big to fail?

Oklahoma clergy have been assigned to read "Restoring Methodism" by Drs. Molly & James Scott in preparation for a retreat with them in late September. Given that I was previously from a different area of the country, I happen to have attended the Scotts' seminar before and am familiar with their arguments and recommendations.

In re-reading the book during some idle moments today, I noted one argument that I'm unsure is valid.

On page 31, the Scotts write about why it is important to restore Methodism to its roots and originating practices:

Restoration is the answer because it is unthinkable that God would abandon the institutionalized churches in America, as they compromise the vast majority - up to 90% - of the Christians in this country.

I am unsure this as "unthinkable." God has done this before. God had abandoned the Chosen People to decades of attrition (the 40 years post-Exodus), disowned the stubborn nations (Jeremiah 3:8), and allowed its assimilation into other cultures (Pharisaic Judaism v. Roman Hellenism). God also allowed the destruction of the Temple and the Jews found much meaning and refocus in the Diaspora that they wouldn't likely have found otherwise.

God has done this before, taken away what we thought was "too big to fail." Can we really dismiss the horrifying thought that the Church as an institution has a time limit as well?

Perhaps the Scotts meant that numerical decline is not in God's plan for the Church. That's a valid interpretation, I think. But Jesus had multitudes following him, was an icon for church growth...but after his hard sermons, he was left with 12. Failure, right?

Further, the Scotts counter their own argument themselves on page 53:

It was not unusual for Mr. Wesley to examine a Society with 800 members and leave them with 400 members.

So it is OK for the institutional church to shrink but not be destroyed? But isn't restoring Methodism about reversing the shrinking trend? Huh.

To be clear, I'm not advocating a burn-it-down-and-start-over reform...this blog would be called "Reformatting Christianity" if I did. I'm as committed to righting the institutional church as the next pastor.

But I do have to assume that it could be God's plan that the church burn to the ground and be risen from the ashes in a fiery Phoenix. And I have to wonder how best I could be an instrument of grace in the interim.

God is sovereign. Let's not place anything (even the unthinkable) beyond God's possibilities, and seek instead to be instruments of God's grace no matter what may come next.

Thoughts?