Straight Speaking Express,

Writing the Eulogy of Seminary Education

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:11:00 GMT

The Rev Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. offers up some great thoughts regarding the potential demise of seminary education and the demands of those called to ministry in THIS ARTICLE on Patheos.com.

One of his main concerns is the devaluing of education by denominations - by not having high standards for those entering ministry, not paying for a significant portion of their education, having students take on clerical responsibilities before they are ready and, in some cases, making seminary education optional which begs the question of many, “Why incur the expense and inconvenience of seminary if it isn’t required of others?”

Denominations have left seminarians to pay for their educations, saddling them with debt that they cannot comfortably repay because beginning salaries for clergy are often below the poverty level. And, at the same time, they have offered alternative routes to ordination bypassing seminary entirely, leaving those who do go to wonder why they worked so hard to accomplish the same goal. What we will never know is how many prospective clergy are lost because they conclude that if the ministry is something you can do without preparation it isn’t really worthy of their attention.

Schmidt is also concerned that denominations are merely hoping enough new clergy are produced to fill the ever-shrinking open positions as older clergy retire. It isn’t a model of growth, it’s a model of least resistance.

But denominations aren’t his only target. Schmidt criticizes seminaries for hiring instructors with more academic than pastoral/practical ambition. True, he notes, there’s no excuse for a graduate education to lack academic rigour, but the end-game for seminary graduates is ministering to the needs of real people and translating historic wisdom into contemporary application. Theory is fine, but the resulting practice has to impact the lives of people in congregations.

Now Schmidt is an Episcopal priest, and from my seminary education I can say that the requirements were much higher for my Episcopal classmates than they were for those of us in the United Church of Christ. Though I had Greek, Hebrew and Clinical Pastoral Education courses, they were not required for my ordination. The UCC has recently adopted a “multiple paths to ministry” policy that allows local Associations to decide the requirements for ordination within their region.

Some of those Associations may choose not to require seminary, or even not to require any college education, prior to ordination. This is a major problem, according to Schmidt, in that sending ministers who are unprepared to deal with the complexities of modern life is a disservice to the church.

I often tell my students, “If you were laying in the operating room and some one bounded in and declared, ‘Hi, I’m Fred, and I don’t know a thing about anatomy or the practice of medicine, but I just love the idea of serving God through surgery,’ you would use your remaining moments of consciousness to roll off the gurney and claw your way down the hall.

A larger question may be whether the lowering of clerical education standards, and Schmidt’s assertion of confusion within the ranks of seminaries, happened before or after denominational financial decline.

The elephant-in-the-room questions for me is, “Are denominations lowering their standards in response to their declining revenue or is it a response to the inability of clergy candidates to afford seminary education?”

Thankfully, rather than merely criticize the current state of seminary education, Schmidt offers some good food for thought on how denominations, seminaries and clergy candidates can work together to produce better prepared clergy.

Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:01:36 GMT

Yep, that’s the headline on a recent article by Phil Zuckerman at The Huffington Post.

His premise is based on his read of the results from a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that he says statistically proves what social scientists have previously claimed: “White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus.”

Zuckerman really digs into the evangelical zeal for “loving” Jesus as a savior, but not so much in his teachings of mercy, forgiveness and communal responsibility:

Before attempting an answer, allow a quick clarification. Evangelicals don’t exactly hate Jesus — as we’ve provocatively asserted in the title of this piece. They do love him dearly. But not because of what he tried to teach humanity. Rather, Evangelicals love Jesus for what he does for them. Through his magical grace, and by shedding his precious blood, Jesus saves Evangelicals from everlasting torture in hell, and guarantees them a premium, luxury villa in heaven. For this, and this only, they love him. They can’t stop thanking him. And yet, as for Jesus himself — his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill — most Evangelicals seem to have nothing but disdain.

Provocative food for thought on the collusion of conservative political, religious and social thought…

Darkwood Brew (You May Not Like It)

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:31:31 GMT

I had the pleasure of visiting the Darkwood Brew online-interactive faith service last weekend.

The service is a mix of a real face-to-face church service in a coffee shop, online web streaming of a live “show”, and an interactive social-media experience via Facebook at the streaming site.

Very impressive. Much like a live TV show, the coffee shop is buzzing with a floor manager, two handheld cameras, two fixed mount cameras, cable handlers, technical producers, etc. The backroom is a fairly sophisticated media studio where the director and a technician call the show with all the necessary goodies.

The Rev. Eric Elnes makes last minute adjustments to the service flow prior to the live broadcast of Darkwood Brew from the Common Grounds coffee shop at Countryside Community UCC in Omaha, Neb.

On the other hand, it is a real church service held at Countryside Community UCC in Omaha, Neb. Real people are there participating with a real pastor, the Rev. Eric Elnes. It’s a casual environment with lounge chairs, tall tables and an espresso bar. Live (excellent) jazz music is interwoven through the service, prayers are said, scripture is read and reflected upon, a sermon is given, guest speakers appear and communion is shared.

What is completely different though is the online and interactive nature of Darkwood Brew. The special guest speaker was live via Skype. Prayers and questions came through social-media chats. Video introduction and examples were delivered on flat-screen TVs throughout the seating area and via the live stream.

It is a great experiment in what church might look like in a social-media driven world. Not abandoning tradition – in some cases restoring ancient traditions – while embracing our current realities and looking toward the future. It seems to me this is something that courageous Christians have been doing through each phase of “reformation” the church has experienced.

We’ll be doing a story on the service in the upcoming issue of StillSpeaking Magazine so, if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe so you get this great story.

The trip was also personally rewarding. I’ve known Eric Elnes for several years though we’ve never met. The Darkwood Brew technical producer, Scott Griessel, and I have been working together for some time too – he’s a regular photo ansd story contributor to StillSpeaking Magazine and has done some video assignments for me in Arizona – though we’d never met either.

It was great to have face-time with these friends. We all commented that, though our first time meeting, we were so familiar with one another that it didn’t seem that way. Pretty cool – and a testimony to the power of social media that has enabled us to be friends prior to meeting.

Check out the Darkwood Brew archives on Vimeo and tune in Sunday evenings at 6pm EST/5pm CST for a really unique and prophetic experience.

Love your enemies (do I have to?)

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:33:23 GMT

I count myself as someone who has very few enemies. Well, at least those who will admit to my face that they dislike me or those who I personally don’t care for.

Though there is one person, who I had almost forgotten until today, who was a real pain in the past. It was another minister who did a lot of harm in my congregation – saying misleading things about me to former parishioners of his who attended the church I was leading. This pattern of behavior continued into abusive behavior in a church where I had once served and then into our local association where he spread doubts about me, or so I was told by a close friend.

Now this was really weird to me as I had never really talked to this person beyond a formal introduction. We had never dialoged about church, former parishioners, or serving the same congregation – though at different times. We had no relationship and he had no understanding of me that could justify trying to malign me in the sight of others.

Then I heard other unsolicited accounts of him doing the same against other pastors in our area. I felt sad for him – how desperately insecure he must be to have a pattern of putting others down and exalting himself to feel good. How pitiful he was to concoct stories and mislead people, all for the sake of wooing them to like him or continue to feel an affinity for him long after what is considered a reasonable pastor-parishioner relationship had ended.

What a loser. For no reason known to me, he declared me his enemy – and I reciprocated.

Today I received a “prayer chain” email from a church I served while I was a student in seminary. I’m friends with the current pastor and we stay in touch on a number of levels. Many in the congregation know the pastor who sent the prayer request too, as he served this congregation for a short time between my leaving and the current pastor arriving.

The prayer chain contained a heartfelt plea for this man’s daughter-in-law who has just lost a baby in the first trimester of pregnancy because of terrible infection. Her infection is so widespread that her body shut down, nearly to the point of death. Today she began breathing on her own but her condition is anything but stable.

Seeing his name in the first sentence of the email, I almost deleted the message, not wanting to hear his concern. Reading further, the fleeting thought ran through my head that his email was a ruse – a miserable ploy to solicit empathy.

I’m not proud, but that’s what happens when you consider someone your enemy.

If that were the end of the story, I wouldn’t be writing this. I would have packed my pride suitcase and have moved onto the next thing in my day – forgetting all about his email and request for prayer.

But thankfully, that isn’t the end of the story. As I read the plight of this young family – husband, toddler, grandparents, extended family and friends – I couldn’t help but place myself in a similar situation.

I remember when my son Gus was born at 25 weeks and needed three months of hospitalization. I remember a miscarriage 15 months prior to Gus’ birth. I remember my father-in-law dying in a tragic car accident.

At those times and in those places I am certain that hundreds – even thousands – of people were praying for me and my family. We were notified that request for prayer had gone out on prayer chain email and phone networks all around the world.

No doubt among those praying were a few of my enemies.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44-45)

When I took a few moments to pray for the needs of this family today – for healing, for excellence in medical care, for the support of friends – I could have prayed begrudgingly or out of duty. Yet somehow I found it in myself to pray for those I’m connected to by a shared humanity and faith.

It’s a stretch sometimes. To back away from pride and hurt and approach another person – even one who has harmed you for no apparent reason – and see the God in them, see the humanity in them, see them for the brokenness that exists in us all.

I doubt that this pastor and I will be friends any time soon. But at least on my account, I’m pretty sure I have one less enemy.

Final day in Mungeli

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:42:40 GMT

We awake and barely have time for a second cup of coffee before being called to the operating room again. A c-section.

The mother has had one boy, now three years old, and two still births. Dr. Anil Henry arrives and puts on his surgical gown. Again, a short prayer and a compassionate look in the mother’s eyes before he begins to operate.

In no time the baby is out, squirming and wailing. It really was amazing.

Seconds after deliver, a healthy baby girl rests on her mother's legs as Dr. Henry and a surgical assistant cut the chord.

The last time I fully saw a c-section was almost five years ago when my son, Magnus, was born at 25 weeks under very different circumstances.

Shane Robert’s other daughter, 17 year-old Marcee, was present for the entire delivery. It was touching to see her holding the mother’s hand and stroking her head.

A quick clean of the baby and she is shown to mother before being taken outside to see the family. A grandmother flashes a quick grin and grabs the baby. The people here, at least in Mungeli, are rather stoic about their babies. The mother didn’t ask about the sex of the baby or even to see her. Other than the brief smile of the grandmother, the family seems emotionless.

Shane Robert’s wife, Lisa, is in India for a few months working on a study project that is asking what the emotional effects of still-birth are among Indian women. Given the stoic responses to many life situations, the results of her study will be very interesting.

Clean up and off to Medical Sunday church service. The Rev. Kelly Brill delivers the message, again thanking and encouraging the staff of the hospital for their gifts to us. Lots of singing – all in Hindi – and a recognition of staff along with prayers.

Out the door, we are shuttled to a sugar cane processing site about 30 minutes out of Mungeli. The cane is crushed to extract the juices then boiled in three different vats, being scooped from vat to vat as each batch thickens. The result is jaggery, a hard brown sugar candy that tastes like molasses. It is found in the market stalls and stores here, both as a treat and to use in cooking.

Jaggery (sugar cane block) production outside Mungeli, India.

Eating it fresh and warm from the pan, before it fully hardens was pretty awesome!

Back to the hospital and off to market quickly – some of the places we wanted to visit are closed so we head back early. Then working on an article and a few other things like clothes and packing, before heading to the Henry’s for our going away party tonight.

We head to Delhi in the morning and I have no idea what the Internet situation will be at our hotel, so I’ll post as much as I can before we leave and update when it is possible.

No Internet!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:41:56 GMT

We’ve been without Internet in India for 36 hours! Seems like a lifetime…

Lots of pictures to update from two days, so will be posting them soon – life around the hospital, a trip to market in Mungeli and the Rambo English School mele (school fair.) You can find the photos from Feb 11, 2011 on Flickr.

Blocks of molasses candy at the open-air market in Mungeli, India.

I was able to spend a good deal of time shadowing Dr. Anil Henry – rounds, office hours, and at least six surgeries. I’ll spare you the gory details but hope my photos tell the story of a hospital doing amazing work in sometimes difficult conditions.

Time for bed here in India – I’ll write more in the morning.

Chapel and interviews!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 14:28:01 GMT

My morning for delivering the message chapel – Philippians 2:1-5. “Make my joy complete by having the same mind as Christ.”

I get the question, as did the group from Avon Lake UCC, “Why go visit mission partners around the world?” Then follows, “Could you use the money you’re spending on travel for something better?”

We could use the money for something different, but I doubt it would be better. Long gone are the days of people going to visit mission partners and thinking they are “bringing” anything to people in far-off countries. Sure, we brought suitcases full of materials for the hospital and gifts for the school children, but we have received much more than can ever be fit into a suitcase.

We have seen people imitating Christ – the compassionate healer, the passionate teacher, the dedicated friend and the one who saw the needs of the whole person. We have experienced extravagant hospitality and seen the happiness of people dedicated to serving “the least of these” in India. In short, our joy has been made complete.

Following chapel and a snack, we are off to morning rounds again. The malaria patient has made it through the night and is a bit more stable. The boy who had a nasal blockage removed flashes Dr. Henry a smile. The girl with the burns is doing incredibly well. The amputee from last night is conversing with the doctors. The woman who had jaw surgery is trying to move around.

Individually, these are medical cases following a proscribed path for recovery. Collectively – it seems miraculous that so much healing happens so quickly.

I finally get time after rounds to sit down and interview Dr. Teresa Henry, then Anil for a while. I visit Anil’s parents in the physiotherapy room while other Avon Lake UCC folks hang posters around the hospital and help mount winches to the jeeps for use during the muddy season.

Two more surgeries this afternoon before I can get back to interviews. An obstructed prostrate is opened with a minimally invasive resectoscope surgery. Then a large non-healing infection is removed and cleaned from a woman’s leg.

Back from interviews I find that my photos from yesterday are corrupted on the camera card! A few hours later and the purchase of Phoenix Photo Recovery software and I’m back in business – 350 photos restored – WHEW!

Another long day – finally got my interviews! I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening.

Surgery

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:19:49 GMT

I woke up in the middle of the night and updated some pictures before feeling like I was going to toss cookies. I didn’t but went back to bed – still with a stomach ache, headache and now with alternating chills and sweats.

Must have fallen asleep at some point but woke up feeling awful again. Ambled downstairs to get some coffee before chapel and suddenly (really suddenly) started feeling better. Had another cup of coffee and within about 15 minutes felt pretty normal again.

“Hi, my name is Gregg,” said Gregg Brekke. “Hi Gregg,” said the gathered anonymous. “And I’m a coffee addict…,” Gregg continued, telling his story of hitting rock bottom one night in Mungeli, India. Heads nodding and compassion filled faces flashing knowing smiles, the anonymous welcomed Gregg onto the long road known as recovery.

To heck with that – give me coffee!

My “illness” was caffeine withdrawal. I had only drank a few cups of chai tea in the previous 72 hours and my body needed a hit of sweet caffeine. Yes, I’m an addict.

Illness solved, I joined the hospital staff for rounds. It is really amazing to see the progress patients make over time. I’ve done hospital visitation as a pastor, but normally within the limited view of one patient being treated. To see the dozens of patients at Christian Hospital, Mungeli each day is a unique treat and an encouragement of the work being done here.

Many have suffered horrible tragedies – amputations, burns, farm accidents, etc. – but with a hearty slap on the back and a little banter, Dr. Anil Henry puts them at ease and encourages them along with their recovery. Family members are usually at the bedside and he instructs them on care they can provide including food and other necessities.

When we arrived there were a few very serious injuries including a young girl who had been burned over much of her body, a woman with a cancerous jaw and an amputee. All have made good progress.

On the evening we were returning from Bissamcuttack, Anil received a call that a woman with HIV was refused admittance to the hospital because of fears of contamination. He made some calls and the woman was admitted – here is a photo of her and her beautiful daughter.

Anil knows that training and education are great needs in the hospital. Procedure and education will overcome the fears that still exist for treating patients with certain conditions. The woman in this case had been turned away from every other hospital in the region and she desperately needed help with her delivery.

I am humbled to say that I saw the dedication of Drs. Anil and Teresa Henry in offering an “extravagant welcome” to everyone “no matter where they are on life’s journey.” Their resolve to be a rational and compassionate presence in the middle of a culture who still exhibits much fear of HIV, among other diseases, is one reason why their work is so important.

Following rounds, a quick trip to town and observing a surgery where a tumorous nasal blockage was removed from a young boy, I arrived at Rambo English School for “melee” – the annual school fair.

Three hours of games and food! I was glad my stomach was back to normal because the food stalls were awesome – personal specialties prepared by school teachers and nurses. A super-hot Chinese style dish, something like hush-puppies, potato cakes and a succulent desert of deep-fried bread, sweetened condensed milk, brown milk, coconut, almonds and raisins. Heavenly.

I ate one of everything – and it was a good thing because there would be no time for dinner this Friday night. Back to the room for a quick shower and change before being called to observe more surgeries.

Now I’m no medical professional, but I consider myself pretty informed on anatomy and basic medical practices. I’m not grossed out by blood or body parts. Plus, I watch CSI a lot so I have that going for me.

Two surgeries are scheduled tonight that would test my resolve.

As a pastor, I am trained to personify those in need. Rather than see a condition, pastors are trained to see the person and tend to their spiritual, emotional and physical needs (not necessarily in that order.)

As a journalist, I am trained to objectify my subjects. Rather than getting involved with the personal, journalists are trained to seek the facts.

Melding these two is a challenge. My journalist side can look at almost any situation without an emotional response. True, the response may be latent and repressed, but while seeking the facts, it is a great skill to be able to “go Spock” for the purposes of keeping enough emotional distance so you can effectively gather information.

But no journalist – trained in pastoral care or not – can every fully separate themselves from the emotional pull of the human condition. I struggle with this balance, especially as a journalist for a denomination, every day.

First up was a patient with an ulcer in the small intestine, near the exit from the stomach. Dr. Samuel performed the surgery with assistance from the Danish students. It was a difficult to find ulcer, but being septic (fluid flowing in and out of the intestine) it was a needed surgery.

Hanna, one of the Danish medical students, laughed at me for wincing as Dr. Samuel tugged on part of the stomach to reveal and release the small intestine. I told her I was just glad it wasn’t me!

Dr. Samuel made quick work of repairing the ulcer and supervised the closure by the other student, Marie.

While the patient was being prepared for transfer to recovery, Dr. Anil Henry was scrubbing in for the second surgery – a mid-calf amputation of a gangrenous right foot. The patient had not received treatment for a foot injury and the infection had progressed rapidly.

Hmmm – hadn’t expect to see this!

Anil explained the surgery to those attending and me as the patient was given a spinal injection to numb his body. Prior to putting hand to scalpel, Anil placed his hands on the patient and prayed – not a long prayer but a prayer, for lack of other terms, that could be felt in the room like a gentle wave.

Working with medical student Hanna, Dr. Henry began the cuts that would leave skin below the bone cut to allow for a “stump” to be created for prosthetic placement. Cauterization, suturing veins and arteries, and cutting bone with a wire saw followed. Foot removed and bleeding stopped, Dr. Henry and Hanna wrapped the remaining leg to allow ensure there is no infection prior to suturing it closed.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention – Shane Robert’s 15 year-old daughter, Thea, was in the operating theater to assist! Those are experiences she’ll never forget.

Wheeling the patient up to recovery, we were informed that a patient had just been received who was assumed dead-on-arrival. Not the case! He had an advanced case of malaria and his vital signs were so weak they were barely detected.

One of the Indian intern doctors had figured out that he was barely alive and took him to intensive care to begin treatment with quinine and something to prevent seizures. When we arrived, he was still convulsing with eyes rolled up in his head. The patient’s throat had swollen so Dr. Henry placed a device in his mouth to clear his airway along with an NG tube for feeding.

It’s 10:30pm. Time for a game of “Betty Ford” charades with the rest of our group after a quick shower.