Happy Friday,
Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
The Prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 29:7
Though some think otherwise, our assignment is not to lord over the kingdoms of this world. It is a call to something much harder: to advance the love of God lovingly and sacrificially. This means being salt and light in this broken, strife-filled, and angry world that God loves. BTW, at the risk of sounding preachy, let me remind you that we are not to grow weary of doing good.
A Preview: On a Zoom call convened to help select the next leader of a foundation, the group was asked: What will the next president need to be prepared to deal with? Alongside the expected answers (diversity issues, Generation Alpha, unrest, China, climate change and political discord) were two I didn’t see coming: more mental health issues and institutional collapse.
The State of the Pastorate: I hear – but do not believe – the statistics about widespread pastoral burnout. Yes, it’s rough out there. And yes, more than a few pastors are running on fumes. But most of the ministry leaders I know are resilient. And in some settings – and in some ways – COVID made pastors’ lives easier. I am doing quite well, thanks for asking. I credit a great family, exceptional staff, and my foresight in grad school. I am so glad I signed up for, “Leading through Global Pandemics, Racial Strife and Political Polarization,” when it was offered thirty years ago.
Covid Winners: Having surged past its Corona competition, the Delta variant is enjoying fifteen minutes of Warholian fame. It makes me wonder when we’ll formally recognize another COVID winner: postmodernity (PM). Academic journals have been discussing the rise of PM for years, and generally agreeing on little. One of the debates has been over whether PM has eclipsed M in the West. I do not want to suggest that M has been squelched. Hardly. But it seems hard to imagine our current percentage of unvaccinated people if M was not seriously wounded. Two asides: 1) Though NFL training camps are about to begin, only thirteen of the thirty-two teams have reached the league’s eighty-five percent vaccination threshold. (The NFL does not plan on canceling any games this year due to COVID, but teams under the threshold will face additional travel and training restrictions); 2) The percentage of Americans who have a “great deal” of trust in the CDC is fifty percent.
COVID Winners 2.0: While we’re declaring winners, it’s worth saying something about the power of partisan politics. When Trump was president, the right favored vaccines while the left said, “No thanks.” As soon as Biden was elected, more than a few switched positions. Whether people see this or not, for many: politics > science. As an aside, while I line up with those who say, “trust the science,” for most of us that means trust the scientists. I took a fair bit of science in college, but I do not understand much of the science I am being asked to trust.
Quotes Worth Requoting: Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival. C.S. Lewis
Without Comment: 1) Optimism is down nearly twenty points since May, with fifty-five percent of the public now saying they are pessimistic about the direction of the country; 2) In 1990, thirty-three percent of us said we had ten or more close friends; in 2021, that number had fallen to thirteen percent; 3) Between July 17 and July 23, the Gun Violence Archive tracked 915 shooting incidents – i.e., one every twelve minutes; 4) Though Millennials – long cast as the great progressive hope – lean left, they aspire to become like their parents – i.e., married, living in the suburbs and embracing centrist politics; 5) Brisbane, Australia was recently selected as host of the 2032 games – which was not a surprise given that it was the only city that submitted a bid; 6) Forty-four precent of the US military comes from sixteen southern States; 7) The Oregon Association of Scholars reports that between 96 and 98 percent of all political donations made by the faculty of Oregon’s three largest public universities went to Democrats; 8) A conservative is seven percent more likely to want to travel to the past than to the future, while a liberal is seventy percent more likely to want to travel to the future than the past.
What’s Next: As cultural commentators look ahead, 1968 is getting more ink. As you may remember, that was the year when: JFK and MLK were assassinated, the Chicago Democratic Convention was disrupted by riots and North Koreans launched the TET Offensive. What followed ’68? Among other things, an explosion of conversions to Christ. As an aside, I understand why it is being suggested that the American Church “has lost its homefield advantage.” But I am starting to wonder if “the advantage” was really an advantage.
Question: What is the thing you are most worried about losing? What is the thing you are most worried about not attaining?
Resilience: I can hardly imagine two people with more physical strength per pound than Michael Phelps and Simone Biles. Their willingness to speak out on their mental health challenges is a good thing. But it does make me wonder about the resilience of today’s young. What is going on? How do we do better? BTW, I heard last week that some branches of the military are expanding boot camp from eight to ten weeks because today’s recruits need more time to pass the physical and mental requirements.
Closing Prayer: Teach me, O God, to use all the circumstances of my life today to nurture the fruits of the Spirit rather than the fruits of sin. Let me use disappointment as material for patience; Let me use success as material for thankfulness; Let me use anxiety as material for perseverance; Let me use danger as material for courage; Let me use criticism as material for learning; Let me use praise as material for humility; Let me use pleasures as material for self-control; Let me use pain as material for endurance. Amen (John Baillie – 1886 – 1960)