The Feast

What if Jesus really meant what he said? What would it mean if Christ-followers truly believed his message and chose to do daring things in the name of Jesus?

These questions and more are explored in a new book by a good friend of mine Josh Graves. He is a minister at Otter Creek Church in Nashville, TN and is currently finishing up his Doctor of Ministry degree at Columbia Seminary in Georgia. The name of his new book is The Feast: How to Serve Jesus in a Famished World and it is now available for purchase. I also recommend Josh's blog at www.joshuagraves.com.

Liberation Theology & Health Care

There are many voices in the health care debate. Many voices come from places of power and influence with much at stake to lose in the scuffle. One voice however comes from the margins because its voice rests among those who have no voice and who have already lost so much at the hands of the powerful. Liberation theology (as a formal theological discipline) originated in the 20th century from a brilliant priest still serving today in the Peruvian mountains among the poorest of the poor in that region of the world.

Liberation theology hinges on a fundamental belief: God has made a preferential choice on behalf of the poor & therefore it is the church's responsibility to do so as well. Liberation theology points to the numerous and repeated incidences in scripture where God chooses the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized for his work. He chooses widows, children, prostitutes, younger brothers, fishermen, uneducated, tax collectors, etc for his work. Jesus' incarnation was as a poor, homeless carpenter's son born on the backside of nowhere. God's preference for the poor and marginalized is a statement of solidarity with those society dehumanizes and deems less important. It is a choice to stand with the marginalized directly opposed to the cultural impulses that seek to strip people of their dignity.

Implications...(if the church were to take this seriously)

1. The church must identify those groups which are dehumanized by society, even if the church morally disagrees with them, and stand with them against the cultural oppression. This is easy(er) when we view the oppression context as the rich white man oppressing the poor black man. This is much more difficult when we look at other groups our society deems as less than human (i.e. homosexuals, those on welfare, etc.) and hear God calling us to stand with them against the societal impulse to reject them.
2. In any debate, it is the church's responsibility to insure the voice of the poorest of the poor is heard and heard well. When the marginalized are silenced by contemporary culture on issues that directly affect them and thus dehumanized, the church is to be the place where that voice is heard, listened to, and encouraged to be spoken.
3. In doing either of the above-mentioned options, the church risks (and fully expects to receive) the ire of both Christendom-bound churches as well as those in positions of power and influence. The church must be willing to engage passionately in pursuits of justice that place it directly in the line of fire from many sides. To reach this point requires a redefining of the good news of Jesus as the arrival of the kingdom of God rather than a simplistic opportunity for eternal destiny.
4. Regarding the health care debate specifically, I find myself in a difficult position. As a white male in a field of powerful, wealthy individuals I am part of a long line of oppressors now called to join the oppressed. Health care is an industry based on economics that does its best to avoid and repel the very people liberation theology (and much of scripture) call the most important. The implications of such a belief - not only on my own life but also hospital systems, medical companies, and the entire industry - shake the very foundations of this field called health care.

Liberation theology is very interesting to me. It is a discipline that is easy to agree with intellectually but very difficult to live out the implications of viewing Jesus, the church, and the world through its lens. I am new to the exploration of Liberation Theology but I hear rings of truth and gospel and passion for issues that matter within its community. As we go forward on the issue of health care and seeking the kingdom of god and his justice in all things, the voice of the poorest of the poor may in fact be the voice needed the most.

Blessings...

Partners in Health

Paul Farmer, MD is a very influential man who has spent most of his life at the intersection of medicine, social justice, anthropology, and politics. The majority of his work has been in Haiti though certainly not limited to there. A recipient of his medical degree (M.D.) as well as a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard, he started an organization called Partners in Health whose purpose is to provide a preferential health care for the poorest of the poor. PIH is now an international organization with active health care outposts in multiple continents. If you are interested the website is www.pih.org .

The model PIH uses when entering a country is based on these principles taken directly from their website.

1. Access to primary health care
A strong foundation of primary care is critical to successfully treating specific diseases, such as AIDS. People seek care because they feel sick, not because they have a particular disease. When quality primary health care is accessible, the community develops new faith in the health system, which results in increased use of general medical services as well as services for more complex diseases. Therefore, PIH integrates infectious disease interventions within a wide range of basic health and social services.

2. Free health care and education for the poor
The imposition of user fees has resulted in empty clinics and schools, especially in settings where the burden of poverty and disease are greatest. Because both health and education are fundamental routes to development, it is counterproductive (not to mention immoral) to charge user fees for health care and education to those who need these services most and can afford them least. PIH works to ensure that cost does not prevent access to primary health care and education for the poor.

3. Community partnerships
Health programs should involve community members at all levels of assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation. Community health workers may be family members, friends, or even patients who provide health education, refer people who are ill to a clinic, or deliver medicines and social support to patients in their homes. Community health workers do not supplant the work of doctors or nurses; rather, they are a vital interface between the clinic and the community. In recognition of the critical role they play, they should be compensated for their work. PIH doesn’t tell the communities we serve what they need—they tell us.

4. Addressing basic social and economic needs
Fighting disease in impoverished settings also means fighting the poverty at the root of poor health. Achieving good health outcomes requires attending to peoples’ social and economic needs. Through community partners, PIH works to improve access to food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, education, and economic opportunities.

5. Serving the poor through the public sector
A vital public sector is the best way to bring health care to the poor. While nongovernmental organizations have a valuable role to play in developing new approaches to treating disease, successful models must be implemented and expanded through the public sector to assure universal and sustained access. Rather than establish parallel systems, PIH works to strengthen and complement existing public health infrastructure.

The work of PIH has three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world.

As the debate continues, here is a voice on behalf of the poor for the sake of the poor that is not just rhetoric but passionate action.

Blessings...

Ask Bob

Ever since the debate (at least this go around) began over what to do with the health care crisis, I have had an undefinable churning in my stomach about both sides' arguments. I often have this sense of unrest and uneasiness about things until I find someone with a similar unrest but with the words to articulate it. On this issue, one of those people is my friend and cousin, Bob Lawrence. He is a man I respect greatly because of his passion for Jesus Christ but also because of his intellect and insight into issues that matter. He is a family medicine physician practicing in Nome, Alaska with his wife and four children. I recently Facebooked him to ask him his thoughts on the health care crisis. This is his reponse.

When you look at the details of what is being called reform, you'll see the parties are not talking about real reform of a system but of mere rescue of a failing system. I personally think it looks more like an insurance company bail out than any kind of re-forming of the way we provide health care.

Reform would mean going back to the drawing board. We would start with the center of health-care being the patient and the provider then we would re-build practices, hospitals, and services that guard the trusted relationship between the patient and the provider. If you peel away the layers of our current system you find that patients and providers exist only to support a business relationship between practices and third-party payers.

Regardless of where the reform discussion goes, remember that on the first day of medical school you married every patient that entrusts you with their care. Somewhere along the line, probably many times already, the third-party sirens of the insurance and medicare industry will lull your colleagues into an affair. Over the years, many docs find themselves trapped in a business relationship with these third-party payers wishing desperately they could return to their first love...the patient.

I personally think there is no good solution to the health care crises outside of Christ. The true problems result from greed in the hearts of men, and only the Lord can address that issue. This is why mission-minded hospitals, to the extent they stay mission-minded, seem to perservere.

Also remember that it really doesn't matter if we are more capitalistic in our heath-care system or more socialistic in our approach. In each case, someone will be discriminated against. A capitalistic system discriminates against the poor, but a socialistic system discriminates against those who cannot contribute to the society and therefore impoverished by status (the young, old, and handicap). In either case, a good government must ensure there are protections for those who cannot speak for themselves and would otherwise be discriminated against. In the absence of such protections, we must be the voice of the poor in policy discussions and keep an "option for the poor" in our practices.

More fuel for the fires of conversation that expose the darkness that envelops our world, our minds, and our hearts. Blessings...

Heart of the Matter

Brian McLaren blogged a couple weeks ago on Sojourners with a very challenging letter to all those, conservatives and liberals alike, regarding the spirit which people have entered into debate over health care reform. I hope you find it as insightful as I did. The actual post is on www.blog.sojo.net or can be found through the Sojourners website if you don't want to read this insanely long blog post :)

An Open Letter on Health Care to Conservative Christians in U.S.

Dear Friends,

Although today I would not call myself a political or social conservative, I am grateful for my heritage as an evangelical Christian: My faith is rooted in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I honor and seek to live in harmony with the scriptures, and I love to share the good news of God’s love with others. Since my teenage years when I decided to follow Jesus, I have pursued wholehearted discipleship, and my life has been shaped by that commitment. After completing graduate school and teaching college English, I became a church planter and pastor and served in the same congregation for 24 years.

But for almost that many years, I have been growing more and more deeply troubled by the way so many from my heritage in conservative Christianity – in its evangelical, charismatic, and Roman Catholic streams – have allowed themselves to be spiritually formed by various conservative political and economic ideologies. It’s been disturbing to see how many Christians have begun to follow and trust leaders who live more by political/media/ideological codes than by moral/spiritual/biblical ones.

As a result, I sometimes think that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Fox News may now influence many conservative evangelicals, charismatics, and Catholics more than Billy Graham, Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Pope Benedict, or even the four gospels.

Now in a free country, people certainly have the right to choose their ideology. But Christians of all sorts, I think we all can agree, have a special calling – to increasingly harmonize our lives (including our lives as citizens) with the teaching and example of Jesus. My concern is that many of my sisters and brothers, without realizing it, have begun seeing Jesus and the faith through the lens of a neo-conservative political framework, thus reducing their vision of Jesus and his essential message of the kingdom of God. As a result, too many of us are becoming more and more zealous conservatives, but less and less Christ-like Christians, and many don’t seem to notice the difference.

Thankfully, many Christian leaders are far more thoughtful and nuanced in their integration of faith and public life. They don’t jump on talk-radio’s latest conspiracy theory bandwagons, nor do they buy flippant talk of “death panels” or inappropriate comparisons to Hitler and so on. But still, so many of them remain silent about what’s going on, and thereby grant it tacit approval.

I too was silent for a long time during my years as a pastor. But during the lead-up to the Iraq War, as I saw how little discernment was being exercised regarding the moral logic of pre-emptive war, I began taking risks that I hadn’t taken before. I was similarly moved to speak out when, in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib, relatively few Christians in America took a stand against torture. (In fact, according to survey data, Southern white evangelicals were the group most likely to support doing unto others as they would never want done to themselves.) And when I heard Christians (mis)using the Bible to argue against environmental responsibility, again, I could not be silent.

Now, in the debate about health care, I am similarly disheartened to see the relative silence of thoughtful Christian voices as counterpoint to the predictable rhetoric of the more reactive voices. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting mass e-mails and Web links from evangelical and charismatic organizations that present frightening and outlandish claims about what President Obama is planning to do regarding health care. I’ve checked into these claims, and in case after case, they are simply false. They’re based on rumors spread by certain dramatic radio and cable-tv personalities, but they are not based in truth.

Again, people are free to disagree humbly and respectfully with their fellow Christians and their government. (As readers of my books know, I take this freedom seriously in my own life). But we Christians, it seems to me, have a high calling – to be radically committed to integrity and civility, even (especially) with those with whom we disagree. God, after all, is merciful, generous, and kind to “the just and the unjust”: How can we not have that same obligation regarding those with whom we disagree? Even if others resort to dirty political tricks and distortion of the truth through exaggeration and fear-mongering, we simply cannot. At the very least, we should be seekers of truth, seekers of wisdom, not consumers (or purveyors) of propaganda – even if it comes from members of our own political party and people who quote a lot of Bible verses (often out of context). We have a higher calling.

So, without going into health-care reform specifics (which is still difficult to do, since there are many fast-changing proposals in play and the process of developing a vote-able proposal is far from over), I would simply like to plead with conservative Christians – conservative evangelicals, conservative charismatics, conservative Catholics, and so on – to take a stand for integrity and civility in the health-care debate, alongside and in solidarity with those of us who love Christ just as you do, but do not rally around the conservative political banner.

If you take this stand, you will be heard by your fellow conservatives in ways that some of the rest of us can’t be heard. And lives could be saved as a result of our joint calls for Christian integrity and civility: We’ve already seen what happens when people translate religious and ideological passion into violent action. Recalling the words of that great 19th century British conservative Edmund Burke, think of what could happen in the next few years if too many good conservative people sit back and do nothing … while less scrupulous and more desperate conservative people whip their followers into a frenzy through fear and inaccurate information.

I will continue to speak out on these issues as I have done in the past. But I don’t expect the most extreme Christian conservatives to listen to me much. Since I was an outspoken supporter of President Obama’s candidacy, and since before that I was equally outspoken against torture, against the invasion of Iraq, for environmental stewardship, etc., many of them have written me off (sometimes with quite spicy language). But if you are a conservative Christian who cares about integrity and civility in communication and debate, perhaps they will still listen to you when you call them to a higher standard. I hope you will take the risk of speaking out with that in mind.

As my friend Jim Wallis recently said so eloquently in his last blog post on health care, we may have honest differences with our fellow Christians on the issue of health care and many other issues too, but even in our differences we can agree that debates should take place in the light of truth and civility, not in the shadows of misrepresentation and prejudice.

Be assured, I am no uncritical supporter of health-care reform. I am no more in favor now of rushing into expensive health-care reform without sufficient debate than I was a few years ago when we rushed into an expensive pre-emptive war without sufficient care and discernment. I’m eager, like many of my conservative friends, to see the kind of reform that encourages small business and entrepreneurship. I’m interested in the kind of reform that reduces the power of both unaccountable mega-corporations and unaccountable government bureaucracy. I’m eager to see the kind of reform that doesn’t pave the way for powerful health insurance companies to do to the public in the next few decades what “too big to fail” Wall Street debt-repackagers did to us over the last few. I’m eager to see the kind of reform that in the long term reduces rather than increases our growing national debt, and that truly helps our poorest neighbors without creating reductions in real service for our more prosperous neighbors.

Getting the kind of reform we need won’t be easy, especially with so many powerful interests spending huge amounts of money to achieve their own ends, with too little concern for justice, the common good … or the truth. That’s why, for there to be the kind of debate that produces good results, we who call ourselves Christians – conservative or otherwise – need to stand for full integrity in communication, whatever our political leanings. We need to be sure that the best arguments on both sides are heard … not being satisfied to compare “our” best with “their” worst, as unscrupulous politicians and media personalities so often like to do, and not reducing the views of others to absurdity, even if we disagree with them vehemently.

The moral authority of Christians has been severely compromised in our culture in recent years. The most serious kinds of sexual scandals have rocked the Catholic, evangelical, and charismatic communities, not to mention financial scandals, ugly denominational lawsuits, and high-profile divisions. Studies have shown that some kinds of Christians are not only more likely to support torture – they are also more likely to hold racist views, to engage in domestic violence, and to end their marriages in divorce. No wonder young people are turned off as never before to a hypocritical face of Christianity that radiates shame, anger, and judgment rather than grace, love, and truth.

Even if we disagree on health-care reform and other political issues, I hope we can agree that it is time for us to start walking – and talking – more worthy of the calling to which we have been called, to use Paul’s words, to speak the truth, and to do so always in love. Or as James said, we must remember in this fire-prone political climate that the tongue can set off tiny rhetorical sparks that create huge flames of unimagined and unintended destruction. It can spread a false wisdom that sounds good on the surface, but beneath the surface is driven not by love but by bitter envy and selfish ambition. In contrast, he said (3:13 ff),

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise of harvest of righteousness.

Wise and needed words to guide us in the weeks and months ahead as health-care reform is debated for better or for worse. May both the debate and the outcome bring us to a better place.

By the way, if you’d like to do some fact-checking about the health-care debate, here are some faith-based sources that I believe can be trusted to avoid uncritical and inaccurate reporting about health care. I understand they will be offering correctives to rumors and misinformation in the months ahead.

http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/
http://www.sojo.net
http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/

While we were on vacation, we visited our wonderful friends Mike & Sara Darling in Paducah, KY and though I thought we were there for quality time with friends, it soon became apparent there were other motives working in our midst unbeknownst to us - motives of torturing people they consider good friends for long periods of time (at least 20 minutes) with photo after photo!! The nerve :) Love ya Sara. If you would like to view these photos you may do so at www.darlingbydesignphotography.com along with many other wonderful photos! Thank you guys!

Kingdom & Healthcare I

Jim Wallis is a man with a prophetic voice in our world today with convictions formed and shaped by God's call for justice now. He is a terrific author and one of the primary voices of reshaping the form of Christian faith and values within the larger marketplace & political realm! He (and other writers) have produced an essay discussing the issue of health care reform designed for use in churches and small groups. It is called the Healthcare Toolkit and offers a very challenging perspective and call on Americans to radically change the health care system. It is found at www.sojourners.com. What follows are my thoughts and interactions with his position.

Wallis' views the world (and health care) through a lens of intense passion for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The prophetic call for justice by Jeremiah, Amos, & Isaiah shapes his ministry as the founder of Sojourners, an organization exploring the intersection of faith, politics, & culture.

He grounds his argument on the concept of imago dei - that every human regardless of their race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status is created in the image of God himself. All people have dignity because of their creator and deserve to be treated as such. Therefore, to deny care to a fellow human because of money (or any other reason) essentially denies them their divinely appointed status. The caregiver who refuses the care ascends to a precarious place of power in a worldview where economics displaces empathy & people are reduced to numbers. Wallis taps into the prophetic pulse of Jesus himself and argues the church is commanded to seek the good of the "least of these" & to further allow large interest groups to lobby lawmakers into preserving what is in their best interests is an injustice. He argues for reform that would allow the poor (deserving or not) a means to attain care consistent with their intrinsic worth.

I was once asked by a good friend if I thought "health care was a right." I replied that I didn't know. To some degree I am still unsure. However, a portion of my uncertainty (not sure what size portion) is directly tied to the "rights" language - words so closely interwoven with a western sense of entitlement. And yet when I try to view the issue of health care reform through the kingdom of God, as a caregiver I cannot refuse proper care to a person for any reason and call myself a follower of Jesus.

Maybe others can delineate the political issue (with all its economic consequences) from the moral issue to care for the hurting person in front of you. I assume the former allows us to "dehumanize" people in the name of efficiency & sustainability. There is no face on the uninsured hurting with the former. And yet there are the clear economic consequences (for hospitals, doctors, nurses, etc.) of doing everything for free. But how can I even think about supporting a political position that blatantly ignores those most in need? The lines are very blurry here (at least for me). I have very serious questions about the current proposal but insofar as my objections are based on possible personal consequences (i.e. less income), they are sinful. My primary questions about the proposed bill have to do with the quality of health care and involvement of the government in the patient-physician decision-making process? I do think reform needs to happen. But I'm not sure how!

Imago Dei & The Emergency Room

I understand why emergency room doctors and staff become calloused over the years! I have completed five shifts or so in the emergency room and I must confess the deep theological problems that this has created within my soul - problems more of praxis (actually doing what Jesus called us to) than anything else.

The ER is one of those unique locales where the frailty of humanity is encountered at all places on the spectrum - coughs and colds, suicide attempts, high-speed car accidents, heart attacks, and drunks...many, many, many drunks!! ER staff have a front row seat at one of the most interesting shows in the world. Noone knows who is about to walk through that door, what problem they will present with, or what or who caused their predicament. It could be the "Drinking Olympics" and the subsequent foot-race that went awry. Or maybe it's the guy who was stabbed by his ex-wife with a pair of scissors. Or maybe it's the lady who punched her garage door!

The crux of the matter is this: What does it mean to be a Christ-follower in the face of tremendous stupidity and self-inflicted harm done repeatedly with no perceived end in sight?

ER docs (and staff) call them frequent flyers and other less complimentary names. And yet God calls them good...he created them and deemed them good. They as much as I are created with the divine imprint of the creator of the universe and deemed worthy of intrinsic inesteemable value! And yet I must admit I struggle with this tension. Jesus came to create a new humanity with a new lens through which to view the world in which we live and the people we cohabitate this planet with. And though I confess Jesus as Lord and know his way to be a way of love, peace, compassion, and justice, I struggle to keep this lens on all the time, especially with the drunks who seem to have nothing better to do than be stupid, hurt themselves, and come to the ER.

How do I continually, consistently, and compassionately care for those who seem to have no interest in their own well-being? How does a Christ-follower maintaina Christ-formed lens and avoid the judgmental, hateful, and arrogant spirit so prevalent and so easy to adopt?

One of the words we (all Christ-followers) must avoid is just. Such a short, simple word that is so insignificant on the surface...until the word is more fully examined and understood. In the ER we say things like "He's just a drunk bum" or "She's just a druggie and a pillseeker." Just is such an inherently reductionistic word because it takes a good creation of God - a human being created in the image of God - and instantaneously robs them of their dignity. When someone is just a drunk, they are no longer fully human but now defined by their fault and pigeon-holed into a certain class of people that are substandard. Though I understand they have robbed themselves of their own dignity with their own decisions, this is no excuse for people like to me to treat them as such and affirm their often self-proclaimed and society-labeled status.

God has called us to be just people - people who love His justice and His mercy; He has not called us to dehumanize people with our rhetoric and to rob them of what he has placed within them. Though I understand the calloused hearts, it is exactly those impulses that the cross calls me to reject!

This is hard. I confess my participation in this and seek forgiveness for where I have been a accomplice.

4 Years Ago

Yesterday we celebrated our 4th anniversary and spent the night down at the hotel at Paris Landing State Park. It has been a wonderful (and very busy) four years of life. We have managed to have 2 1/2 children (Bryan will be here in November). We have moved 5 times and lived in 4 different states. We have completed medical school with basically no income. We have worshipped at four different churches. Crazy!!

4 years ago yesterday I made the best move of my life and married my best friend. I love you Jenn! Here's to forty more...years, not kids! :)