Pork-laced bullets designed to send Muslims straight to hell. Still angry about the idea of an Islamic cultural center opening near Ground Zero, a group of Idaho gun enthusiasts decided to fight back with a new line of pork-laced bullets. South Fork Industries, based in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, claims its ammunition, called Jihawg Ammo, is a “defensive deterrent to those who violently act in the name of Islam.” The bullets are coated in pork-infused paint, which the company states makes the ammo “haram,” or unclean, and therefore will keep a Muslim shot with one of the bullets from entering paradise. “With Jihawg Ammo, you don’t just kill an Islamist terrorist; you also send him to hell. That should give would-be martyrs something to think about before they launch an attack. If it ever becomes necessary to defend yourself and those around you, our ammo works on two levels,” the company said in a press release. However, Shannon Dunn, assistant professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University, said South Fork’s concept is based on an inaccurate understanding of the Quran. “There is no penalty for coming into contact with pork given by the Quran,” she said, pointing to verses that prohibit the consumption of pork are reminiscent of Jewish dietary laws outlined in Leviticus. “To my knowledge, Muslims, especially unknowingly, would not be banned from heaven for eating or getting hit by pork.”

Britain’s Girl Guides drop oath to God. For more than 100 years, Britain’s Girl Guides took an oath to “love God and serve the King/Queen.” But recently, the movement announced it would scrap its oath to God in an attempt to broaden its appeal and attract children from secular, nonbelieving families. Beginning in September, all new members who make the promise to be good and useful citizens will pledge an oath to “be true to myself and develop my beliefs” and “to serve my Queen (Elizabeth II) and my country.” Chief Guide Gill Slocombe explained the reference to God sometimes “discouraged some girls and volunteers from joining,” adding that the new wording would help the organization “reach out to girls and women who might not have considered guiding before, so that even more girls can benefit from everything guiding can offer.” Girl-guiding attracts more than half a million members in Britain. An estimated 10 million members comprise the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 144 countries. The Girl Guides’ Association was formed in 1910 under the leadership of Agnes Baden-Powell, sister of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scouts. Within a few weeks, the Boy Scouts in Britain probably will announce a decision about the wording of their Oath of Loyalty, including how best to accommodate people who do not believe in God. 

Religious oppression rises despite Arab Spring. People who hoped the Arab Spring would lead to greater religious freedom across the Middle East have been sorely disappointed, and a new Pew study confirms the region has grown even more repressive for various religious groups. “In 2011, when most of the political uprisings known as the Arab Spring occurred, the Middle East and North Africa experienced pronounced increases in social hostilities involving religion, while government restrictions on religion remained exceptionally high,” according to the report by the Pew Research Center. The study shows the number of countries in the Middle East or North Africa with sectarian or communal violence between religious groups doubled from five to 10 during 2011, a year that coincided with most of the political uprisings of Arab Spring. Among those groups most adversely affected were Egypt’s Coptic Christians, whose churches have been bombed and burned both before and after the February 2011 fall of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Globally, the Pew survey of 198 countries found the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37 percent in mid-2010 to 40 percent by the end of 2011.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—U2 frontman Bono exchanged Bible references and bantered about music, theology and evangelicals’ role in AIDS activism in a recent radio interview with Focus on the Family President Jim Daly.

Bono exchanged Bible references with Focus on the Family’s president Jim Daly. (RNS Photo by Lisa Cadman/courtesy of Focus on the Family)Bono, who grew up in Ireland with a Protestant mother and a Catholic father, echoed C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, where Lewis argued that Jesus was a lunatic, liar or Lord.

“When people say ‘Good teacher,’ ‘Prophet,’ ‘Really nice guy,’ … this is not how Jesus thought of himself,” Bono said. “So, you’re left with a challenge in that, which is either Jesus was who he said he was or a complete and utter nut case. … And I believe that Jesus was, you know, the Son of God.”

Bono made comparisons between biblical characters and music.

“First of all, David’s a musician, so I’m going to like him,” Bono said. “What’s so powerful about the Psalms are, as well as they’re being gospel and songs of praise, they are also the blues. It’s very important for Christians to be honest with God, which often, you know, God is much more interested in who you are than who you want to be.”

Honest language

As Bono praised David’s “honest language with God,” Daly noted, “Sometimes it gets you into hot water with the more orthodox folks, because they see you as edgy, maybe too edgy at times.”

It’s a criticism Bono’s used to hearing.

“You’ve got to be very careful that grace and politeness do not merge into a banality of behavior, where we’re just nice, sort of ‘death by cupcake,’” Bono said. “Politeness is, you know, is a wonderful thing. Manners are, in fact, a really important thing. But remember, Jesus didn’t have many manners as we now know.”

Bono recalled the biblical passage in Luke 9 when Jesus told a man not to wait and bury his father but to follow Jesus immediately.

Daly responded to Bono’s summary, “Seems cold-hearted.”

Bono and Adam Clayton perform during the U2 360 Tour in Denver, 2011.Bono replied, “No, seems punk rock to me. He could see right into that fellow’s heart. He knew he wasn’t coming, and he was just, it was pretense. We’ve got to be a bit more cutting edge, not look to the signs of righteousness. Look to the actions.”

Bono made an explicit connection between his faith and his work with the ONE Campaign, the humanitarian organization he founded to fight poverty and disease.

Christ is ‘demanding’

“It’s very annoying following this person of Christ around, because he’s very demanding of your life,” he said while chuckling. “You don’t have to go to university and do a Ph.D. to understand this stuff. You just go to the person of Christ.”

Daly threw a C.S. Lewis quote at Bono: “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that’s left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.”

Bono jokingly replied, “Yeah, that could turn up on the next U2 album, but I won’t give him or you any credit.”

In his work on HIV/AIDS, malaria, poverty and other areas, Bono noted the challenge of finding the right issue to take on.

“We have a pastor who said to us, ‘Stop asking God to bless what you’re doing, Bono.’ Which by the way, I constantly do. He said, ‘Find out what God is doing, ’cause it’s already blessed,’” Bono said. “And when you align yourself with God’s purpose as described in the Scriptures, something special happens to your life. You’re in alignment.”

Most of the 9 million HIV/AIDS victims who were saved are alive because of treatments funded by the United States, Bono said.

“I am here to thank the American people for that,” he said. “And I also want to thank the evangelical community for that, because it wouldn’t have happened without their leadership, because they like myself, pestered George Bush and the administration, who actually deserve praise for starting this out.”

AIDS and leprosy

He compared HIV/AIDS to biblical stories of leprosy.

“People don’t understand in that Scripture, the Samaritan was at odds with the ideology of the person he stopped on the road for. This is why we call it the ONE Campaign,” he said. “You and I can have many disagreements on many philosophical, theological things. But on this, we know we can agree on.”

Daly said he expects potential blowback from Focus listeners who might see Bono as unorthodox.

“Does he use a bad word here and there? Yeah, probably. Does he have a Guinness every now and then? Yeah, probably,” Daly said. “When you look at it before the throne of God, I think (God will) say, ‘You saved so many children.’”

Daly said his predecessor James Dobson might not have done an interview with Bono, but Dobson did get flack for having Laura Schlessinger on his program because she is Jewish.

“Bono clearly accepts Jesus as Lord. I wasn’t prepared for his quickness in inserting Scripture into the dialogue,” Daly said of the artist who has been married to his wife, Ali Hewson, for decades. “I celebrate with them that they have four children and have been married 30 years. Not everyone in the Christian community can say that.”

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (ABP)—Conflict poses both danger and opportunity between individuals, congregations and nations, said Evelyn Hanneman, operations coordinator for the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America.

Evelynn Hanneman introduces the Koala style of conflict transformation.“We like to say that conflict is holy ground, because conflict does offer you that place to deepen relationships, to move farther and deeper into that peace that Christ calls us to,” she said. “It is not calmness. It is a peace that comes from there being right relationships.”

Hanneman, who has worked in various positions nearly 15 years with the network devoted to peace and justice issues, shared conflict-transformation principles the group has used in faraway places like Sudan, the Philippines and Liberia in a daylong training session preceding the American Baptist Churches USA meeting in Overland Park, Kan.

The method differs from conflict resolution, bypassing negotiation and compromise to get to the deeper root causes that drive the conflict in the first place.

Shalom

The goal, she said, is, “that issue of Shalom, where there are right relationships between everyone.” That involves “not just the surface,” she said, but is “based on working through all these things so that we actually get into the depths of the conflict so that you can move out of that in a very positive way.”

The “holy ground” metaphor is from the story of Moses at the burning bush told in the book of Exodus. Having fled justice for killing an Egyptian, God appoints Moses to return and lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.

While it is unlikely murder was part of God’s will for Moses, Hanneman said, it didn’t disqualify him for God’s larger redemptive plan.

For Hanneman, the moral of the story is God can bring good even out of the worst conflicted situation. “This may not be God’s will, but it’s where we as people with our free will have ended up,” she said. “Now what is God got going in this situation, and where can I be in that transformation process?”

Differing reactions

The process includes understanding people react to conflict in different ways, including those who come in to seek reconciliation.

“I think you need to understand how you respond to deal with the conflict,” she said. “If you are not self-aware, it is very difficult to be effective in a conflict situation.”

She assigned animals to represent the various strategies common to conflict of all kinds:

The turtle represents people whose gut reaction is to avoid conflict. They are unassertive and passive, want to be neutral and avoid tension or discomfort. The result, she said, is often: “You lose; I lose.”

The koala wants to accommodate. These people want to embrace everyone and will sacrifice themselves and accept blame to bring about peace. Their intent is to preserve even a superficial peace, believing that getting along is more important than work or goals. The typical outcome to the approach is: “You win; I lose.”

The rhino’s first impulse is to compete. They are assertive or even domineering. Whether using diplomacy or raw power, they believe their way is the only way. Rhinos believe their ideas, values and goals are supreme, and they cannot let people stand in the way. The usual outcome is: “You lose; I win.”

The fox’s strategy is compromise. They subordinate personal desires for the common good of all parties and seek creative and effective compromise. Their rationale is that you can’t fully please everyone, so they desire to make everyone partially satisfied and to preserve relationships. Their outcome is: “You win some; I win some.”

The dolphin wants to collaborate. They are assertive but also flexible. They promote mutual respect, open communication and full participation by everyone involved. Their intent is not to avoid conflict but to turn it into a positive, problem-solving process. The desired outcome is: “You win; I win.”

No single strategy is best for every conflict, Hanneman said. If it is not your problem or relatively minor, the turtle might be the best way to respond. The rhino can be needed if a quick or unpopular decision must be made or if survival is at stake.

The koala approach is appropriate when you are unsure of your own ideas or in a weak position. The fox’s compromise is appropriate if the goals of all parties are valid, differences are not worth fighting over or if time doesn’t allow for deeper solutions.

In most conflicts, however, the dolphin works best when long-term goals and relationships are involved and maturity and patience are available to see it through.

Recognizing your own conflict-management strategy going in is important, Hanneman said, because: “In conflict, we usually respond with our gut. We usually go into our alarm zone.”

How can pastors preach on subjects like gun violence without disturbing the peace in their own congregations?

“Pastors always tread the tightrope of a prophetic role and that of pastoral care,” said Terry Rosell, ethicist and professor of pastoral theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan.

“Whether it is this issue or some other on which congregants—and the church—are not in one accord, it is necessary to exercise virtues of prudence, empathy, humility and courage. Prudently, there are some times better than others to address controversial matters.”

Sensitivity to the people in the pew and a spirit of humility should guide sermon preparation, he noted.

Humility

“Empathically, I understand that this issue in particular is experienced differently by the congregant who is 26 years old and relatively unscathed by evil and the congregant who is a 66-year-old decorated veteran who also lost a daughter to a murderous intruder,” Rosell said.

“In humility, I recognize that I have been mistaken on any number of moral matters before and could be so yet again.”

Preachers might ask whether sermons should focus on political opinions or whether they should lay a foundation of biblical principles and leave it to church members to make up their own minds, some suggest.

“Gun control may not be an appropriate subject for the pulpit, where proclamation of the gospel and application of the gospel belong,” said Roger Olson, the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco.

“The pulpit is a place for tackling larger issues of which gun control may be part, such as whether preparing to do violence is a good idea for a Jesus-follower.”

In context

Pastors sometimes must address controversial issues if they are true to their calling, but they should do it in the context of serious biblical reflection and caring pastoral ministry, some ethicists and ministers suggest.

“I fear that today’s pastors have gone silent about any issue that Christians disagree about, which pretty much rules out all substantive preaching,” said David Gushee, distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.

“Instead, I believe it is possible for the pastor to weave in commentary or sermons about moral/political issues as part of a balanced diet in all kinds of preaching. This can work if the congregation sees the pastor wrestling honestly with all kinds of issues, showing his or her work biblically and ethically, avoiding politically charged slogans or propagandistic formulations, and offering all of this in the context of a solid overall pastoral ministry. But this is no easy task in today’s divided and polemical culture.”

Discuss it first

Pastors have an obligation to tackle tough subjects from the pulpit, but first, they should have the grace and courage to discuss those issues with church members—not just preach at them, an East Texas pastor suggested.

“I think pastors must preach on controversial topics like gun control and gun violence. But the essential is that a good pastor is also among his or her congregation during the week, sitting around a coffee table, sitting on the porch, sharing lunch … listening to members of the congregation—especially those who disagree,” said Kyle Childress, pastor of Austin Heights Baptist Church in Nacogdoches.

“In the informal setting of friendship in Christ, pastor and church member can listen to one another, talk, disagree and talk some more. It is out of such conversations, along with study and prayer, that pastors can stand up in the pulpit and preach on hot topics. A pastor needs to spend six days a week listening in order to preach for 20 minutes on a Sunday morning.”

Debates about gun violence stir strong emotions, and Christians hold varied views on what it means to “seek peace and pursue it,” as the psalmist wrote.

Some call for increased gun control, while others feel a responsibility to make sure armed citizens are trained properly and prepared to stop violent assaults.

Some Christians believe love for neighbor demands readiness to protect innocent lives, and that may include using guns for protection.

After the school shooting at Newtown, Conn., last December, a National Public Radio reporter asked Richard Land, then-president of Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, if the New Testament offers any justification for owning guns. Land responded by citing the Golden Rule and Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor.

“If you see your neighbor being attacked, if you see your neighbor in danger, you have an obligation and a responsibility to do what you can to protect them,” he said.

Other Christians hold different opinions.

Following Jesus

Terry Rosell“I have yet to see anyone successfully make a case, logically and without fallacy, for the use of weapons on the grounds of Jesus’ teaching,” said Terry Rosell, ethicist and professor of pastoral theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan.

Jesus rejected self-defense and scolded Peter, his disciple, for drawing a sword in his defense, saying, “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Rosell noted.

He recalled one seminary class that included doctoral students from a war-torn country. One student suggested perhaps Peter responded more appropriately than Jesus to the armed thugs who entered the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest an innocent man.

“I began singing, ‘I have decided to follow Peter.’ The class erupted into the laughter of awareness. … One thing we can do for peace is to point out the discrepancy between what we sing and what we do,” Rosell said.

“Another thing we can do is to recognize that following Jesus in the ways of strategic nonviolence is much easier from the safety of suburban Kansas City than it would be in the oppressive environment of a war-torn nation.”

Hard questions

Roger OlsonChristians need to ask themselves hard questions, said Roger Olson, the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco.

“Christians who are not pacifists and feel threatened by violent people ought to ask themselves how serious that threat is before buying a gun and carrying it in their car or on their person,” he said. “They need to realize that simply having a gun makes using it unnecessarily more likely.”

Christians have a responsibility to submit every ethical decision to Jesus Christ as Lord, said Kyle Childress, pastor of Austin Heights Baptist Church in Nacogdoches. And that makes life complicated, he emphasized.

“Decisions and perspectives that once seemed simple and direct might very well become difficult and challenging,” Childress said.

Protecting the innocent

“For example, if followers of Jesus do not advocate gun violence, what do we do in protecting the innocent? What if the call of Jesus is to be like Jesus in our willingness to give up our lives rather than kill? To cease from killing does not mean we no longer oppose evil, but it means that we oppose evil like Jesus, who died rather than kill. To be willing to put our lives on the line and not kill means that we trust God more than we trust the power of violence.”

David GusheeChristians should explore what the Bible teaches about the authority of the state to maintain law and order, said David Gushee, Christian ethics professor at Mercer University and director of the Center for Theology and Public Life. The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 13 the state has divine sanction to threaten and use force to protect innocents, stop criminals and keep the peace, he noted.

“I believe that trained and accountable officers of the state are far better positioned than civilians to exercise law enforcement functions,” he said. “As a Christian, I do support the work of professionals in exercising those functions, because their work is needed in a sinful and sometimes chaotic world, and also because well-ordered police and military have learned how to build in careful oversight and accountability for all uses of force.

“This is far less true of civilians, and I, for one, do not see a society in which the average person at the grocery store is concealing a weapon and thinking of himself as a law enforcement officer as an improvement on our current situation.”

Practicing peace

Christians should look for role models of people who practice peace, Rosell noted. He pointed to examples ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. to modern young adults—such as his own 26-year-old son—who live in “intentional communities,” often in low-income and sometime-dangerous areas, as an act of incarnational Christian witness.

“They live in an urban neighborhood that is considered unsafe due to violence. Yet they are known to neighbors as an oasis of peace—a house where meals and hospitality and help are provided freely, and only violence is unwelcome,” he said.

Churches should be peaceful communities where differences are discussed in an atmosphere of mutual respect, Childress said.

“Congregations should be places where difficult topics like violence, guns and gun control can be talked about and prayed about without rancor or hostility,” he said.

Political differences among Christ’s followers are nothing new. They date back to the time of Jesus, he noted. One of the 12 disciples, Matthew, worked as a tax collector for the Roman government. Another disciple, Simon, was identified as a Zealot—a group committed to using violence to free Judea from Roman control.

Models for reconciliation

“Most likely, these two disciples hated one another and what each stood for. Yet each found himself called by Jesus to be a follower. I wonder if there were many nights around the campfire that Jesus had to sleep in-between these two to keep one from knifing the other one during the night,” Childress said. “But over time, in following Jesus, they became the models/embodiments of reconciliation. That’s the calling of the church to this day.”

When Christians disagree without name-calling and hard feelings, it offers a powerful witness to a polarized culture, he noted.

“It demonstrates that the body of Christ, the church, talks about difficult and disagreeable topics without resorting to violence and demonization,” Childress said. “Somewhere, our society needs to see such behavior embodied and practiced. Somewhere, people need to see an alternative to violence and hatred.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Exodus International, a group that bills itself as “the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality,” announced it’s shutting its doors.

Exodus’s board unanimously agreed to close the ministry and begin a separate one, although details about a new ministry focused on gender and sexuality still are being worked out.

Exodus president Alan Chambers. (Photo courtesy Exodus International)
The announcement came just after Exodus president Alan Chambers released a statement apologizing to the gay community for many actions, including the organization’s promotion of efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation.

Exodus functioned as a support group for men and women who were struggling with their sexual orientation, and early on the ministry embraced the idea that gays and lesbians could become straight through prayer and counseling.

But the belief in “reparative therapy was one of the things that led to the downfall of this organization,” Chambers said in an interview, noting Exodus in recent years redirected its focus to helping men and women work through their sexual identity.

“I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents,” Chambers said in the apology. “I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite—or worse.”

Core beliefs have not changed

Chambers, who is married to his wife, Leslie, said his core beliefs about sexuality have not changed, and admitted he still wrestles with his own same-sex attraction.

The announcement comes at a critical point for gay rights, as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to issue two potentially decisive rulings on gay marriage and public opinion shifts rapidly in favor of gay rights and even gay marriage.

A recent Gallup Poll showed 59 percent of Americans now view gay or lesbian relations as “morally acceptable,” a 19-point swing since 2001 and the biggest change seen on any social issue, including divorce, extramarital affairs and other issues.

Three years ago, Exodus had more than 20 employees in its Orlando office. Today, it has nine. In July, it will have 3 employees before it completely shuts down.

Local ministries will continue

Chambers announced the closure of Exodus at the ministry’s 38th annual conference in Irvine, Calif. Local affiliated Exodus ministries, which are autonomous, will continue, but not under the name or umbrella of Exodus.

Exodus began in 1976 by a gay man, Frank Worthen. “Perhaps nothing has brought Exodus into the mainstream of evangelicalism more than its embrace by James Dobson’s Focus on the Family,” wrote Christianity Today in 2007. The ministry faced some challenges in recent years, including a split with Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago and other dissolved partnerships.

In his apology, Chambers acknowledged stories of people who went to Exodus for help only to experience more trauma.

“I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct, and false hope,” he said. “In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me.” 

WATERBURY, Conn. (RNS)—On a recent Monday evening, a room inside Christ Community Church was transformed into a coffeehouse with fresh-brewed coffee, plenty of popped kettle corn and the thorny subject of racism on the table.

Lifetree Cafe is a new evangelical tool gaining popularity with churches reaching out to potential members. (LifeTree Photo)For an hour, about 20 people gathered around tables, shared personal experiences about racism, watched a short documentary and answered questions meant to stimulate conversation.

The event is called Lifetree Cafe, and it’s a new evangelical tool gaining popularity with churches reaching out to potential members.

Lifetree Cafes are a fairly recent venture by Group Publishing, a Colorado-based Christian publishing company that is tapping into people’s yearning for community and face-to face connection.

“There’s a cry out there,” said Craig Cable, a Lifetree Cafe representative. “People are looking for hope and meaning. Lifetree Cafes create a safe place where people from all walks of life can have a conversation and talk about the struggles we deal with.”

Group Publishing tested the first Lifetree Cafe in 2007 and began licensing the program in 2010. Since then, some 350 churches have purchased the program, recently at a rate of one a week.

About 350 churches have purchased the LifeTree program, recently at a rate of one a week. (LifeTree Photo)When churches sign on, Lifetree Cafe provides them with all the materials they need to host a weekly conversation cafe. Churches are given videos, scripted questions, name tags for attendees, and marketing and promotion tools to promote the event. Churches pay $300-$400 a month, Cable said.

Lifetree Cafes are open to the public and held in churches, community centers, hotels and coffee shops throughout the country. (A Lifetree Cafe in Loveland, Co., is held at a homeless shelter.)

The same topic is discussed at each cafe and sessions last one hour. Past and future topics include atheism, gun violence, domestic abuse and marijuana use. Cable said the topics appeal to all denominations. They do have a Christian message, but they don’t “feel preachy” or draw conclusions.

Deric Mendes, an atheist blogger in California, said he couldn’t resist attending a Lifetree Cafe in a local church when he saw one advertised earlier this year — especially since the week’s topic was atheism.

Mendes wrote about his experience on his blog Vicarious Redemption. Besides some criticism of the video shown at the event, Mendes said he enjoyed the experience and found the people friendly and welcoming.

But there was something strained about the evening, he said.

“It felt like a bunch of white neighbors in the 1960s discussing the black family who had just moved into the neighborhood,” Mendes said.

Casey Sabella, pastor of Christ Community Church and the weekly host of its Lifetree Cafe, said he offers the program to get his congregation talking about subjects not generally discussed during church services.

“There’s no altar call, no passing of the plate to collect offerings,” Sabella said. “The cafe is where people can come together to have a conversation.”

While the recent Lifetree Cafe at Sabella’s Connecticut church attracted only members of his congregation, he hopes to reach out to the greater community and invite people to join in the conversation every week. A schedule of future Lifetree Cafe topics can be found on the church’s website.

Bill Tooker, a Christ Community Church member, said he found the racism discussion helpful.

“When people start talking about something,” he said, “change happens.”

CEDAR HILL—Whether Jesse Joyner is riding a unicycle or juggling, he shares an important message about finding balance through a relationship with Christ.

Jesse the Juggler performs for children’s camps at Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill.“A friend taught me how to juggle when I was 11 years old,” Joyner said. “I thought juggling was so cool and wanted to learn. I practiced every night for about two weeks until I could juggle three balls really well. I didn’t want to stop there, so I went to the library and got all the books I could about juggling.

“I spent hours each night reading those books and practicing with some cheap, tiny beanbags. My bedroom ceiling was too short for practicing five balls, so I would be on my knees for hours each night. I guess God wired me to love juggling, because I just kept working on it until I reached a new level.”

It was not until he entered college, however, that Joyner found a way to use juggling in ministry. Joyner met fellow Christian jugglers Nathan Dorrell and David Cain, who shared tips on how to develop routines that convey a gospel message.

“During my freshman year at Taylor University, which is a small Christian college in Indiana, I felt God calling me to put together a juggling show that would also present the gospel,” he said.

Jesse Joyner developed a juggling act that conveys a Christian message.“I worked on some routines and sent a letter to dozens of churches. I offered my juggling show at no set cost, just on a voluntary love-offering basis. A few days after sending the letter, I had five messages on my answering machine from churches wanting me to share my show with them for an event.”

It didn’t take long before word began spreading about his creative ministry, and Joyner became inundated with requests to perform.

“When I was in college, I performed for over 100 churches and events as a side-thing to my studies. I performed for kids, families, senior citizens, inner-city missions, a county jail and other outreach events.”

As Joyner juggled his way into new ministry territory, he realized the importance of sharing the gospel at each event. 

“I quickly realized that I loved merging juggling with a Bible message,” he said. “After college, I went to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and continued the juggling ministry, but it had to slow down a bit because of my studies. From there, I took a position as a children’s pastor at a local church. But I couldn’t get my heart off the juggling ministry.

“My love for spreading the Good News to kids and families through juggling was so strong that I took a step of faith and went full-time on the road with it when I graduated from seminary. That was six years ago, and I’ve been doing this ministry full-time ever since, by God’s grace.” 

Joyner maintains a busy schedule performing at school assemblies, Vacation Bible Schools, Upward sports award nights and other evangelistic events. This summer, he is performing for children’s camps at Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill.

“I love teaching kids about the Bible, and I love seeing them get excited about Christ and his message,” he said. “I think I’m still a kid at heart, so juggling is simply my language through which I communicate with kids.”

Jewish groups support egalitarian space at Western Wall. Jewish Federations of North America trustees passed a resolution in favor of a nonsegregated place where men and women can pray and read from the Torah at the Western Wall, the Jewish holy site. Worshippers at the Western Wall now have two options—separate men’s and women’s sections, both under the auspices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, an Orthodox institution. The egalitarian plan will allow the Western Wall to “become a spiritual center for all Jews and a symbol of unity for the entire Jewish community worldwide,” the federation statement said. The plan is the result of months of negotiations between Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and the heads of the non-Orthodox movements in the United States and Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Sharansky to find a way to accommodate both Orthodox and non-Orthodox prayer at the wall, which operates as a de facto Orthodox synagogue.

Atheists plan monument on courthouse square. After years of fights over religious monuments on public land, a county courthouse in Northern Florida soon will be the home of the nation’s Ken Loukinen, director of regional operations for American Atheists and the monument’s designer, released a rendering of the plans for the planned atheist monument. (Huffington Post image)first monument to atheism on public property. On June 29, the group American Atheists will unveil a 1,500-pound granite bench engraved with secular-themed quotations from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and its founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, among others, in front of the Bradford County Courthouse in Starke, Fla. The New-Jersey-based group won the right to erect the monument in a settlement reached in March over a six-ton granite display of the Ten Commandments on the same property. American Atheists sued Bradford County after the erection of that monument last year, claiming its place on the courthouse lawn represented a government endorsement of religion. Both monuments were paid for by private money. Businessman Joe Anderson paid for the Ten Commandments monument through the Christian Men’s Fellowship, and American Atheists paid for the atheist monument with a grant from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.

’Tis the season for Baptist annual meetings. But will declining numbers, the expense of gathering people for face-to-face encounters and rapid advances in technology soon mean the demise of the rite?

Not necessarily and probably not anytime soon.

Community

Fellowship and the sense of community will hold the practice together, at least for a while longer, according to some Baptist leaders.

“There is a sense in which annual meetings nurture community in a way that other activities cannot,” noted Baptist historian Bill Leonard, the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and professor of church history at Wake Forest School of Divinity.

In the past, annual meeting has been the primary opportunity for cross-generational contact and for discussions about missions, evangelism and theological dialogue. Ending the practice would be a “huge loss,” Leonard said, because no similar opportunity exists.

“When those sources of connection disappear, where do you nurture that sense of community?” he asked.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter sees theological benefit of annual meetings for an organization centered in connectedness.

Suzii Paynter“Who are we but an incarnational group? … Part of coming together … is the visceral experience of being together as a national body, as an international body,” she said. “Christ’s presence is expressed through this visceral experience. Being together is more than the sum of our parts.”

Nurturing community also is practical in a changing world. “In a pluralistic, post-denominational culture, … we can feel alone at church,” Paynter said. “Being together reminds us we are not alone. … We can do more together than one church alone.”

Keith Herron of Kansas City, Mo., CBF moderator for 2012-2013, focuses on community as well, noting churches aren’t designed to function alone. The CBF General Assembly is a picture of hope for the body’s future.

The meeting “keeps us together, keeps us informed and keeps us inspired. Churches don’t do well as totally autonomous bodies but rather need other congregations that are struggling or prospering in similar ways,” Herron said.

“There is a unifying force of mission that stirs the imagination and the spirit of congregations when the pot of ideas and inspiration is stirred.”

Herron loves to walk through the host hotel lobby “after the wrinkled, graying founders” have gone to bed, he said. “The room glistens with the energy of the younger ministers and student attendees,” and he realizes “the Fellowship has a vibrant future waiting to be explored.”

The Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention usually holds a weeklong annual gathering in August that focuses, naturally, on missions. Strong personal and community connections—a cultural necessity among African-American churches—likely will allow that body to continue its meeting tradition.

“Given the high value of relationship cultivation, personal and ministry networking, and the ‘family reunion’ aspects of Baptist communities of African-American heritage, the annual meeting remains essential to the life and work of these bodies,” noted David Goatley, Lott Carey’s secretary-treasurer.

Although American Baptist Churches-USA congregations meet biennially, leaders also stress the community-building aspect.

“In an age of high tech, we believe in high touch,” explained Leo Thorne, ABC-USA associate general secretary for mission resource development. For that reason, the body will continue to hold meetings every-other year.

Politics

A public annual meeting can serve as a platform for addressing social issues. Large bodies, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, can issue statements or vote on resolutions that cause media, other denominational leaders and church members to take note.

In the past, coverage made headlines in The New York Times and other major newspapers and on national television. Last year, Fred Luter’s election as the first African-American SBC president attracted considerable media attention as a social issue and because of the SBC’s beginnings in the pre-Civil War-era slavery controversy.

Sometimes, a political bent to a national annual meeting draws criticism. In 2002, the SBC Pastors’ Conference, held prior to the larger session, ended with a patriotic salute of music, pyrotechnics and visuals—including a dramatization of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima. Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North gave the closing address.

Then-President George W. Bush spoke live to messengers via satellite that year. Several other politicians also spoke. The overtly nationalistic theme and strong Republican flavor garnered opposition, especially from church-state separationists and Democrats.

But for some denominations, the political aspect is deeply engrained and is a vital part of identity. This year, participants at the Lott Carey annual meeting in Washington, D.C., will participate in a Pilgrimage of Remembrance to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

In addition, delegates will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 200th of Lott Carey’s liberation from slavery.

“Justice is a missiological theme,” Goatley declared, “and to be missional is necessarily political.”

Staying power

To remain viable and relevant to participants, national gatherings must use time and resources wisely, leaders agreed.

Business is boring, many may believe, but some members want to understand items being considered. As part of the team that formulated CBF’s meeting model, Paynter explained the Fellowship’s approach to business grew out of the frustration some people feel when they aren’t given enough time to discuss an issue or to have questions answered.

Once introduced on the floor, business items become one among a list of workshop options. Sometimes an item will be clarified or something will be added before the full body votes. Or people in the workshop can recommend the item be withdrawn from consideration.

“It is a way for people to express views, a more deliberative and contemplative discussion,” Paynter said. “It introduces discernment and consensus more than you can just through Robert’s Rules.”

While some Baptist bodies stream parts of their annual sessions online, apparently none is conducting completely “virtual” meetings.

The only organizations that would benefit from providing annual sessions solely in “virtual” format would be those that use the national meeting only for business, Goatley believes.

But he added, denominations would have to make certain they provide “good information that is clear and fair, rather than slanted in the direction of the authors of the distributed materials,” he said.

Groups that use national sessions to “cultivate relational capital” probably should remain with the current annual meeting concept. “Virtual meetings cannot adequately nurture networks for people whose primary orientation is around helping people strengthen their relationships with Jesus,” Goatley said.

To remain viable, annual meetings may “need to be refined,” he emphasized. “Many gatherings seem not to have been planned with the best stewardship of time and presence in mind.”

Yearly meetings can continue to benefit Baptists when they are creative and planned well. “Strong, engaging and enriching annual sessions have potential to strengthen the life and work of denominational communities,” Goatley said. “Substance and style, form and function, must be addressed intentionally to make the meetings worth people’s time and money.”

Several Baptist bodies include ministry as part of their annual sessions.

The theme for Lott Carey meetings always centers on some aspect of missions and includes a Community Feast, which brings together delegates and people of all walks of life from the host community. When members met in New Orleans last year, the feast included the homeless, who told their compelling stories. Members also do a Mission Blitz of service projects on the Monday of their weeklong meeting.

The National Baptist Convention, CBF and the SBC also offer hands-on mission opportunities as part of their annual sessions.

ABC-USA is trying a different approach this year. For the first time, its session will be conducted as a missions summit. In the past, the organization held separate conferences.

And for the first time, ABC-USA shifted its meeting format. Rather than inviting an “expert” to share how to deal with certain issues or topics, the June 21-23 meeting will foster small-group discussions. Participants will “attend the group that meets their interests. … Then they will be challenged to go back to their church, discuss what they learned and find ways to implement it,” Thorne said.

Annual meetings will be around for the foreseeable future, these leaders believe—the key remains freshness and relevance.

Do Baptist annual meetings matter if denominations themselves are dying?

Some leaders believe denominationalism isn’t dying, but rather is undergoing metamorphosis. Those willing and flexible enough to change still will need the community and networking annual meetings offer.

Bill Leonard“Denominationalism is not dead but, increasingly, it’s only one of several options for organizing the church in America,” explained Baptist historian Bill Leonard, the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and professor of church history at Wake Forest School of Divinity.

Increasing pluralism in the United States and the decreasing influence of Protestantism are forcing denominational leaders to ask hard questions about identity, viability and relevance.

Pluralism, “which Baptists helped put into place,” is becoming more normative, Leonard said. The rise of the “nones”—people with no connection to organized religion— also plays into the challenges denominations face.

Gone are the days when communities formulated policy and activities around the church. “We are living through the death rattle of the Protestant privilege,” Leonard said.

Less prominence

“Most denominations will survive in some form but with much less prominence in American religious life than they have had before, and that’s across the denominational spectrum.”

American Baptist Churches-USA also recognizes the need for change. Even so, “I don’t sense the death of denominations … at all,” said Leo Thorne, ABC-USA associate general secretary for mission resource development. “We are facing serious challenges. … As a denomination, we need to come together and talk about what changes need to be made.”

He believes American Baptists will remain a strong organization because they have been able to make necessary changes.

Flexibility key

“We are doing what we believe we are called to do … and doing it together. We’ve always been a flexible and adaptable people,” he said, pointing to the organization’s stand on slavery, women and other issues over the years.

The North American Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist World Alliance’s North American regional body, also is looking for new ways to connect with members.

“Some (denominations) will disappear, but I don’t think we will lose all denominations and affiliations,” noted NABF President Jim Hill. “I don’t think we are in a post-denominational era, … but I think those that fail to connect in vital ways with their congregations will not last.”

Larger denominations may have the most difficulty adapting to cultural changes. Survival depends upon “whether or not denominations can redefine themselves quickly enough now,” Leonard explained. “We’re getting to a point where denominational systems can’t change quickly enough or anticipate change … quickly enough to remain viable in an extensive way.”

A small-boat era

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter agrees. “The era of the cruise-boat denominational structures is gone,” she said. “We live in the small-boat era.

“Now the Fellowship is a more organic organization of churches. What is unique about the Fellowship is that people and churches can choose to be a part of it—it’s the voluntary nature of what we do together. The Fellowship is living out a more organic way of being.”

Leonard sees the Southern Baptist Convention as a “classic” case study of a large denomination’s struggle to remain viable.

“For a long time, they told themselves they were not declining and that because they are conservative, people would run to them,” he said.

Instead, a growing number of SBC churches are dropping “Baptist” from their name. As a “last gasp,” the SBC tried to drop “Baptist” from its name, instead, settling for a secondary name, “Great Commission Christians,” in the face of intense opposition last year.

“The SBC system is so cumbersome that it may not be able to change fast enough,” Leonard added.

Several agreed denominations that focus on relationship-building and on its member congregations have a better chance of remaining viable.

“The question is not: Are we growing? The first question is: Are we thriving?” Leonard said. “Are we living out our faith?”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Is there anything morally redeeming about Game of Thrones? Does the hit HBO series even have a moral vision?

Ratings reflect the show’s popularity. For three seasons, 5.5 million-plus viewers have followed the ruthless struggles for power among the teeming clans of Westeros, the medieval-looking world created by fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin.

Emilia Clarke as Calisi in Game of Thrones episode 24. (RNS Photo courtesy HBO)That success has guaranteed the show will be back for a fourth year of mayhem and passion, swords and sorcery, despite this season’s many violent endings. Or, as one tweet put it after the bloody penultimate episode: “Why doesn’t George R.R. Martin use Twitter? Because he killed all 140 characters.”

But therein lies the moral problem for some. The appeal of the series seems bound up in the senseless violence and amoral machinations—not to mention the free-wheeling sex—the writers use to dramatize this brutish world of shifting alliances and dalliances.

That, in turn, has prompted intense debates about whether Christians should watch Games of Thrones at all, or whether the show’s only possible virtue is depicting how the world would look if Christ had never been born—or what it could look like if Christianity disappeared tomorrow.

A scene with Catelyn Stark (left) played by Michelle Fairley from HBO’s Game of Thrones episode 29. (RNS Photo by Helen Sloan/courtesy HBO)“Why should Christians watch Game of Thrones? There’s no necessity, and some will find the gratuitous sex and violence dangerous and damaging,” wrote Daniel Muth of the Living Church Foundation. However, Muth concluded, “Seeing the hopelessness and savagery of what this age threatens to become may serve to shake us from our torpor.”

To be sure, Game of Thrones can be “relentlessly grim,” as Jonathan Ryan described it in a Christianity Today critique. One character puts it: “When you play a game of thrones, you win or you die.”

Dark magic plays a role in the plots, and there are hints of something supernatural, if not altogether benign. But for the most part, the land of the Seven Kingdoms is a dog-eat-dog world dominated by soulless connivers like Lord Baelish, who concludes one chilling monologue by declaring: “Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”

A scene from Game of Thrones episode 24 with actress Sophie Turner. (RNS Photo by Keith Bernstein/courtesy HBO)Which is not to say the world of Games of Thrones doesn’t have religion. In fact, it has several of them. But belief is slippery and divine justice improbable. Even those who hope there is something at the other end of the ladder—a realm above—fear it is populated by cynical gods who view mortals the way cats regard a mouse, as something to be toyed with until it dies.

“The gods have no mercy. That’s why they’re gods,” as Queen Regent, Cersei Lannister, coldly tells terrified young women praying for help during a siege.

For some, the most damning aspect of Game of Thrones may be the way that it subverts the work that it most closely tracks—J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga that’s beloved by so many contemporary Christians.

In those novels, and the hit films they inspired, Tolkien also presents an epic struggle—but one in which good battles evil, and triumphs in the end. George R.R. Martin is having none of that.

“The sort of fantasy where all the people get together to fight the dark lord doesn’t interest me,” Martin told The New Republic when asked about comparisons to Tolkien. “We don’t tend to have wars or political controversies where one side is really ugly and wears dark clothing, where the other side wears white and has glowing magical swords.”

But ambiguity is not necessarily amorality. It can reflect the complexity of real life.

A scene from HBO’s Game of Thrones episode 27 with actor Alfie Allen. (RNS Photo by Helen Sloan/courtesy HBO)“What constitutes good and what constitutes evil? What happens if our good intentions produce evil? Does the end justify the means?” Those are the questions Martin says he is asking, and they are questions that have spawned a cottage industry of blogs and even a book about the philosophy behind the show.

Some have detected a genuine theological framework behind the show that does not reject Christian teachings but instead reflects them in important ways.

“Indeed, the series can be read as an argument for Reinhold Niebuhr’s Augustinian realism,” George Schmidt wrote at Religion Dispatches, citing the Cold War theologian who often has been invoked during America’s current battle against terrorism. As Schmidt notes, idealists who would triumph in Tolkien’s world are blithely cut down in Martin’s.

Jim McDermott, a Jesuit priest studying screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles, also pointed out that in Game of Thrones, raw power and high birth provide no guarantee of protection. And, like the Bible, the series finds unlikely heroes among “the shattered, the shunned and the disregarded.”

The realism McDermott finds in the show is the gospel truth that life often is hard and unfair—but everyone shares that fate.

“And salvation is not the purview of some elect, nor does grace inherently reside in a crown,” he wrote in America magazine. “As with horror, so hope springs from the most unexpected of quarters.”

Or maybe not. The storylines continue to unfold, and Martin hasn’t yet finished the final book that will serve as the template for the rest of the series. Strong characters and unpredictable narratives are sure to keep coming, and to keep viewers glued to the screen. But at the end will they find a “transcendent moral vision”?

That’s the question that troubles Scott R. Paeth, who teaches Christian social ethics at DePaul University in Chicago.

“Thus far (Martin has) been fairly scornful of the idea that the end result of the political struggle is the establishment of social justice, and seems to be suggesting that, in the end, all succumbs to dust and entropy, or that on the whole those willing to give themselves wholly over to their will to power will ultimately prevail,” Paeth wrote on his blog. “How he ends his story will tell us much about the moral world in which he dwells.”