Ye of Little Faith
Soon we begin our annual stewardship campaign. This will be my first at Central Woodward CC. As Diana Butler Bass points out, I like many pastors, would just as soon skip over the season of Stewardship. Talking money is just not fun! I think part of the problem is the realization that when I'm asking my congregants to put more in the plate, I'm asking them to subscribe to my salary. It seems so -- unseemly. And yet, as Diana points out, Christians do have immense problems with money. Christians get just as caught up in financial shenanigans as anyone.
Indeed, I was reading in the Christianity Today email newsletter about concerns that if this bailout goes through the government might end up owning churches. Why would the government need to pick up churches, as it picks up toxic assets and foreclosed properties? Why? Because churches have over extended themselves.
In her essay for God's Politics, Diana points us to a Stephen Colbert piece, one that deals with the current financial mess, and in his own inimitable way, compares faith in the "free market" with faith in God. To listen to some, if we have enough faith in the free market, it will save us. But will it? Perhaps it is time to talk more about money in church!
So, enjoy the Colbert stewardship moment!
Indeed, I was reading in the Christianity Today email newsletter about concerns that if this bailout goes through the government might end up owning churches. Why would the government need to pick up churches, as it picks up toxic assets and foreclosed properties? Why? Because churches have over extended themselves.
In her essay for God's Politics, Diana points us to a Stephen Colbert piece, one that deals with the current financial mess, and in his own inimitable way, compares faith in the "free market" with faith in God. To listen to some, if we have enough faith in the free market, it will save us. But will it? Perhaps it is time to talk more about money in church!
So, enjoy the Colbert stewardship moment!
Comments
As the market freefall continues what is becoming more apparent is the role that "faith" plays in the success of our financial system. As long as people have a "child-like" faith in the unfailing strength of the system, it works. But when our faith is undermined, when people begin to set aside their naive confidence that nothing can go too terribly wrong, the market begins to shudder like a house trailer in a hurricane.
The problem we all face, Wall Street, the government, and we at home, is how to restore confidence (i.e., that child-like faith) in our financial markets, and in our market economy as an institution before it is blown apart like downtown Galveston?
This is a time when political leadership, up front and very visible, must exert itself, not unlike a pastor in the pulpit.
And while we are preoccupied with the financial crisis, we need to keep a watchful eye on those who control our military, as well as on our enemies. Missiles in Eastern Europe to defend against a phantom Iranian threat as well as the move to militarily re-equip Taiwan seem like such a needlessly provocative moves at this stage of the Bush Cheney Administration. And all this talk of Israel destroying an Iranian nuclear threat which our intelligence agencies joined in dismissing within the last year seems to me to signal some very ominous moves by the Bush Cheney Administration on its way out the door.
Often a government faced with impending disaster at home, will seek to divert domestic attention by confronting bogus foreign threats. We already know that our current President is willing and capable of the most villainous deception to mislead the Nation and our allies into horrific military misadventures without serious justification.
This is a very dangerous period in our nation's life, and, while our objects of faith - economic, political and spiritual - need to be very carefully protected and nurtured, we must do so with our eyes open to the ways and means of rogues and charlatons.
John