April 30, 2010

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

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Kathie's KD Corner!

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"How you gonna show me how to get to heaven if you don't even know the way to the post office?"

If you read the last KD (scroll down to 4/29), you may remember that story.

Anyway, after I told that story during a recent worship service, I asked a few rhetorical questions: "How are you going to show people how to love like Jesus if you don't love like Jesus?...How are you going to show the world the advantages of Christianity if you don't show the advantages of Christianity?...How are you going to show people how to experience the peace, calm, and confidence of Christianity if you don't show the peace, calm, and confidence of Christianity?...How are you going to show the world how to get along through Jesus if you can't even get along with your sisters and brothers through Jesus?...How are you going to show the benefits of Christianity to others when your life is a billboard for everything negative that's ever been said about Christianity?...When are you going to practice what you preach?"

Personally, I don't know how that last interrogative got in there.

Maybe my wife opened up Microsoft Word while I was sleeping and inserted it in my sermon notes.

Again, "How you gonna show me how to get to heaven if you don't even know the way to the post office?"

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Dang, I hate that song.

It makes me feel so guilty.

Psst.

"No one can make you feel anything without your consent."

Eleanor Roosevelt said that.

I agree.

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My new friend Johnny was really ticked when I referred to Muslim terrorists as diaperheads; prompting a question that stung: "And this person calls himself a pastor?"

Ouch.

I want to be a good guy, husband, dad, pastor, son, brother, friend, and so on; and though the aforementioned allusions to relatives often remind me that I'm not measuring up to their expectations - especially ___'s - it's always at the forefront of my personal petitions.

Johnny caught my attention.

Candidly, which is a redundant expression for what KDs are all about, I still think the metaphor fits; but I decided to write to him as a brother and begin some correspondence about his concerns/indictments.

While I think we're still gonna disagree on lots of stuff - assuming he leans to the left as he assumes I lean to the right which is terrible pigeon-holing because I really don't know him and he doesn't really know me and pigeon-holing is a pathetic pathology exercised as some kinda emotional/intellectual masturbation even though I struggle with being a Christian by confession who leans Libertarian politically while not knowing where the heaven/otherwise he's coming from - I have grown to like him even though I don't think it's quite reciprocal.

Dang.

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Jesus makes me love everybody.

Agape.

Dang again.

And if I practice agape long enough, I find myself really starting to like people who I once thought I could only love if you know what I mean; and if you don't, do a google search on past KDs for the definition: praying and laboring for the highest good for others regardless of who, what, where, or when without the need nor expectation of response, regard, or reward.

Dang, sometimes I really don't like Jesus because He makes me love so much; and then after loving someone so long, I start to like 'em.

Yech.

Of course, that doesn't mean I agree with 'em.

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Speaking of Johnny, I asked him to write down why he was/remains so ticked off at me and threw my pastoral butt under the bus.

He started, "I realize it was used satirically, but I think some language is simply out of bounds. We rightly condemn the use of the 'n' word when directed at the African-American community whether it is used by a white racist or an African-American rapper. Arabs and Muslims feel similarly degraded by words such as 'diaperhead.'"

O.K., I hate the 'n' word; so that catches my attention.

He continued, "I am not accusing you of being a racist. But whether used satirically or not, I will condemn the usage of racially/culturally/religiously charged language. The world is too volatile a place for such talk."

O.K., by using slashes in his sentence, my affection increases; and, dang, I did say there are lots of Muslims who are especially fragile and, yeah, I don't want to add to their volatility and...

He confronted, "I would also call into question the use of the word terrorist when directed at the Islamic world. It is interesting to note when a white, Christian American directed his anger at the US government by flying a plane into an IRS office in Austin, no one called him a terrorist. He was called deranged. If he had been a Muslim, he would still be a front page story to this day, labeled as an Islamic terrorist."

O.K., but as I recall, he was labeled akin to tea partiers; though I referred to him as a diaperhead. Sorry. That's not true. I said he was a ___head.

He revealed, "Here in D.C., I have the privilege of being a part of US government sponsored interfaith dialogues with Muslim leaders around the world. I have learned a great deal. Among those learnings is the feelings of these leaders that their communities, far more than us, are the victims of violent extremism within their own ranks...They see the violence of some Muslims as aberrations/distortions of Islam in the same way I consider several lethal attacks on abortion clinics to be aberrations/distortions of Christianity and my rabbi friends consider the violent acts of some settlers in Israel to be aberrations/distortions of Judaism. I remember hearing the Dali Lama respond to a question about why some Buddhists in Cambodia have been so violent. He responded, 'There are some very bad people who are Buddhists, just as there are some very bad people who are Christians, Jews, and Muslims.' Perfectly said."

O.K., agreed, some people are ___heads (you fill in the blank according to whatever PC dictionary works for ya).

He concluded, "Rather than rant about terrorism, we need to reiterate Jesus' teachings which condemn the use of violence. Until people turn to dialogue rather than violence...The future of our children depends on it."

O.K., agreed, but, geez, having been to the Middle East so many times and having studied in Germany not long after the Munich massacre in the early 70s and talking to a Black September creep who told me to get out of the way as "they" did their thing to do their thing... Let me quote myself from my book that never threatened the sales of Ricky and Houston's Big Tooth, "Trying to be rational with the irrational is illogical" (Fifteen Secrets for Life and Ministry).

Dang.

I like Johnny.

He thinks my satire could make things worse with Muhammad's blood relatives by inciting them to more bad behaviors.

I think he's naive in thinking too many of those ___heads will ever listen to anybody or abide by anything, uh, resembling civilized behaviors.

But, dang, I like him; and he's caught my attention.

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Often, during nuptials, I refer to the twelve words that keep marriages together:

I was wrong.
I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
I love you.

Anyone who doesn't recognize that as consistent with Christianity at His best is a real ___head.

"How you gonna show me...?"

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Blessings and Love!