When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the religious bands of denomination which have divided brother from brother, and to assume among the Powers of the Kingdom, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of  God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men through Christ are now one priesthood, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of personal Calling. That to secure these rights, churches were in good faith instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the churched, each being led by a common spirit and an uncommon baptism; however when any Form of Governance be it spiritual or political becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right and the responsibility of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new practices, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to best assure both personal destiny and Kingdom mission as described by the Word of God.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that spiritual practices long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism to the degree that one’s nation no longer is affected by presence of such religious institutions, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such practices, and to provide new constructs for their future spirituality and that of their children.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Hosea 5:10 (NIV) “Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones.”

I am amazed each morning as I concurrently read the national news, the Scriptures and now, Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer.  The parallels between Biblical Judah, pre-Hitler Germany and contemporary America are remarkable.

All three were very religious, Judah being the offspring of Israel, the grandson of Abraham; Germany the seed bed of the protestant faith, steeped in Lutheranism; and now America, just cresting the hill of a day when “In God she trusted.”

Several postings ago, I had cited a quote form MLK, Jr.: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool…. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say it has atrophied its will.” 

Now some 40 years later what was a series of moving sermons from a Birmingham jail and tireless blood letting for the sake of justice, has become little more than a holiday and at best a diversity movement, with racial injustice and social ills still prevalent throughout America. 

Our churches, with little exception and our neighborhoods are still relatively segregated and our ministers and laity lack the source of passion that drove this then young pastor.  Our families are fragmented and our schools are growing ever comfortable producing only a slight percentage more successes than failures.  Our debt driven economy is experiencing a widening gap of haves and have-nots, while our graying and often dependant population mushrooms. 

The prophet Hosea struggled with the harlot like unfaithfulness of Israel, which ultimately led to their captivity by Assyria.  Bonhoeffer expressed similar concerns with the thoughts and actions of the Lutheran Church and the Germany it had afforded; their pastors were in total denial of what was coming about under the Third Reich; even gullible enough to support Hitler’s recommendation of a state church and the bishop he later recommended.  How can a nation move so far off base with churches on ever corner?

Then I listen to the public silence of the American Church, amid the roar of fundamentalist, who like those in Germany swallowed the idea that a church state alliance might once again unify Germany, still later justifying genocide as a means of purification of that church.

“Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones.”  Personal greed over time will justify a neighbor’s inch by inch encroachment onto adjacent properties.  This malady eventually exceeds geography, demanding a life of excess, soon bleeding into other areas of moral and ethical concern.  Absurdities like the sell of sub-prime mortgages, cloaked in the language of derivatives, or the recent revelation amid a local bank, founded by the prayerful people of Moravia, would drift to the point of launderings billions in drug money without notice by their board?

Neither Germany nor Judah at a certain point could escape the consequences of their unrighteousness.   Will there be an awakening in America?

I am engrossed in the latest biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas and the parallels that I now see between Hitler’s Germany and contemporary America.  Not that I have time to read a book approaching 3 inches in thickness, but I respect what Metaxas has to say, having spoken with him a couple times here in Winston-Salem.  By the way, in reading, I even found that Winston-Salem or Salem, NC was the first place to celebrate July 4^th  in 1783!  It’s a small world, and apparently Salem has played a large role in shaping this hemisphere.

The title of this entry was a popular concept in Hitler’s day, the word means “the Leader” and though it had been around for decades, “Hitler rode the concept of the Fuhrer Principle right into the chancellorship and eventually came to embody it.” (Metaxas, p.139).

Germany was at a point ripe for change and this man whom many describe as crazy and criminal, slipped right into leadership.  How can something like that happen in a country known for its contributions to Christianity, only centuries away from a time when Luther translated the Bible in a way that unified the entire nation of Germany, giving them their first text in a common language?  What happened to the clergy and the seminarians of that day, then world renowned for their scholarship?

Is something similar happening in America, reflected in the rapid change coming to our culture?  Or, is this sweeping cultural change, compounded by technology, simply the recoil to the unraveling of morality among the generations now passing?   Just as the German mark was devalued by debt and later default, the American dollar seems more at risk than ever, and to China of all nations?  Our youth are crying for change and our seniors are simply crying!

Why am I writing this, I was struck by this infatuation with leadership, a common malady since Samuel’s day, when Israel desired a King over a prophet?  I recall my own infatuation as I was first exposed to leadership theory in the early 80’s, everyone aspiring to personal development and positional enhancement.   I then watched as the pulpits of America traded Christ-likeness for the same, then modifying this malady somewhat thanks to Greenleaf, and then Maxwell, thus the current enchantment of our churches and non-profits with servant leadership, a more palatable mix of the two.  We want to be like Christ for that is our religious duty, but we also desire all the trappings of commerce that seem to come only through leadership in this overly capitalistic nation.  My fear is that the church has now been seduced?

Rather being an institution that serves the poor and “stand(s) with those who suffer” [Bonhoeffer; Metaxas,p.128], we serve the wealthy and “help” those who suffer.  Meanwhile the moral fabric our nation erodes, our banking institutions tremble and our churches sit silent so as not to injure revenues necessary to sustain staff and facilities.  The only recourse for a new generation is change, the only concept they know is leadership; for pastoral guardianship of the Truth and healthy spiritual discipleship have long been traded for the social engagement and harmony needed for success in the capital campaigns that once funded the buildings that now hold congregations hostage.  This is me repenting for a life given to nurturing “leaders” vs. disciples!

I am sure that there are times when it appears that I have stepped outside appropriate boundaries for communicating the faith, yet faith knows no boundaries and in fact is a walk into darkness with only the revelation of God’s Spirit as our light and the confidence of God’s love as our guide.

I recall seeing an anonymous quote recently that went something like this: “Faith is stepping into the unknown, into a place of darkness where all that we know has ended and expecting to find footing provided and if not, we simply learn how to fly!”  True faith leads to freedom, not some draw back in fear or retreat to those things we have been told but never experienced for our selves.  That’s living someone else’s life and not finding your own.

Yet, my life has been served well by the guidance of scriptures, a boundary of sorts, which provides a footing as one begins to open oneself to the voice of the Spirit, true revelation.  The text alone cannot provide this, even if totally memorized.  Sure scriptures provide comfort, and are indeed used by the Spirit to guide our lives through dark moments.

Nowhere is it my intent to contradict scripture or to challenge its inerrancy, for when the scriptures are applied as intended, read in openness toward the Spirit of God, they speak into our lives a relevant message from God for this day.  Otherwise, the text becomes a barrier against growth, a means of sustaining the past, holding on to culture and comfort, dimming the very light needed in an ever changing world. 

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  In this brief statement, Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) offers a rich snapshot of the power of the Word of God.  Yes, it is living and active, its message enduring the ages; and yet a mystery in that though it never changes, what it speaks to every individual is dependant on the context of the life moment in which the scripture is read.   I say this not from some seminary experience, only parroting what another respected academician had to offer, but from forty years of reading and walking within the Word.  I am a believer. 

Yet, this mysterious living writ can come to error when men attempt to restrain the living Word, guarding its text as sacred while secretly harboring selfish agendas or blindly following other men.  Can the church error in its use of the Word?  That was apparent in reformation history and from the biographies of men like John Huss and Dietrich Bonheoffer.

Protecting the text as a means of preserving a culture, we can prevent the revelation that sustains the very essence of that active, living word.

Those who move away from revelation and relationship with the Spirit only foster the religious and lay the foundation for the persecution and pain that eventually tears away at our best institutions and makes reformation, even revolution the more necessary.

The paradox is that revelation is ever changing, but God is ever the same.  It’s the approach to Him that changes.  First the Law, then the Incarnation, then Pentecost and now His Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.  The problem, is not knowing the way, for God has made that clear, it’s finding our way to the Way.

Show us the Father…”if you have seen me…”, the Jesus of the manger…vulnerable; the Jesus at the wedding feast… joyful & fun; the Jesus at the well… forgiving; the Jesus in the temple… defending a God of relationship over man-made law and religion; then on the water… triumphing over the storms of life and nature;   finally breakfast on the shore, “…you have seen the Father.”

We so mar revelation when we try to guard it.   God needs no protector, He is God!