ITLOTC 1-12-21

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Epiphany

Sundays Remarks

Hello friends. Truth be told, I wrote a new entry for this newsletter. Then after sitting with it for 24 hours I decided I disagreed with myself and elected not to publish it here. Instead, I am including the remarks I made Sunday in response to the events that unfolded at the capitol building last Wednesday.

A Few Remarks Prepared in Response to 1-6-21

1-10-21

Jeremiah 6:13-15

“There Is No Peace” 

I was reminded this week that Stanley Hauwerwas said, “Protestants set out to make America Christian and instead they made Christianity American.”  

The worst of that truth was on display Wendesday when seditionists carried confederate flags in one hand and “Jesus Saves” signs in the other, while breaking federal laws and calling for the murder of Vice President Mike Pence for failing to do something he is not empowered to do. 

Let me name something that I have always tried to wear.  To Carry.  To honor in this position.  That is the reality both that the gospel transcends political landscapes so as not become a bedfellow with a particular party, but rather critique them (because you will never find a platform that squares entirely with the Kingdom of God). 

And Also 

That the gospel is inescapably political.  That because the kingdom of God begins with the reality that humans bear the divine image of God, the gospel’s very existence is a critique of principalities and powers. 

So here’s the rub.  It is very easy for me to speak candidly with you individually about that tension and at times I show my cards.  In the worship moment … with the gift I have been given in the pulpit, I have always tried to be measured.  To speak out against this president when he demeaned women, when he enacted an immigration policy that was inhumane, when he belittled human dignity both through policy and word, when he implicitly and sometimes explicitly championed white supremacy and when he devalued entire nations through polemical speech. 

What happened Wednesday was horrible.  There is no other way to say that.  And it was horrible, among other reasons, because the individual who has the most power in the world right now encouraged what happened.  And what’s more, took measured to make sure it would happen. 

That truth is particularly terrifying and we likely have not seen the last of this kind of terror.  

So what do I do here? 

If the senate vote is indicative of anything, perhaps a silver lining would be that the public condemnation of what happened is near universal … (that’s probably overstated), but at least when cooler heads prevailed that seemed to be the acceptable social opinion. 

Still something lingers in the speech and thought that the church must confront and that is what I want to use this moment for.  

As I was writing this this morning I got a text from a friend Mark that included a graphic titled “Purple Church Post-Insurrection Sermon Bingo.”  In the spirit of jest, the card lists words like: quote from MLK, one thing we can all agree on …, both sides, civility, quote from Lincoln, & Mr. Rogers (we’ll add some nuance there).  

ErZp76NWMAABqUK.jpg

When I spoke the Sunday after George Floyd was murdered I called the riots imprecatory riots and read Psalm 137.  My point was that the bible made room for and anticipates that kind of emotion.   The gift of the Bible is that it gives us a range to express human emotion – and to do worship well and properly, we must move through all those emptions.  So today, in order to rebuke the calls for peace without justice and the movements to say “it’s okay” without it actually being okay – I want to read a few verses from Jeremiah 6.  

13“From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

 Meet the UBC(ers)

The Parkers

HR Team Member

The HR team is looking for someone to serve on the team. This is a volunteer position. The purpose and qualifications are listed below. If you are someone you know has an interesting please email josh@ubcwaco.org.

(A)Purpose.  The Human Resources/Staff Support Team shall exist for the following purposes:

a.     To establish procedures for the hiring of ministerial and non-ministerial staff, and to enact those procedures when advised by Leadership Team to do so.

b.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on issues regarding long-term staff needs. 

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

d.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on matters regarding staff compensation, benefits, grievances and termination.

e.    To be a liaison between the congregation and staff during times of conflict after all attempts at personal, one-on-one resolution has been made.  

(C)Qualifications.  HR/Staff Support Team members shall have been an active participant in the life of UBC for no less than one year, have received a bachelor’s degree (or roughly an equivalent amount of experience in personnel management, ministry, or other related field,) and have a demonstrable understanding of organizational management.  

Parishioner of the Week

Jen & Paul Carron for a dynamite Christmas Eve worship performance.

Work is Worship

Greeters: No Greeters this week

Coffee Makers: no coffee makers this week

Mug Cleaners: no mug cleaners this week

Money Counter:  no money counters this week

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Luci Hoppe: lhoppe@gmail.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com

Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com

Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com

Student Position: Davis Misloski

Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members. 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com

Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com

George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com

Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Craig Nash: Craig_Nash@baylor.edu