In the local Sydney paper over the weekend, the op-ed column was headed “A time for reflection,” which I thought was nice except that the world would probably be in a much better place if we took time to reflect for the other 51 weeks of the year. Sorry, better make that 50 because Christmas also seems to be the other popular time for reflection.

In response to the article, I took some time myself to reflect on where we are in our world and what the world has suffered for want of reflection for most of the year.

There are still asylum-seekers “imprisoned” in holding centers in outback Australia. Most of them are there because they chose to flee repressive regimes and the fear of death. So they came to Australia, an enlightened Western democracy, and must wonder at times if it is not another repressive regime.

The U.S. also has its own detention center at Guantanamo Bay. I decided to Google and see what the latest news was on the center for suspects in the “war on terror.” In the Salt Lake Tribune for Tuesday, March 29th, there is a report of a member of the Utah Guard who has volunteered to serve at Guantanamo Bay. Colonel Blackner was quoted as saying, “It was important to me to be able to contribute to the fight against terrorism,” he said. “The mission here is critical to the success of this fight.”

Is the mission of Guantamo Bay “critical” to the fight against terrorism? If we take time to reflect on the past year or so, is there not a great deal of injustice being dealt out under the guise of the so-called war on terror?

What about life in Iraq? I’m sure the Iraqi population has had plenty of time to reflect on life after Saddam. Perhaps if America and Britain had formulated a plan for a reconstruction of Iraq before the events, rather than as events unfolded, then maybe the saga of Iraq wouldn’t be in the quagmire it is now.

We have also witnessed photos, in the past 12 months, of American and British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. Oh, of course there were murmurs of discontent from some politicians, but what reflection has this caused for the proud Western nations, the defenders of democracy and justice?

Perhaps, as I get older, I am becoming more cynical, but as I read the op-ed over the weekend, I was struck by just how little our governing institutions really do reflect. Blame and excuse-making seem to take the place of critical reflection. Maybe if a few of us take time to regularly reflect and act upon our deliberations throughout the year, we might be able to build the foundations of a thoughtful, just democracy that is collaborative not just in principle but in practice.

It seems to me that the Western world, particularly in regard to areas that have any sense of authority, are only open to degree-educated people. I have been pondering the Church in my role as a pastor and I have come to the conclusion that the Church, as a global entity, is set up to cater, mostly, for middle-class, university-educated, people who respond to a lecture format of information dissemination and who also engage with ideas and concepts.

A key part of my calling is pastoral care. I, particularly, have a concern for those people who find themselves on the edge of the church. I meet weekly with a man suffering from bipolar disorder. It is not glamorous, cutting-edge ministry that will get me a cover shot on Christianity Today, but I feel, nonetheless, that it is worthwhile. I also meet with a schizophrenic man, and my wife and I are assisting a single mother in need at this time.

I share these things not to boast but in order to raise some thoughts. Of course, I do much more than this in my ministry, but these tasks for me are equally, if not more, valuable than my teaching role.

As I pondered this I began to think about how accessible politics is for the lower-class, lower-income person or for the mentally ill or the socially disadvantaged. Even websites such as this attract upper middle-class, university-educated people. I am not wanting to trigger a Monty Python-esque battle for the worst upbringing, and I am not at all minimizing the value of websites such as this, but what I want to raise is whether we, as socially concerned, politically active, spiritually aware, intelligent people, are creating structures that encourage the participation of those who fall through the cracks of society.

My contribution to this, in practical terms, is a drop in the ocean, but I am learning that I can only do what I can do. What are you doing? What more can I do? The political system in the U.S.A. is heavily loaded towards a wealthy minority who can afford to get involved. I want to assert that there is a place for grass-roots movements. I know that they are around. I would like to encourage anyone who is involved in political, social or spiritual engagement with people on the fringes of society to respond to this post or to email me. I would like to build a profile of positive contributions to society both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

What I have done here is to throw out some thoughts. This is not a comprehensive answer by any means but it is a beginning of sorts.  Will you join me in the journey?

Regards,
Rev. Les

If you have chosen to read this article, then you find yourself in a privileged position because here, at InTheFray, I have decided to announce my introduction to the team by coming out.

I hope that by coming out I will gain respect. I hope that people will listen to my voice and interact creatively without stereotyping me and
labeling me.

By coming out in such a forum as this, I hope to appeal to your sense of fairness. I know that there are people like me on TV and in the theater. We have our own radio stations and magazines. Some of us wear peculiar clothing, but most of us are regular people who live regular lives.

You see what I am trying to say is this: I want to, erm, well, admit publicly to the fact that I’m…

OK, I will try and get to the point. It’s not easy because once I make my announcement and put it out there in public, then I’m afraid you will judge me and color my views with your own perceptions of my “type.”

Ok, here we go. I want to tell the world that I am — a Baptist pastor!

Now I wonder if it would have helped my cause if I was announcing that I was gay? But I’m not. The fact is that I am an ordained Baptist pastor in Australia.

You may wonder why I was so apprehensive in alerting you to my status. From my vantage point as an Englishman now residing in Australia, I have been able to witness the rise of conservative evangelicals in the U.S. and it scares me.

I follow my vocation because I believe that the Bible is still relevant for today; not my own particular spin on the Bible; not my political ideology glossed over by putting the label “Christian” on it, but simply the words of the Bible considered and lived out.

I joined the team at ITF because I want to add my voice to the growing realm of writers and thinkers on the Internet. I am left-wing in my politics, and I believe that socialism still has a powerful message if only the left could agree on core fundamentals.

I do not want you to label me and box me in. If you stridently disagree with anything that I may say over the coming weeks, then please respond freely. I will not ignore anyone, no matter what your viewpoint. All I ask is that I receive the same respect in return. For too long, the American conservative wing of the church, often personified in the Moral Majority, have dictated how Christianity is perceived and, in particular, how a Christian political viewpoint is perceived. I am here to take small steps to change that.

I do not claim to have easy answers, but I am prepared to ask questions and to attempt to mold answers through dialogue. I am not liberal either, in case you were wondering. What am I? Who am I? Well, let’s see if we can explore those questions together. Why not look upon this as a journey. I will consider current affairs, indigenous issues in Australia, the relationship between Britain, Australia, and the U.S. I am also happy to talk about life in Australia, and I am MORE than happy to talk about soccer, which is my consuming passion.

Life is not meant to be easy, but it is meant to be lived. In living together, we may begin to see beyond the externals and discover that we each have treasures within that will enrich all of us as we get closer in dialogue.

Please feel free to email me with suggestions for content that you may wish to see explored from a British, Australian or Christian perspective.

Until next week,
Rev. Les

Michaele Shapiro’s article brought to light the clash between a post-modern, liberal tolerance and the  seemingly narrow-minded, blinkered view of the conservative religious right.

What I want to do firstly, as a Baptist pastor, is to bring to the table the concept that not all Christians operate in such a fixed world, nor do all Christians respond with such rapid knee-jerk reactions.

What bothers me is that there are key words that will automatically provoke a vehement response from the religious right. With the media access granted to this bloc in the U.S., their views are much more clearly propagated than they are in Australia.

In an Australian context, I have to work to get a Christian voice heard and so I consider other people’s points of view; I listen; I dialogue; I seek to understand; I seek to persuade and I seek to build relationships and bridges. Does this mean that I compromise my worldview? By no means! Does it make me a liberal? I sincerly hope not. What it does mean is that I work hard to understand my own thinking and engage it with that of others.

It seems that in the U.S., the religious right, in particular, has a ready made populace who want to hear these views expounded and so they have become lazy in their thinking and rhetoric. It is particularly sad that they have missed the point in the SpongeBob SquarePants debacle and have opened themselves up to ridicule.

I find it irresponsible when Christians leap in with slogans and heated views and, then, when they are attacked, they file it away as “persecution.” The Christian worldview may be unfairly critqued at times, but often it has more to do with half-baked thinking than it has to do with any sense of attack.

Please understand that there is a core of Christianity that wants to engage at a deeper level. I am part of InTheFray to make my voice known and to learn from others. I believe, from my vantage point in Australia, that Americans need to be exposed to a broader range of media that doesn’t just reflect insular views dictated to by a culture that is still largely dominated by right-wing Christianity.