My Brother Richmond's New Book

To honor Richmond after his death, our family finished having his new book Frozen Ghost published. He had turned in his final draft to the self-publishing company, so we picked up the ball. I wrote a foreword for his book and approved the final drafting stages.

It is now available for purchase online. Here is a link to it on Amazon. You may also find it on Barnes and Noble here.

Below is the foreward I wrote for his book. May it honor him, and may he rest in peace.

Foreward

When I read Richmond’s first book, The Deviants, I was sure it was the wildest thing I had ever seen. Yet his subsequent books, Your Yesterday Is My Tomorrow and Witch Hunt, never failed to take me on voyages through unconventional waters. His writing is gripping, if out of the ordinary.

Even as his fourth book, Frozen Ghost, was in the process of publication, Richmond’s life ended too early. He died suddenly of a heart attack after spending the day with family touring the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the “Lynching Memorial,” in Montgomery, Alabama. On his very last day, he was longing for justice, something that was deeply important to him.

My father, my other brothers, and I decided to honor his life and memory by following through with his plans to have this book published. It is with bittersweet joy that we share it with you.

I could tell you about Richmond’s relentless love for God, for Christian theology, for world religions, for philosophy, for social justice, and for the Church. I could tell you about his amazing academic accomplishments. But what I really want to tell you is this. He had a brilliant and beautiful mind.

I sometimes say he could waltz into a room and teach a course in world religions that would knock your socks off, but he might not be able to find his own socks. The unfolding of his beautiful mind started when he was teaching and involved in his first doctoral program, before mom died eighteen years ago. I say that not to call attention to his suffering. I say that because more than anyone I know, he was an overcomer. This is what inspires me the most about his life.

No matter what the obstacles, he was eternally fascinated with theology and philosophy and loved to find hints of it in movies and fiction. He refused to stop creating. He finished a Ph.D. at Purdue in philosophy and literature, and this was his proudest moment. He simply loved to write.

I once told him that his writing “defied genre.” He took that as a huge compliment, which it was meant to be, and then used that phrase on the back cover of a subsequent book. The threads he could weave between philosophy, comics, vivid memories, fantasy novels, painful past experiences, science fiction, and theology gave me insight into the beauty of his mind. Writing was his way of making sense of things, of finding peace, and of blessing the world.

As I read this book, I mused on his story of the broken mirror, and Richmond saying, “I just looked at it and it broke!” I know that really happened, for I was the brother who teased him about it for years. I pondered the technical term “audio pareidolia” he mentioned, clearly a symptom of his condition which he had become educated about. I vividly remembered conversations we had about the voice of Diana, who was speaking to him from across the stars. As always, I found reminders of the intricate way he wove various threads of his life together through writing. It is truly a tapestry.

I have learned more from my brother Richmond than anyone I have ever known about courage, determination, and relentless creativity. I’m delighted that after that long mental, intellectual, and philosophical journey of his beautiful mind, he had unwavering faith. In recent years, he loved going to church and being involved in teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, and ministries of addiction recovery.

He died too early. But my heart is full of gratitude that he died happy, stable, creative, and excited about this book.

Richmond would have been thrilled to know that at his funeral, I would close my brief remarks with the famous quote from Captain Kirk at the funeral of his dear, Vulcan friend Spock. “Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most … human.”

And it was.

Stephen Pierce West

Brother of Richmond Pierce West

August 2021

The Four Christmas Words

It's occurred to me (after years of exploring the Christmas stories in the Bible every year) that if each unique gospel writer had one word for Christmas, they might be these words. May it bless you and your family during this holiest of weeks.

LINEAGE - Matthew's Christmas word might be just that, "lineage." Generally speaking, his gospel gift is summed up in his favorite phrase,"this was done in order to fulfill what was said by the prophets ..." His gift is to show us how Christmas, and Jesus in general, fulfills Old Testament longing. Unlike the other gospels, he starts with the genealogy of Jesus (outlining 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and 14 generations from the exile to the Messiah). His point is it was clearly the plan of God that Christ would come and fulfill the prophecy of being a Messiah from the house and lineage of King David. He quotes scripture about how the virgin birth fulfilled prophecy. Unlike the other gospels, he also has the story of the magi (I hate to mess with your Christmas decor, but we don't know that there were three of them and they didn't make it to the manger, they came to the house they were staying as late as a couple of years later). Again, this is about fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew's Christmas story is all about that.

LAUNCH - If Mark has a Christmas word, it might be "launch." Why? He launches right into the message of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus to show up in ministry. Yes, it's true ... he doesn't even talk about Christmas at all. This makes sense, in light of the general impetus of Mark. His favorite word in the gospel seems to be "immediately." Jesus is always going and doing, and the kingdom of God is ushering in. So it's not just that he launches into the message of John and Jesus without a single story about Christmas, he believes that Jesus is launching the kingdom of God into our midst without delay.

LOWLY - If Luke has a Christmas word, I suppose it would be "lowly." Ah, yes, most of the Christmas narrative is here in Luke, because of his general concern for the least, the last, and the lost ... for the oppressed and neglected (from woman to Gentiles to Samaritans, plus parables such as the lost sheep and the lost coin). It's no accident, then, that he would be the one to tell the story of the shepherds being visited by the angels, not to mention the details about the poverty and lack of influence of Joseph and Mary, and the fact that Jesus was born in a stable out back. All that is meant to point to something about God's favor for the poor and needy. Even the canticles (the songs of Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon) are about both fulfillment of prophecy and about God's regard for the oppressed and the lowliness of his servants. For Luke, every aspect of the narrative is about this.

LOGOS - Well, if we are going to stay with the "L" theme it's obvious what John's Christmas word would be. It would be logos, the Greek New Testament word for, well, "word." He tells of Christmas as a poet, not a storyteller. We don't get from John details such as stables, local politics, or taxes, and there are no wise men or shepherds. Instead, it's rich and beautiful theology that has shaped our spirituality on every level. He starts out, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Theologically, he describes how Christ is the very word God spoke to set creation into being. He muses on how this life was the light that shines in the darkness, which will never overcome it. John the Baptist is a "witness to the light," Then he says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," theologizing on the incarnation and the humanity/divinity of Christ. John's version of Christmas takes a deep theological plunge, even if it doesn't help with setting up your manger scene!

So, if you had a word for Christmas, what would yours be?

May you have a wonderful, wonder-full Christmas.

God Doesn’t Need Politics

Commencement Prayer and Blessing

I was honored with the invitation to lead the invocation and benediction at the commencement exercises of Jacksonville State University on Friday, December 10, 2021. I share it here with you so that you can join us, wherever you are and whenever you may pause, in the grand circle of prayer.

INVOCATION

Let us pray.

God of Infinite Wisdom,

We pause at the beginning of these ceremonies to honor the one from whom all blessings flow. We gather here today to celebrate a major step forward, into new places with new people and new experiences. Let us not forget the blessings that have flowed so richly behind us. We thank you for the knowledge gained, the life lessons learned, and the relationships forged in this place.

We thank you for the grand institution of Jacksonville State University, which has created space for us to build a strong foundation for life. We thank you for the faculty and staff who have given of themselves freely, and for the families and friends who have cheered us on to the finish line. 

God of the journey, may these commencement exercises be exactly that, a “commencement” – a new beginning, a fresh start. May it be less about pomp and circumstance and more about life’s purpose in all circumstances.  

After the robes, tassels, and mortar boards are set aside, may we remain clothed with courage to move on to new adventures. May our next steps be not so much about pursuing a career as about discovering a vocation, for life is not about getting what we want but about becoming what we were created to be.

May this diploma we hold in our hand today be more than a piece of paper. May it be a blank palette on which a new work of art is formed by the hand of the living God. May the God who began a good work in you be faithful to complete it.

And for those who walk across this sturdy stage today, may it serve as a threshold to a whole new season of life. We ask that you light us on fire, fill us with breath, strengthen us with spirit, and set us on a brightly lit path. 

And now, with deep respect for all faiths that might be represented here, I offer this prayer in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

BENEDICTION

Now that the applause is quieted and the speeches concluded, may your voices rise up to pronounce peace and justice in this world. May you find a profound sense of purpose in your vocation, in your families, and in yourselves. May you spread kindness, generosity, and virtue wherever you go. May you go and set the world on fire.

And above all things, may you be the YOU that you were created to be. 

Amen and Amen!

What’s Distinctive about Wesley’s Communion Spirituality?

This was my presentation “Taste and See” at Bluff Park UMC this morning. What an honor to be back at one of my “home churches.”

It is on FIVE WORDS that describe what is distinctive about Wesley’s communion spirituality:

1. Presence (sure and real)

2. Remembrance (experience anew)

3. Perfection (in love)

4. Foretaste (of heaven)

5. Becoming (the body)

I’m staying in the UMC

A friend posted this on Facebook:

It is my prayer that the United Methodist Church would stay together. I have no desire in leaving it. I feel God called me into this particular church for many reasons. One of the reasons I have loved this church so much is the inclusiveness. As followers of Christ we are to love our neighbors, and love covers a multitude of sins. I pray that we can stay United and work out our divided differences. I feel that if each person would break bread with someone slightly different from them we would truly be the hands and feet.

This is my response.

I completely agree with you. It breaks my heart that a breakaway group (10-15% of the UMC) is planning to leave, but I am grounded here and staying in our beloved denomination, and I believe the UMC has a bright future. It’s my home. And as we move forward, I believe fervently in Jesus’s radical love and inclusiveness. That overshadows all diversity of thought on controversial matters.

Those planning to secede are making a big deal about culture war issues that are not even mentioned in the gospels or historic creeds. So they draw a line in the sand over distinctions that were not important to Jesus or the historic church. I believe we should embrace the love of Christ, interpret other scripture through the lens of Christ, equip people to make ethical decisions based on their personal journey with Christ, and stop pointing out everybody else’s “sin” when the matters at hand are open to theological interpretation. I believe the answer is to let local churches practice their faith and make decisions in their local context. We can all move forward together in joy.

I encourage people reading this to check out Stay UMC that I helped create.

Christianity is not (Just) About a Personal Relationship with Jesus

My friend shared this and I think it’s “spot on.” Here is the article:

https://www.1517.org/articles/christianity-is-not-about-a-personal-relationship-with-jesus?fbclid=IwAR1M5vBL1N9VBQJTJ3qvOBSwBZBMqhjIF6dMyeRwAMEb-uLNd1kekKECZzc

It’s not just about “me and Jesus,” because that can so easily become just about ME and MY Jesus.

The church needs to stand for both unity and community! It rubs against cultural trends right now, but learning to love and live with others that are radically different than us is CORE to the gospel. It’s about our welcome at the table of grace. This is why working through social issues together (not just splitting apart) is so very important to our very identity. You can’t say social issues aren’t important or that they are a recent invention … they certainly were for Jesus, the gospels, the book of Acts, and the epistles! Look at how the love of Jesus and power of God forced them to wrestle with loving lepers, Samaritans, Gentiles, Pharisees, Saducees, scribes, rich young rulers, the “circumcision party” in Acts, women, tax collectors, adulterers, eunuchs, and we can keep going …

Let’s be the church! I believe there is a spiritual rebirthing going on in these tough times of institutional brokenness. Instead of regressing toward being a judgmental place where young people are repelled and go elsewhere to find community in their spiritual search (often to the internet, which is only a semblance of community because it becomes about finding people that are like YOU, not finding love with those you have been given as a gift) we need to recover the true soul of the church … being followers of Jesus in a fully welcoming and engaging place where we forge community that stands out in a lonely and isolated world.

That’s the New Testament Church. That’s the mystical church that can be vibrant and active in the midst of the institutional church. I have a dream for restoration to this way of being church! And you know what? It’s already happening … look for it.

Cherry-picking the Bible

I saw an article of cherry-picking the Bible and the anti-vax movement. You can find it here.

https://religionnews.com/2021/10/04/cherry-picking-the-bible-and-using-verses-out-of-context-isnt-a-practice-confined-to-those-opposed-to-vaccines-it-has-been-done-for-centuries/?fbclid=IwAR1Pz5hlU8cyrCgZ4df0_ZZnm6UiWA3Nw0QGpXRgbC_fCbjXT0fKWaTsaZk

An interesting read … I’ve often said that with a pair of scissors and tape, you can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say. The anti-vax movement is definitely doing that.

In biblical interpretation, context is everything. I often say to understand a scripture, you read around it. Most of all we read it through the lenses of Christ, who is the very Word of God, full of grace and truth.

Wesley had it right when he said the interpretive task is important, through tradition, reason, and experience. Faith is not opposed to science.

The Bible is not a bunch of individual verses to be used like arrows in a quiver. It’s the revelation of God in Christ.

Don’t use the Bible to support your preconceived notions. Let it change you through a lifetime journey of discovery. That’s how the Spirit works.

Clearing

A poem by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worth of rescue.

TULIP and John Wesley

I have created a new "TULIP" handout to use when teaching Wesleyan theology. This is a simplified version of classic Calvinist teaching. Why not share it here with the world?

I've discovered over the years the best way to teach Wesley's "Scripture Way of Salvation" (God's sacred initiative in shaping our lives into fullness through prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace) is to start with TULIP. Then I contrast these ideas with the Arminian point of view (free will vs. predestination), and the sheet provides a way to offer Wesley's nuanced approach.

Historically, it makes sense because Wesley's teaching (which is a recovery of eastern Christian spirituality, expressed in more exacting Protestant language) came out of his struggle against Calvinism historically. He was brilliant in what he taught, in my humble opinion!

I say his approach was nuanced because his teachings aren't direct opposite of these teachings, but definitely contrast with them. He taught direct opposites when it comes to the middle three, but his response was nuanced when it came to the first and the last. He believed we are born tainted from our original luster because of original sin, but that our "essential nature" is that we are born in the image of God, not that we are a sinner. Christianity restores us to that original nature, rather than changing us from our original "bad" nature into something else.

Likewise, his response to the Calvinist "once saved always saved" mantra is more nuanced than it is often characterized to be. It should not lead directly to anxiety about whether we are saved or not (the Calvinist critique of Wesley). We don't need to be saved again and again because we fall, heavens no. He also taught ASSURANCE of our salvation, but maintained that God always grants us free will to turn toward God, or away from God. God never forces love. Of course, Wesley's language of "salvation" is rooted in New Testament Greek, and so does not refer simply to whether we have a ticket to heaven or not at the moment of death. It refers to whether we are on the journey of being made whole in Christ. This is part of the mischaracterization of what he means when he indicates we can "fall from grace."

Wesley’s theology in a Nutshell

On Vaccinations

GET YOUR VAX, PEOPLE!

We are at the ER tonight, where my father-in-law has been stuck in a gurney for hours because there are 90 beds and 140 patients.

- 90% of Covid patients in hospitals are unvaccinated.

- 95% of Covid patients who die here are unvaccinated.

- Soon we will pass 5 million people in the world who have died of this.

- 80 million people in the US are eligible for a free vaccination and refuse to get one.

- The reason we have variants appearing is because everyone is not getting vaccinated quickly.

- There are no microchips being put in your bloodstream, there is no conspiracy to take your rights away, Dr. Fauci is not a liar, and the vaccination is safe.

- If all of us can’t come together on this, it will keep going and going. More people die. This is a fact.

- This is not about personal choice. This is about what it takes to protect humanity.

- This is not about politics. It’s about compassion. Put politics aside.

- It doesn’t matter if you “don’t know what’s in it.” I don’t know what’s in a hot dog and I eat them.

- If we trust God, we should participate in the miracle that the science God created has now created.

- The vax is not just for you. It is for humanity. You’re not just taking your chances. You are endangering other people.

- It’s not about you.

Thanks for listening.

(Of course, there are people with legitimate medical conditions that do not need to take the vaccine. The rest of us should cover for you by getting ours. That’s another way we are all in this together.)

We're Grounded

I am reading Grounded by Diana Butler Bass. I feel led to post a few direct quotes from the introduction to the book. It gives me great hope.

"Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor awaiting execution in a Nazi prison, understood that the three-tiered universe with its majestic God had been swept away by the war and argued that a new 'religionless' Christianity must emerge from history's ashes." (5)

"In the decades that followed, it became increasingly evident that you cannot revive a God for a world that no longer exists. Venerating a God of a vanished world is the very definition of fundamentalism, the sort of religion that is inflicting great pain and violence on many millions of people across the planet and is leading to the rejection of religion by millions of others." (5-6)

"Some stubbornly maintain that a distant God sits on his heavenly throne watching all these things, active as either a divine puppet master or a stern judge of human affairs, ready at a moment's notice to throw more thunderbolts or toss the whole human race into an eternal lake of fire. But this is a vision of God whose time may be up, for such a divinity looks either increasingly absurd or suspiciously like a monster." (8)

"In its crudest form, the role of religion ... is to act as a holy elevator between God above and those muddling around down below in the world. Despite my familiarity with conventional theology, I do have experience of another sort of language for God, for throughout my life something odd kept happening to me. God showed up ... For whatever reason, my soul has a mile-wide mystical streak." (12)

"The language of mysticism and spiritual experience cuts a wide swath through the world's religious traditions, and it presents an alternative theology, that of connection and intimacy." (13)

"The language of divine nearness is the very heart of vibrant faith." (14)

A former Catholic told her, "'But these other things - the Spirit all around, caring and praying for people, working for a better world - they ground me.' Her tale was similar to many stories in circulation about leaving religion behind in favor of spirituality. But it had a twist. She felt grounded by God." (17)

"In Christian theology, the word 'ground' conjures a very particular image. In 1916, a young German military chaplain named Paul Tillich was stationed on the front lines of World War I. The war undid all Tillich's youthful confidence in the world and in faith ... After the war, Tillich made it his work to find dependable theological ground. Eventually, he proclaimed that God is the 'Ground of all Being,' the 'centered presence of the divine'; the 'whole world' is God's 'periphery.' Human life may be finite, destined for dirt and death; but the ground and all that came from it and was connected to it, claimed Tillich, was drenched with the divine, the source of infinite holiness. This insight appears in many of the world's faith traditions. Most tribal religions are based upon the absolute connection of God (or gods) and the earth. Buddhists see 'the world as it is' as the stage of spiritual activity. For Hindus, Brahman is the source of all life, represented by the sacred word Om; the world itself is the expression of Brahman's dream. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a creation story in which the earth is the embodiment of God's breath and insist that God is present everywhere and in all things ... Indeed, the primary hope of the ancient Hebrews was for 'Immanuel,' or 'God with us,' the God who dwells with humankind in love and justice. Christians refer to God's embodiment as 'incarnation,' God made flesh in Jesus, who is called Immanuel, and believe that God is present through the Spirit sent into the world after Jesus's death and resurrection ... in an age of profound, perplexing, and even frightening change, millions of people are rediscovering from the deepest human wisdom a simple spiritual reality: we're grounded." (17-20)

Remembrances of Richmond Pierce West

These are the brief remembrances I shared at the funeral service of my dear brother, Rich, on August 12, 2021.

On behalf of my family, thank you all so much for your love and support. We feel your prayers. They are holding us fast.

The Wests boys were two sets of brothers, and he and I were the younger set. I could tell you about the childhood shenanigans of “Stephen and Richey.” I could tell you about singing “Johnny’s Gettin’ Nothin’ for Christmas” every year (complete with at least 17 verses). I could tell you how often he reminded me about the time he pushed me over the lawn mower. I could tell you about the time he told mom I was eating all the marshmallows (after he ate his half). I could tell you how many times I heard the phrase, “Mom! Stephen’s aggrivatin’ me!” I could tell you about the family video of him imitating Howard Cosell with Andy. He was goofy, he was funny, we called each other punk.

I could also tell you about his relentless love for God, for theology, for social justice, and for the Church. I could tell you about how much he loved Camp Sumatanga. I could tell you about his amazing academic accomplishments. But what I really want to tell you is this. He had a brilliant and beautiful mind.

I sometimes say he could walk into a room and teach a course in world religions that could knock your socks off, but he might not be able to find his own socks. Today, I want you to know this inspires me the most about his life.

The unfolding of his beautiful mind started when he was teaching and involved in his first doctoral program before mom died 18 years ago. I say that not to call attention to his suffering, oh no. I say that because more than anyone I know, he was an overcomer.

No matter what the obstacles, he was eternally fascinated with theology and philosophy. He refused to stop creating. He finished a Ph.D., which was his proudest moment. He self-published 3 books and some graphic novels. He was excited about the new book of ghost stories he had found a publisher for.

I once told him his writing “defied genre” (he took that as a huge compliment, which it was). The threads he could weave between philosophy, comics, memories, painful experiences, science fiction, and theology gave me insight into the beauty of his mind. Writing was his way of making sense of things, of finding peace, and of blessing the world.

I have learned more from my brother than anyone I have ever known about courage, determination, and relentless creativity. And I love the way that after that whole intellectual journey, he had unwavering faith in Christ. In recent years, he just loved going to church and being involved in teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, and ministries of addiction recovery.

I also want to say one more thing that’s really important. Watching Dad and Richmond work out a mutually supportive living arrangement in the years after mom died was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. It wasn’t always easy, but the greatest gift of God we have is each other.

He died too early, and that was a total surprise. But my heart is full of gratitude that he died happy, stable, creative, and excited. And in all things, he had unshakable hope in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That’s what I want to celebrate with you today.

Richmond would have been thrilled to know that at his funeral, I would close my brief remarks with the famous quote from Captain Kirk at the funeral of his dear, Vulcan friend Spock. “Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most … human.”

And it was. Rest in the peace of Christ, Richmond. Amen.

In Memory of Richmond Pierce West

My younger brother, Richmond West, which some of you remember fondly by his childhood nickname “Richey,” died of a sudden heart attack early Sunday morning.

He was a gifted professor and writer and a man of Christian faith, and he had a brilliant and beautiful mind. Thankfully, he spent his last day of life with some of the family on a day trip to Montgomery. I was very close to him and will miss him so much.

He was a huge fan of philosophy and theology, Star Trek, Marvel Comics, and Alabama football. 

You will find his obituary, arrangements, and photos of his life and love here.

An Open Letter to Chris Ritter

Dear Chris,

The United Methodist Church that you and I both love is facing schism. It is a matter of public record that the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA), the advocacy group which you help lead as part of their Global Council, has announced that whether or not the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation finds support at our next General Conference, the new breakaway denomination called the Global Methodist Church (GMC) will be formed without delay.

I have not had the privilege of meeting you, though you served as keynote speaker in a rally in Birmingham, near my home, held to gain support for the new Methodist movement that will be seceding from the UMC. I wrote a public letter after that event, indicating personal reasons why I am choosing to stay in the UMC. It surprised me as much as anyone that it went viral, and a response to my letter was written and signed by the North Alabama chapter of the WCA and others who organized the rally.

In the spirit of open conversation, I offer this open letter to you, since you recently published a comparison chart that is being distributed by the North Alabama chapter of the WCA, and I presume other chapters as well. It was a well-designed effort in which you contrasted what will be the post-separation United Methodist Church with the newly announced denomination the GMC.

I can see the appeal of such an exercise. Laity need to understand the issues before us, and the issues are complex. There is generalized anxiety in the church. There are many variables, since there is a strong possibility that General Conference will be delayed again due to the coronavirus, and it is possible that the Protocol will not pass, or that one of the other plans coming before General Conference will pass, or that the Protocol will pass but with significant changes, or that all or part of it will be deemed unconstitutional by the Judicial Council. However, no matter what happens, the GMC has announced that it will withdraw and form as a new denomination. As churches prepare for a journey that may eventually lead to local church decision making, a chart makes it simple and easy to understand.

Most of what you indicate on the chart could be considered accurate. However, there are three major blind spots which force me to deem it a well-designed promotional piece, intended to persuade people to leave our denomination, instead of providing a balanced and complete picture.

First, the sections describing the beliefs of the post-separation UMC on abortion and pluralism are pure conjecture and have nothing to do with the Protocol. Of course, the UMC will continue to have a General Conference every four years. But no changes in teaching on these issues are indicated in any of the Protocol legislation. Speculating about these “hot button” culture war issues muddies the waters, alarms and confuses laity, and makes the chart a biased effort with partial truth, at best.

Second, it is conspicuous that the chart does not address contrasting information that is less of a “selling point” for people you are hoping will join you in the new denomination. For example, there is a section on “congregational fidelity” in the GMC’s Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline by which a local church can be summarily dismissed from the new denomination if their beliefs or practices are deemed unacceptable in some way by governing bodies beyond the local church (this has no parallel in the United Methodist Discipline). There is a subtle but important change in how the doctrine of grace is presented in the new Transitional Discipline compared to the standard, traditional UMC teaching. There is an intentional change in language about laity trials, compared to the same section in the UMC Discipline, that implies laity could be put on trial for their sexual orientation. There is a self-appointed governing body called the Transitional Leadership Council which has an overwhelming amount of influence over the affairs of the church and broad powers it can later bestow on “its successor.” We have no such thing in the UMC. I could go on.

Third, the very nature of your chart implies that this is a binary choice between two destinies, and this is simply a false narrative. The Protocol does not split the denomination into two parts. Rather, if it even passes, it will allow for the gracious withdrawal of more than one denomination, at least one “traditionalist” denomination and one “progressive” denomination, from the main body of the UMC with millions in start-up funding. The post-separation UMC would remain the largest Methodist body in the United States and remain diverse in thought with traditional, centrist, and progressive pastors, laity, and churches. The Protocol does indicate that the post-separation UMC will remove controversial language in the Discipline regarding human sexuality. However, this action does not “redefine marriage” or force pastors, local churches, or annual conferences to make any decisions or follow any practices they aren’t comfortable with. Rather, it is choosing to allow for diverse and contextualized ministry across the country. In contrasting your two projected denominations on the subject of ordination, for example, you use a simple “yes” or “no.” This does not reflect any nuance of what the post-separation UMC might negotiate to contextualize ministry in the future, according to the Protocol itself.

I am not condemning your attempt to provide a chart. I am appealing to the laity of the church to read your chart with discernment. Some may find it helpful, but it is clearly intended to persuade and it does not give an accurate and balanced picture. I have attached a list of more primary sources from a variety of perspectives that should be read in concert with each other. This will give laity a better picture of the whole.

May God bless your new movement so that together, we can reach different people for Christ in the ever-expanding streams of American religious tradition.

Warmly,

Rev. Dr. Steve West
Member of the North Alabama Conference of the UMC

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Resources for Study and Discernment

Factual Resources
Video Overview by Tom Berlin

The Protocol
The GMC Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline
United Methodist Social Principles

Primary Resources intended to Persuade
Traditionalist Resources:
The Wesleyan Covenant Association
The Global Methodist Church
Centrist Resources:
Uniting Methodists
UMCNext
Progressive Resources:
Reconciling Ministries Network
The Liberation Methodist Connexion

For readers that are part of my home conference, the North Alabama Conference, there are two grassroots resources intended to persuade that should be read and compared:
New Methodist Movement (traditionalist)
Stay UMC (centrist)

A Meditation on Sauty Falls

“A Meditation on Sauty Falls”

by Steve West

The water keeps coming.

It keeps coming, coming, coming.

Across the span of history in a way that’s timeless ... from my limited perspective, anyway ... it keeps coming.

Sometimes it’s bigger, louder, and faster. Sometimes it’s smaller, quieter, and slower.

But it keeps coming.

It’s not only the seasons that affect the flow. Year by year, there are changes. They are so subtle you can’t see it. But I trust it.

Sometimes a stone or tree falls in, and the water finds a new way to flow. Sometimes it carves out something entirely new as a result. Sometimes it takes a really long time.

Then sometimes it’s own creative tendency to make crevices of natural flow is reason enough to find new paths. Sometimes, part of the water ventures away from the central flow. That’s okay too. It’s just another part of the beauty.

When people like me come along to have a look, or take a picture, it’s stunningly breathtaking. But the flow is always secretly, subtly changing.

The water keeps coming. It never stops. That’s how it blesses the world.

Why? Because it’s living water.

It’s Living Water.

That’s what it means to me to be part of God’s Church.

This is a picture I took during meditation time after hiking to the falls in Buck’s Pocket State Park.

This says it all!

Coming to Communion in an “Unworthy Manner”

When I posted the attached picture on Facebook, I got a question from a friend. I succinctly responded to what I think is one of the biggest misinterpretations of Paul’s communion theology today. I thought it would be good to share it here as well.

Here was his question:

And what is your take of the following passage:1 Corinthians 11:29-31 Modern English Version (MEV)29 For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and unhealthy among you, and many die. 31 If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

Here was my response:

That’s  a great question and the scriptural context makes the answer very clear with what Wesley called a “plain reading” of the text. I studied this in my doctoral work.

Paul is not talking about some sense of individual worth or personal morality as many have imagined, but rather he is talking about ethics within the community. The context of 1 Corinthians 11 is that there were divisions in the community (the whole book is about that starting with chapter 1), and in that very chapter 11, Paul was criticizing the way these divisions were made evident even when they gathered at communion (“when you gather, it’s not the Lord’s supper that you eat, for one goes hungry while the other is drunk”). They were not sharing their food and wine, they were not regarding one another with love, they were quite comfortable with the difference in status they had from each other.

What he saw at the communion table becomes a prism through which he looks at the lack of love for each other beneath the surface. He goes on in chapter 12 to teach them how each of them have different gifts, like parts of the body, therefore they should appreciate each other as valuable. Then he says “let me show you an even more excellent way,” and he goes to chapter 13 into the “love chapter” in which he describes what true love is (we like to read this at weddings but what he was addressing was spiritual arrogance and church conflict ... “if I speak in the tongues of people and angels but do not have love, I am nothing but a noisy gong”.) Then in chapter 14, he directly addresses the spiritual arrogance they had against each other. Chapters 11-14 should be read as one block of teaching.

Clearly, when Paul wrote what you quoted he was talking about how they treated each other without love and appreciation and a sense of community. That’s what coming to the table in an unworthy manner is. Not some human line drawn in the sand over what you believe or don’t believe, or what sin is bad enough and what isn’t.

Those who exclude people who earnestly seek God from the table may be the ones guilty of not coming to the table in a worthy manner.

He replied:

I've never heard of any of us Methodist Pastors excluding anyone, have you? 

I responded:

No, the open table is central to Wesleyan theology, you are right.

However, I have heard of Methodist ministers excluding people from membership or attendance or baptism, whether back during the 60’s or in recent days, and that is by proxy excluding them from the table. This is against our Discipline not to mention wrong.

Systemic Racism and Collective Responsibility

Here is a recent post written by my cousin, Warren Hamby (the son of my Uncle Warren). It is a tribute to my courageous uncle, especially relevant for these times when there are those that deny the reality of systemic racism and collective responsibility.

A little more than 50 years ago, in Jackson, MS, a member of our church who was active in the Civil Rights Movement was a victim of a house bombing by the Ku Klux Klan. He and his family escaped death only because they had minutes before retired to bed. My dad, his pastor, read a statement from the pulpit the following Sunday. Here is part of his courageous statement.

"What had he (Bob Kochtitzky) done (to provoke this)? He had kept the integrity of Christian witness as a sensitive Christian in a society not yet willing to such a witness. He had taken seriously the convictions that were imparted to him by the teachings of the church school and the witness of the pulpit of this church. He had dared to go beyond the respectable acquiescence of the polite forms of Christianity that so often characterize the poor witness of most of us.

"The truth of this is so profound that it turns the question around so that it becomes, not what he has done, but what have we done to prompt this kind of violence?

"Let us not draw a small circle of guilt, for we are all indicted. The so-called decent and responsible people of our city, state and section are the Sauls at whose feet lie clothes of the whole affair. Upon our consciences the whole matter must rest. Justice, Brandeis once said; 'The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.'

"Who is to blame? Every pulpit where justice and mercy and goodwill have not been enough proclaimed; every alleged Christian who has thought more of his or her prejudices than of seeking the will of God and the spirit of Jesus Christ in attitude and behavior; every newspaper that has defended indefensible positions and voiced its own prejudices; the responsible elected officials of city and state who have been more concerned with expediency than integrity--here, my friends is the accumulated and collective guilt that is ours."

That pastor was my dad, the Rev. Warren Hamby, Sr. To honor him this Father's Day, I could list his good qualities and tell you how much I admired him, but I think the words I quoted above speak for themselves. And tell you how much I miss him since he has been gone from this life, words fail me. There are no words.

Church of All-Embracing Love

Here's a word from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote this in Germany during the rise of Nazi power. It is amazing how much it applies to our times:

"A church of faith - even if it is the most orthodox faith that faithfully adheres to the creeds - is of no use if it is not even more a church of pure and all-embracing love ... It is of no use to us for us to confess our faith in Christ if we have not gone first and reconciled ourselves to our brothers and sisters, even to the godless, racially different, ostracized, and outcast. And a church that calls a nation to faith in Christ must itself be the burning fire of love in this nation, the driving force for reconciliation, the place in which all the fires of hatred are extinguished and prideful, hate-filled people are turned into people who love."

From "A Testament to Freedom" p. 249

Does prayer change things? Or does it change me?

A parishioner showed me a beautiful devotional by Oswald Chambers that has a thoughtful statement in it about prayer. I believe it, and it reflects some of my lifetime journey of spiritual formation. Prayer is a gift of God, not something we "do" for God, or to try to get God to "do" something. Prayer is a gift of communion with divine love that can transform the human heart, perfecting us in love and maturity of faith. The traditional theological word for that is "sanctification."

I've always been bothered by the phrase "prayer changes things," not because I don't believe in prayer, or because I don't believe God can do anything God desires to do. On the contrary, to me the implication of the phrase limits the importance of prayer to a way we can get God to do the things we want. Of course, God can do the miraculous, and I think intercessory prayer (praying for others) is both important and lifegiving. Moses is a wonderful example of the power of intercession. It's not an incantation, it's conversation with God that can sometimes leave a glow on your face.

Chambers says it well here.

It is not so true that "prayer changes things" as that prayer changes me and then I change things; consequently we must not ask God to do what He has created us to do. For instance, Jesus Christ is not a social reformer; He came to alter us first, and if there is any social reform to be done on earth, we must do it. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man's disposition. When yo prayer, things remain the same, but you begin to be different.

Invocation for Installation of President Don Killingsworth

Today, I had the privilege of leading a Blessing Service for Don Killingsworth at First United Methodist Church prior to his inauguration. Joining together with three other pastors from the community, we prayed for his leadership, for his faculty and staff, for his students, and for his family.

I also had the honor of praying the invocation at his installation ceremony in the colosseum and joining Governor Kay Ivey and other dignitaries on the platform.

I am sharing my prayer of invocation with you in hopes that you will join the church I serve, the Jacksonville community, and this fine university in support of Dr. Killingsworth as they enter into a new chapter in history together.

Some of the language from my invocation is modeled after the prayer presented at the inauguration of George Washington. I enjoyed studying it as I prepared for this special moment.

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PRAYER FOR THE INSTALLATION OF DON KILLINGSWORTH

Gracious and Loving God, We acknowledge today that you are both creator of beauty in the universe and author of wisdom in the university. You have revealed your glory to the nations, and you have sustained this earth with life. You are both magnificent and benevolent, and so we pause during this important ceremony of installation to give you thanks and praise.

On this day of new beginnings for Jacksonville State University, we pray for this fine institution. We humbly ask that you assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude the president of this establishment. May his administration be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to the faculty, staff, and students whom he serves. May he encourage due respect for virtue and build character in countless young women and men. May he warm hearts as well as enlighten minds.

Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of the leadership of Jacksonville State University, and most especially of President Don Killingsworth. May he seek to preserve its legacy and promote its welfare. May he be enabled, by your powerful protection, to discharge his duties with honesty and compassion.

For we know, oh God, that if you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters. So give him, Lord, what matters, what matters the most.

We likewise commend to your unbounded mercy all the present and future students of Jacksonville State University, that they be blessed with the pursuit of knowledge and sanctified in the practice of good citizenship. May the university be preserved in that peace which the world cannot give; and may we, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

We pray to you, who are Lord and God, for ever and ever.

And now, with deep respect to the many diverse people of faith that might be represented here, I offer this prayer in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.

Beth Moore Speaks Out

I’m a United Methodist, and I respect the faith of my brothers and sisters of other denominations.

But I agree with Beth Moore. I am glad to be part of a denomination that ordains women who are called by God and equipped by the Spirit, and that supports female leadership at all levels of local church life. In fact, the local church I presently serve has been greatly blessed by female clergy on the ministry staff in the past.

I believe the Bible is can be used to reinforce certain attitudes (against women, minorities, Jews, Catholics, the LGBTQ community, etc.) that go past the Bible’s original intent, instead of interpreting all scripture through the lens of Christ, the divine logos (Word of God).

Paul, in his New Testament writings, was simply pastoral and cautious at times, when in actuality the early church’s full inclusion of women was quite progressive for the times, following what was clearly the way of Jesus. His writings should be read in light of other things he wrote in scripture as well as interpreted through Christ.

You can find Beth Moore’s apology for supporting a theology of male dominance here.

Every Morning is Easter Morning!

I woke up with this song on my mind from Sumatanga days! May Easter go with you in the coming days!

Ev'ry morning is Easter morning

       from now on!

Ev'ry day's resurrection day,

       the past is over and gone!

Goodbye guilt, goodbye fear, good riddance!

       Hello Lord, Hello sun!

I am one of the Easter People!

       My new life has begun!

Daily news is so bad it seems the

       Good News seldom gets heard.

Get it straight from the Easter People:

       God's in charge! Spread the word!

Yesterday I was bored and lonely;

       but today look and see!

I belong to the Easter People!

       Life's exciting to me!

Ev'ry morning is Easter morning

       from now on!

Ev'ry day's resurrection day,

       the past is over and gone!

Ev'ry morning is Easter morning,

Ev'ry morning is Easter morning,

Ev'ry morning is Easter morning

       from now on!

Richard Avery and Donald Marsh, Words © 1972 Hope Publishing Company, 380 S Main Pl, Carol Stream, IL 60188

Red Letter Christians

Today, I signed the "Red Letter Christians" pledge. I believe this with all my heart and life. You may want to consider signing it as well.

It is time for Christians to stand up for what is right, what is good, what is gospel. We aren't truly living as Christians unless we are on the journey of giving ourselves to the vision of the kingdom of God. If we do it not unto the least of these, we do it not for Christ. Be a part of the kingdom breaking into our world!

For more information, go here. A copy of the pledge is below.

I dedicate my life to Jesus, and commit to live as if Jesus meant the things he said in the “red letters” of Scripture.

I will allow Jesus and his teaching to shape my decisions and priorities.

I denounce belief-only Christianity and refuse to allow my faith to be a ticket into heaven and an excuse to ignore the suffering world around me.

I will seek first the Kingdom of God – on earth as it is in heaven – and live in a way that moves the world towards God’s dream, where the first are last and the last are first, where the poor are blessed and the peacemakers are the children of God, working towards a society where all are treated equally and resources shared equitably.

I recognize that I will fall short in my attempts to follow Jesus, and I trust in God’s grace and the community to catch me when I do.

I know that I cannot do this alone, so I commit to share this journey with others who are walking in the way of Jesus. I will surround myself with people who remind me of Jesus, help me become more like him and hold me accountable for my actions and words.

I will share Jesus with the world, with my words and with my deeds. Like Jesus, I will interrupt injustice, and stand up for the life and dignity of all. I will allow my life to point towards Christ, everywhere I go.

Thoughts on Marriage

I found this today in a devotional book I've had for a number of years based on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I thought it was beautiful and expresses my thoughts on marriage.

“Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance, through which God wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In our love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to God’s glory, and calls into the kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility toward the world and humanity. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal – it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and humanity. As you first gave the ring to one another and have now received it a second time from the hand of the pastor, so love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God. As high as God is above humanity, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of marriage above the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (pp. 27-28)

Say No to "Christian" Nationalism

I have signed this statement from evangelical leaders from across the United States. I hope that other Christian leaders will also take a stand. We need to call out this “Christian nationalism” associated with the insurrection.

I do not believe that this extremist movement is truly Christian (the word "Christian" means "little Christ" and it's a way of living, not just a set of doctrines and certainly not an ideology). Being patriotic is a good thing. For me, this crazy co-opting of Christian symbols and identity with extremist politics, white supremacy, and anarchy needs to be addressed openly. It is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

I want to clarify that I stand against all violence and destruction by any political group, though I believe everyone has the right to peacefully protest. I value the voice of Christian conservatives as well as the voice of Christian progressives. I have varying opinions on matters because my beliefs are rooted in the gospels.

For me, this letter from evangelical leaders is about a unique situation theologically, similar to the KKK using Christian symbols and language. You can find the statement here.

John Rutland, George Wallace, Communion, and the Kingdom of God

February is Black History Month, and we have also entered the holy season of Lent. Our United Methodist Bishops have called the church to a Lenten season focused on dismantling racism. Their devotions may be found here.

This convergence has led me to share a story that I recently wrote down for the first time. 

It's part of an introductory chapter in a book I am writing on the distinctiveness of Wesley's communion spirituality in our times of divisiveness.

Attached is a picture of Rev. John Rutland and his wife Mary.

If there is such a thing as a mind-blowing story about Holy Communion, I have one. I heard it years ago from a man named John Rutland. He had been a friend of my family since long before I was born. John was one of the old time Methodist preachers of the North Alabama Conference, always wearing a white shirt, a blazer or sport coat, a super-wide tie, and an even wider love for Jesus. He had a spring in his step and a twinkle in his eye, and to me this short, stocky man was always larger than life.

He and my dad had been colleagues in ministry, and John loved to tell of a time he gave me a quarter when I was a child and he was my father’s District Superintendent. Apparently, I got up in his lap and said “Brother Rutland, when you go to that place …” He said, “you mean Annual Conference?” “Yes, and you see that man …” He responded, “you mean the bishop?“ “Yes, will you tell him to send my daddy to Disney World?”

John had told me plenty of stories, though his communion story brought them all together. My wife and I had become associate pastors at the same church he served in his retirement, and he told me numerous tales from his years of preaching in the middle of Birmingham civil rights history and his uncanny tendency to step into it. He once took me to the pulpit area of the old Woodlawn United Methodist Church and pointed to a seating section on the far right, near the exit. “That’s where Bull Conner used to sit … when he was sitting, that is.” I knew, of course, that “Bull” was the infamous commissioner in Birmingham that oversaw the police and fire departments, enforcing segregation and becoming a national symbol of police brutality with police dogs and fire hoses. Conner had been a member of that church during the Civil Rights era when Rutland pastored there. “Sometimes, when I would preach that Jesus loved all people, regardless of the color of their skin, he would stand up, huff, and storm out.” 

Standing by the pulpit that day, he told me the colorful story of the time he walked up to Conner and his deputies standing on the front steps of the church with their arms crossed. After he asked what they were doing, Conner said, “we’re making sure only the appropriate people come to church today.” John got up in his face and said, “let me tell you something, Mr. Conner. I’ve been appointed by the bishop to be pastor of this church, and I will decide who can come in for worship. And if you get in my way, I’ll call your own police department and have you removed.” He then walked away, his legs feeling like limp noodles. As he turned the corner, he heard Conner whisper to his deputies, “let’s go boys. He’ll do it.” John Rutland must be one of the few people that Bull Conner backed down from. 

On another occasion, John told me of a letter he had once gotten from Alabama Governor George Wallace. He had been with a group of preachers who had met with Wallace a few weeks prior to his first inauguration, a meeting when he had made all sorts of promises to these pastors who were in favor of integrating schools. Then at the inauguration, Wallace made the infamous speech with the words, “segregation now … segregation tomorrow … segregation forever!” John was perplexed and wrote Wallace a letter asking how he could possibly change his tune so dramatically in such a short period of time. Wallace wrote back to him saying, “I’ve been out-segged and I’m not going to be out-segged again … you fancy-pants preachers had better watch your back in Alabama.” 

So, you can imagine how I felt when Rutland walked in my office one day and said, “I wish you’d been here yesterday.” I had been visiting the hospitals, and boy was I sorry. “I dropped by to see if you wanted to go with me to serve communion to George Wallace.” He then told me one of the most compelling stories about Holy Communion I have ever heard. 

Our bishop, Lloyd Knox, had called John Rutland to ask if he had a portable communion set. George Wallace, still a Methodist, had called Bishop Knox from his death bed and asked if he would come serve him communion. The bishop had been busy preparing to move away from the Annual Conference at the end of his term, so his was already packed. “John, I want you to go with me to serve communion.” 

“Um, bishop, I’d be glad to loan you my communion set, but I really don’t think you want me to go visit George Wallace with you.” As John put it, the bishop could be very persuasive, as bishops can be. He went after all, just hoping that since it had been so many years, Wallace would not recognize him. But as soon as he walked in the room, Wallace looked at him and said in a booming voice, “John Rutland!” 

 He sheepishly walked into the room. The bishop gathered them around the hospital bed and asked why he wanted to receive communion. Wallace said, “I asked you to come today because for so many years, I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things.” He shared that he needed to make his peace with God. Bishop Knox went and got the nurse out of the hallway, and she happened to be African American. They all shared the holy meal together. 

John finished his story with words I will never forget, “Here we were, Bishop Knox, George Wallace, a black nurse, and the ‘fancy-pants preacher’ sharing communion together. Now that’s the kingdom of God!” It certainly is. 

Communion has a way of shedding light on both who we really are and who we are called to be. It is an honest meal. We come to the table being real with God through confession, and Christ comes to us in real ways though his presence, hospitality, and grace. The Lord’s Supper binds us together in mysterious ways, for it is a sacred act of both receiving the grace of God and being the body of Christ with one another. 

John Rutland’s story has stuck with me during the remainder of my life and ministry. It was not just a tale about race relations. It was a crystallized moment in time that sheds light on the holy meal. We taste and see the goodness of the Lord. We get an honest look at who we are, experience how incredibly beloved we are, and get a glimpse of life in the kingdom of God while we are at it. No, it’s not magic. A better word for it would be mystical.

Copyright 2021 Stephen P. West, all rights reserved