Re-gentrification

means to "re-populate" with "gentry"... those of a higher class...
We are facing it in the Neighborhood Association where I live.
Many of the participants want to see property values go up, to
attract new businesses and see folks move into the neighborhood
who will be like them... folks who will take care of their property
and share their values.  It seems reasonable enough.
They are now targeting the homeless as barriers to this, and are
actively seeking to move them out of the neighborhood.
Here's the thing -
Eventually, after the homeless are gone, it will be the low income
folks, the working poor - those who can afford to live here right
now, but who will not be able to fix up their places to the required
specifications like other residents will be able to do and demand,
who will see their property taxes go up and won't be able to afford
them, especially the folks, mostly elderly, mostly on fixed incomes,
who have lived here for thirty years.  They will have to be displaced.
Privately owned businesses will not be able to afford the required
improvements and lease rates and/or taxes, so they will be replaced
by chains as bankers, realtors, real estate speculators and developers
come into the area and "improve" it.
The "gentry" will move in, the same kind of folks who lived here
over thirty years ago before the neighborhood "changed", buy up the
property and make it nice and neat.
And a community will be displaced... lost... those like King David
(II Samuel 12) addressed by Nathan the prophet, who have power
and wealth and who can do whatever they want to do, will get what they
want, wherever they want, regardless of who is hurt or what affects
the exile/diaspora will have on families, schools and those who have
less power and wealth.
The irony is that many who are clamoring for this now will not be
the ones who can afford to stay, but they do not see that coming yet.
When they do, it will be too late.
I want to live in a world and a community that VALUES everyone:
the black, brown, white, gay, straight, religious, spiritual, non-believers,
wealthy, working poor, public assistance recipients, homeless...
EVERYONE...
I don't want it to be that neat and tidy at the expense of "those people",
who are pushed out to find somewhere else to live, "as long as it's not
here."
It does damage to our souls individually and collectively to value our
property over people, profit over people and exclusivity over others' lives.
It seems to me that property has the value any individual places on it...
the meaning we attach to it... it is not more valuable because of some
"red" line drawn around a certain area that declares some are welcome
and some are excluded.  It is only valuable to me because I like living
in that community, on that street and in that house.  Truly, we don't own
anything.  That is an illusion, as is the idea that some property is more
valuable than other property.  It will be here long after we are gone...
individually and collectively.
Why not value PEOPLE who live here and now, even those who are
different and those who are poor, over property?  Give it a try!  God had
something to say about it through Amos (Chapter 8).
Why not mark "progress" as the coming together of people in support
of each other - building community.  Jesus had something to say about
it (Luke 16; 20:45-47).  The 1st Century Church responded to His
teachings and example and lived it (Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-37).
Perhaps the church that claims the name of Jesus could stand with and
for the poor, homeless and voiceless in these circumstances in city
neighborhoods!
Perhaps individual Christians could address it in communities and their
own neighborhood associations.  Perhaps concerned neighbors and
citizens could do the same!
What is YOUR value?  How will you voice it?  How will you act on it?
Pastor Jamie

church

In my experience, considering 25 years of ordination and ministry
in a denomination, as an independent pastor and in hospice...
there are a number of different "kinds" of church...

I have known MUSEUM CHURCHES that have as their central
concern to preserve the past traditions of their congregation and/
or denomination.  Like museums that display dead things, they lift
up their past and what they have done as if IT is the thing...

I have known SOCIAL CLUB churches that draw folks who love
to be with each other because they are homogenous, usually in race
and/or class, and who do ALL that they do to promote, promulgate and
preserve the club and club house, with little devotion, mention or
concern about the Lord of the church or those outside of it, as if IT is
the thing...

I have known MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATION churches that
exist  for exactly the reason they hear from the pulpit week after week,
to give their money to the church (pastor and other leaders) with the
promise that those who give "to God" will automatically get wealthy.
As in corporations, it is almost always only the Executives and a few
others that actually get wealthy in it.  God is used as a means to the end
of more mammon, and the peoples' only value to the preacher is that they
will be present for the sake of numbers present and money given, which is
to many just fine, as they want to anonymously attend to get their weekly
personal "spiritual credit" toward heaven, as if IT is the thing...

I have also known BODIES OF BELIEVERS who come together to
give their love and devotion to God, grow in God's Word, give them-
selves (time, abilities, possessions) to God by lovingly serving God's
children (their brothers and sisters) in the world around them with true
witnesses of faith and love, physical help as others have need, and
standing as advocates in empowerment with those who need that, as
if THAT is the thing... and it IS!

THE THING is not about money.  It is not about buildings.  It is not about
large numbers.  It is not about indoctrination to a particular theology, denomination,
preacher's doctrine or set of principles.  It is not about being "the right ones"
and proving it by making everyone different to be wrong.  It is not about meeting
with people "just like you."  It is not about "me and Jesus" only, and being
entertained personally, reassured personally and used personally.  It is about God in
community, community of believers with God and the community coming
together to share the love of God with each other in very real ways.

I suggest that you find a church community that is about THAT.  Consider it
in prayer.  Look for a church and pastor(s) that takes the teaching and example
of Jesus seriously as the vision for how church is called to be and what it is to
be in the world.

The church is a movement in faith and love, when it is in its fullest expression of
faithfulness.  I pray for you that you will find that.

Rev. Jamie Kaufman

Labor and Kingdom Values

Matthew 20:1-16... yes, please actually read it...

According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God values people over profit, and goes beyond "fairness" when it comes to what people need.

Please note that those who have not been hired... those left behind in employment, were provided for...
Please note that the owner (employer) was MORE THAN fair with ALL of them... the ones who had worked the day got the days wage, but those who came later still needed to feed their families, and so they were given what they needed for their families as well.  When challenged by those who wanted more, the owner of the vineyard (God), stated boldly that they should not question the generosity shown.  Oh yes, and "the last shall be first and the first, last."

Kingdom Values could help us with labor today.
God wants us to be beyond fair with those who need to feed their families.
If we were to live the Kingdom Values Jesus teaches us in this parable and elsewhere...
    We would not destroy the vineyard as our sustainer of life by polluting, wasting or destroying it...
    Employers would not lay off people in tough times, but take less profit willingly for the sake of
          making sure everyone could feed their families...
    CEO's would not value making 300x what someone in labor makes, but make sure they had a
         fair wage...
    We would create jobs in renewable energy, sustainable fields and life-affirming arenas that benefit all
        people...
    We would pay people a living wage with benefits, regardless of what their job is... because they
        NEED it...
    We would make different choices... not wanting to get more for our selves, or hoard stockpiles of
       what we have while others are left in need, and not keeping others from getting what they need
       would be among our values...

So, where are the Christian employers?  Where are the business leaders who want to follow Jesus' teachings and example?  Where are the Christian politicians who want to value what Jesus valued in the laws they write, decisions they make and directions they take?  Where are the Christian preachers who demand Kingdom Values for the sake of ALL their flocks?  Where are the Christian voters who insist on Jesus' way?  Where are the Christian citizens who rise up to demand these things for ALL, who are God's children and therefore our brothers and sisters?  Where?

I am certain of two things:
Kingdom Values do not just apply to "pie in the sky when we die."  They have EVERYTHING to do
     with labor and management, politics and economics.
With Jesus, it is not "nothing person; just business."  We are talking about peoples' lives... people whom
     Jesus loves and with whom we are COMMANDED to live Agape Love.

Work with Justice.  Work for Justice.  You will have peace.

Pastor Jamie

Humanism is spiritual

Jesus COMMANDED that we "love your neighbor AS YOU love yourself."  It is through this and loving God with all that we have, that we fulfill and live the law and prophets.  I believe ALL things in this life are sacred.  Nothing is secular for those who believe that God is the one "within whom we live and move and have our being", and who believe that "the kingdom of God is within you."  If I am connected to God, I am connected to the other children of God, whom God loves, as a brother/sister.  Jesus made treating them well (even stranger and enemy) a spiritual act.  In fact, I John 4:20 boldly states that we CANNOT claim to love God if we do not love others... to do so would make us liars.  Being humanistic (care for humanity and individuals within humanity) is spiritual by nature, even when lived by non-religious people, because it is an imitation of the teachings and example of "The Word made Flesh".
If I love my neighbor (Jesus defines as stranger and enemy as well) AS I LOVE MYSELF, I will no more want to see harm come to them... no more want to see them go without what they need... than I would want that for myself!  I will only want good for them, because that is what I want for myself.  I will treat them well, because I want to be treated well.  "Do unto others as you would HAVE THEM do unto you." If that is true, then:

I will want them to have employment... all of them... and make a living wage with healthcare benefits and a pension.  I may not want them to have opulent wealth, because of the damage it would do to their souls, but to have enough so that they do not go without their needs.

I will want them to have a good education... all of them... and not just some of them have great teachers and computers and chem labs and current books.

I will want them to have affordable housing, medicines, food, utilities, drinkable water, transportation and other necessities for life, so that the most vulnerable and elderly are especially cared for...

I will want them to be treated fairly by the criminal justice system, regardless of their race, age, class, etc.

I will want them to be treated respectfully in the election process, and in a just and equal manner, having their votes count equally with others.

I will want them not to be exploited and therefore kept poor, so that others can get cheap goods, whether they live here or in other nations.

I will want them to be treated well as strangers in any land, and not treated shamefully.

I will want them to be accepted for who they are, regardless of their race, class, religion, age, gender, physical abilities or sexual orientation.

I want them to pay the same price on gasoline, food, insurance and other necessities that others pay, regardless of what area they live in.

I will want them to have uncontaminated ground, breathable air and drinkable water for generations to come.

I want those things for myself.  According to Jesus, I MUST want that for them, if I am to obey His commandments, even for stranger and enemy!
If I LIVE the Agape Love that I am commanded to live, I will be committed to them and act on their behalf just as I am committed to myself and act on my own... 


So, obey Jesus.  Commit yourself to yourself and your neighbor (even stranger and enemy).  Act on your own behalf, partly by acting on theirs.


Pray for them.  Write your elected officials on every level.  Speak out for them and against anything that would harm them or leave them in need.  Demonstrate your agape love for them, even publicly.  Vote, not only for your self interests, but also for the interests of others, which will, according to Paul, be an act out of having the same mind in you that was in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2)


Jesus made humanism a spiritual exercise.  Exercise it!


Pastor Jamie

by their fruits you will know them

I heard on the radio about Georgia's new attempts to gerrymander voting districts to benefit the politically right candidates in the next election.  It is more than that.  The piece said that the re-districting separates black and brown voters in such a way that it is a return to how things were done here before 1961.  It is about those who have power and wealth not only keeping what they have, but getting more, while keeping others down and holding them away from power and wealth.  It "just so happens" that it affects mostly those who are not white.

These are specific, intentional and strategized acts designed to benefit some specific people and hurt other, specific people.  It is NOT "just business."  It is NOT "just politics."  It is the embracing of what I call The Unholy Trinity - Mars (the god of power and war), Bacchus (the god of self-indulgence and exploitation of others for self) and Mammon (the god of opulent wealth and greed).  It comes out of the belief that power is not just meant for the enhancement of the individual's life or an expression of self-control, but rather leverage over other people and the ability to exploit, manipulate and abuse them.  It comes out of the worst kinds of nationalism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia and false sense of superiority.  It is not of God.

Jesus called for us to love our neighbor, and defined neighbor as stranger ("illegal" immigrant) and enemy (defined by each individual or group).  Jesus said that while others in the world lorded their power over others, it was not to be so among His followers.  Jesus made our salvation, at least in part, contingent upon how we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned and welcome the stranger ("illegal" immigrant) - "the least of these", who He calls his brothers and sisters.  Recent legislation, rhetoric, direction and projected visions are anti-Christ, by their nature.  I must say that Jesus is not pleased.

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  It is very clear what is being treasured here and now, because "by their fruits you will know them."

Be informed.  Write.  Speak.  Demonstrate.  VOTE!!!!!!   They haven't taken that away (yet), but clearly they may be working on it!  And When you vote,  vote not only for your own interests, but for the interests of "the least of these", and for candidates who will most closely follow what Jesus taught and exemplified.

(In order to do that, you might want to READ the Gospels and pay attention to what Jesus taught and did in the world.)  Oh yes, and pay attention to what is going on politically and economically in your own country!  Complacency implies compliance in cooperation!  When we don't pay attention, things are done to us and others without our knowledge.  Then it is too late to complain!  To whom would we complain?  If you are not alarmed, you are either not paying attention or you are among those benefitting from others who are being neglected, exploited and abused right now!

Pastor Jamie

Socialized Gospel

We live in an age of isolation.
The most prominent feature on a new home is often the garage, built to obscure the front door.  People have privacy fences around their back yards with enclosed porches on the back of their homes.  Very few new homes have a FRONT porch on which to greet neighbors or passers by.  It is possible to see a neighbor only when he/she drives into their garage, and only hear their mower or chatter as they grill behind "the wall".  Each person's castle is designed to maximize privacy and let the world "come to me" through TV, radio, home theater systems, the internet and other distant means.
Each person has their own car.  Even in large cities like Atlanta, relatively few funds are designated to promote and improve mass transit, while the highways are parking lots twice a day because of the countless vehicles, most of which contain one person.  Many of those vehicles are still huge SUV's that use huge amounts of fuel all for one person to get from A to B.  Certainly, the lack of mass transit is tied to the lack of concern for those, mostly poor and brown or black, who cannot afford to own a car, but much of it is tied to our desire to "have our own" and not to have to rub shoulders with other people, especially "those people".
Even churches often allow relative anonymity within a huge gathering in an auditorium, where as long as you show up and give your offering, you have done your part.  You need not connect with anyone beyond the turning to someone periodically to announce what the preacher has just told you to announce to them.  In a sea of unfamiliar faces, one can come for the experience and leave with no connection, no work in community, no work as community and no change as a body.
It would seem that we like it like that, or at least that many prefer the isolated, insulated life.
We live in fear of others.  The more we separate from others, the more it allows us to live within the perception that they should be feared.  Our perceptions are fed by negative news coverage that we see in isolation, television shows and movies that we watch in isolation, and unchallenged and unchecked inner conversations that we hold in isolation.  Yes, the more encounters we have with others may mean more "negative" situations, but the fewer encounters we have with others definitely means that we have fewer powerful and wonderful outcomes.  We are teaching our children to be afraid of others, to isolate from neighbors and se themselves as being separate from (perhaps above) others.

In the face of this, we have a very socialized Good News of Jesus.  Yes, I said it.  Jesus' life, ministry and the writings about Him pre-date "socialism" by 1900 or so years, but it was social good news... it was offered to and in community... it was about relationships with each other and not just with God.  It was teaching about neighbors, enemies and strangers and how to treat each other.  Before "socialism" became a socio-economic system, it meant "pertaining to community".  It was about love, not a feeling that one has within and in isolation, but AGAPE love that is committed action in relationship - unconditional and self-giving.  It was Good News for the poor, the oppressed, the sinner, the outcast and downtrodden, AND it was Good News for the Wealthy and Powerful who would recognize the Kingdom values of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  These are NOT things one can live while cloistered in isolation from neighbor, stranger or enemy... NOT things that can be discarded as central tenets of the Christian faith.

Please, feel free to be socialized... it is Jesus' way.
Pastor Jamie

Welcome the Stranger

Jesus said the all authority was given to Him and that He is with us always, even to the end of the age... Matthew 28:16-20
He said that the salvation of people is at least in part contingent upon how we treat "the least", as He said that those who "welcome the stranger" welcome Him, and when they do not, they do not welcome Him...Matthew 25:31-46
And this isn't even the "SOCIAL JUSTICE GOSPEL" of Luke!

And Alabama is now the latest state that is "cracking down" on "illegal aliens".   Good Christian folks being interviewed said that their churches are split because many believe it is best for the state due to the economy.  Others say that reporting or deporting people, instead of feeding them ("feed the hungry") is not right for Christians to do.

Do Christians consider Jesus their authority or not?
It's time to put up or shut up.  It always has been... it is time for you to have integrity or have none.
Will you submit to Jesus as Lord?  Will you conform your will to what we have as His teachings in the Gospel, as His will?  Will you claim His name and ignore what He ushers in as the Kingdom?  Will you accept Him as Savior and reject Him as Lord?

I am amazed (and not) that it is states in the "Bible Belt" that are treating the sojourner in the land shamefully.  With folks for whom the Bible has been their "god" for so long, I am amazed (and not) that they can disregard Jesus' teachings and commands so easily and blatantly... loving neighbor (who Jesus defines as stranger and enemy in Luke 10... that we should not ignore the poor (Luke 16), or be mostly concerned for our own wealth above the well-being of anyone else (Luke 12)... we cannot do these things and be alright with God... we can worship Him all we want, but then we are the ones of whom Jesus spoke in Mark 7:6,7 (Isa. 29:13)... the same God of corrupt Israel at the time of Amos 5:21-24... the same God who demands that we treat the stranger well because our ancestors were once strangers in a strange land and wanted to be treated well...

So, regardless of the "reasons", we cannot be OK with God and be mean-spirited, ruthless, selfish, greedy, exclusive, racist, classist or homophobic, for that matter.

God brought down God's own nation, in the Old Testament, for being unfaithful, corrupt and full of hubris.  God is the God of all nations, economies, militaries, politics and peoples... if we believe that, and that Jesus is God's Son, Messiah, fulfiller of Law and Prophets, Lord and Savior... we must believe we are in trouble about now as a people who hurt our own and those around us.

Pray.  Speak out.  Write.  Vote.  Demand justice, equality, equity in THIS land of Justice for All...
Do it for the soul of the nation... for your own soul.  It is on all of us.
Pastor Jamie