Everything including the kitchen sink... but with special attention paid to board games, Jesus Christ, my family, being a "professional" (and I use that word loosely) Christian, and the random firing of the 10% of the synapses I'm currently using.
Over the years, my Grandma Jackson amassed a collection of Reader's Digest created record collections... including the one pictured here - a collection of Broadway standards. I have fond memories of sitting in the front room at her house, playing those records and listening to all of those songs over and over again... which might explain why I can sing "If They Asked Me, I Could Write a Book" from PAL JOEY even though I've never seen a production of the show.
Starting in late elementary school, I began appearing in musicals myself. I played Winthrop Paroo in THE MUSIC MAN, Schroeder in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, Lord Boxington in MY FAIR LADY, Pop in GYPSY, Ali Hakim in OKLAHOMA, and a secondary role whose name I can't remember in TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. And I loved it, even though I didn't have a strong singing voice or any real dancing talent. (Let's be honest: when required, I could waltz or do a box step, but it required me to be muttering the count under my breath.)
In college, I was a theater major for a semester, even stage-managing a production of NO NO NANETTE... but more importantly, I discovered (thanks to friends) the wider catalog of musicals beyond the mid-century hit parade. I was intrigued by the theatricality of PIPPIN and CANDIDE and dove headfirst into the wonder that was BIG RIVER. I was mesmerized by the intricate (if darkly cynical) music of Stephen Sondheim. Of course, in the last few years I've come to deeply enjoy the music and artistry of HAMILTON...
...but this post isn't really about my love of Broadway (even though I've never been to NYC).
It's about politics. And white evangelicals.
Really.
It's the tale of two musicals. (Apologies to Charles Dickens.)
In THE MUSIC MAN, Harold Hill is a traveling salesman who is, without question, a con artist. He sells band instruments, uniforms, and the dream of "Seventy-Six Trombones" to unsuspecting townspeople... then skips out with the money. Marian, the town librarian and piano teacher, falls in love with him even though she knows he's a fake. Though he could make a run for it, he chooses to stay and face the music because he has also fallen in love with her. (I'll leave the wonderful coda to the story hidden for those of you who need to go immediately and watch the glorious movie adaption starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.)
I've come to believe that many white evangelicals had a similar view of Donald Trump back in 2016. They knew he was a con man, a flim flam artist, but they figured that his willingness to spend time with certain evangelical leaders would cause him not only to appoint conservative judges but also to take faith in Christ more seriously than he did with quotes like "I don't like to ask for forgiveness" and "two Corinthians".
Yes, I realize that I'm over-simplifying this... bear with me for a minute.
In GREASE (a musical I really don't enjoy), Danny Zuko is a bad boy who's actually a nice guy when he's not around his gang of knuckleheads. His summer romance with Sandy is challenged when she ends up being the new girl at his high school... and comic hijinks and romantic plot twists ensue. And singing. Lots of singing.
Anyway, one of the key elements of GREASE is how it turns the classic "women tamed the West" trope on its head, as Sandy chooses to become a bad boy's dream girl to win him back.
Which is similar to what has happened to white evangelicals in response to the craziness of the last four+ years. Rather than "the love of a good woman" changing the "unrepentant man" into a hero, the flim flam artist got a huge chunk of white evangelicals to figuratively dress themselves up like Olivia Newton-John in the final minutes of the film version of GREASE. ("Tell me about it, stud.")
I am a conservative white evangelical - though, as many of you have read, not a supporter of the former President or the current lemming-like bent of the Republican Party. My prayer is that we who claim Christ would have "A Brand New Day" (sly reference to THE WIZ) where our primary loyalty is not to a political party, not to a media-driven narrative of fear; and not to a guy with a spray tan whose trail of failed marriages & businesses should have made clear (similar to the song he often quotes) what kind of snake we were electing.
To bring the metaphor back around, it's as if we lost our collective minds and decided that the best thing for the cause of Jesus was to throw our support behind a mixture of Mama Rose, Mrs. Lovett, Max Bialystock, and Jud Fry. Which makes the musical we've been writing look more like a Sondheim story than Jimmy Cagney in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY.
Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:19-23 AMP
Let's write a better story... one where the lead character is marked by the fruit of the Spirit rather than "fits of anger, disputes, dissensions" and "other things like these". Let's sing a better song, one that resonates with grace of the Bishop in the prologue to LES MISERABLES.
And let us live with your loyalties clear:
It’s not Godly to:
Love a news outlet more than the good news of God’s Word.
Love your American Citizenship more than your Heavenly Citizenship.
Love your membership to a political party or church denomination more than your membership to the Church.
Someday, I’ll actually get to England and see Hadrian’s Wall for myself… but until that point, I’m stuck with surfing the Web to find pictures. For the uninformed, many parts of what remains of the Wall look like overly thick decorative walls – in some places as tall as nine feet (3 meters), but much of the Wall is substantially shorter. (Many of the stones that made up Hadrian’s Wall were carted off over the years to be used in other projects… kind of like a 19th century version of your standard HGTV renovation show.)
Playing the new flip & write game – Hadrian’s Wall – does not require me to “cross the pond” but instead cross off a number of boxes and symbols on my way to doing my duty as a Roman general, building a milecastle and the bordering wall. While the basic game mechanics are simple and straightforward…
Flip and resolve some cards
Take resources based on your decisions
Use those resources to train your troops and build structures
Face the onslaught of the Picts
…the game itself involves a myriad of decisions in how to best utilize what you’ve been given to accomplish your mission.
From here on out, I’ll be focusing on how the game plays as a solo exercise. Near the end, I’ll offer my completely uninformed opinion about Hadrian’s Wall as a multiplayer game as well.
I Have Seen the Writing on the Wall
The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up the game box is how dang heavy it is for a flip-n-write game… and that’s due to two very thick (and large) pads of paper.
A digression: what do I call these? Scorepads? Score reams? Well, that’s not exactly right – this is more like a paper game board. The rule book calls them Game Pads… but that just makes me think of controllers for my son’s Nintendo Switch.
Anyway, you (the solo player) take one of each page to make up an 18×9 writing space. Directly above it is your player board that shows the progress of the six game rounds and acts as a holding area for your workers and resources.
With your trusty #2 pencil (or ink pen, if you’re the kind of person who never makes a mistake) in hand, this double-wide writing area is where all the action happens.
We Don’t Need No Thought Control
Each round, you flip the top card of the Fate deck to receive a set of workers and resources. (The number of workers & resources total 8 on each card, though they vary in amount of workers from 1-3 of each type and 0-2 resources.) You also receive resources based on your resource production (which can be improved throughout the game) and extra workers if you have built the appropriate buildings to attract them.
Then, you flip over two cards from your personal player deck – choosing one to slot under the player board to create end game scoring bonuses and one to place to the side which gives you more workers and/or resources.
Finally, you turn over one card from a second player deck to give you additional areas to scout and a different good to purchase. (This mechanic is used in both 1-2 player games to simulate other players.)
You will have three cards “visible” for each round
the Fate card (which has a possible good for purchase)
your Player card (which shows an area to send Scouts to examine)
the other Player card (which has both a good to purchase and an area for Scouts to, well, scout)
And now the spending of workers and resources begins… you alone decide from a veritable cornucopia of options where to pay to fill in various parts of your community to accomplish a wide variety of objectives.
The left hand “page” of your game board is about the wall and milecastle:
Increase your cohorts to defend the wall
Send servants out to harvest resources and increase resource production
Put soldiers forward as the Wall Guard against attacks from the Picts
Use Builders and resources to finish the Fort, erect the Wall and prepare the Cippi
Granaries are essential to allow more development
Train a Builder to fight as a soldier at the Training Grounds
Build Hotels, Workshops, and Roads to increase the number of workers
Use the Forum to retrain workers to do other jobs
The right hand “page” of your game board is about building your community in order to support and enhance your work. Your Citizen workers help attract important groups of Romans who then allow various buildings and opportunities:
Traders let you create Precincts and open the Market (which allows you to buy Goods)
Performers help open a Theatre and the Ludus Gladiatorious (bring on the bread & circuses!)
Priests tend their Gardens and erect ever larger Temples (which can curry Favor to mitigate losses in battle)
Appariotores allow for the creation of the Baths (a perfect place to bride officials to forget about your shortcomings) and the Courthouse
Patricians provide you with Diplomats (who can placate the invading Picts) and Scouts
Many spaces on your game “pages” contain a symbol that lets you mark off a space on a different place on the board or provides you with another worker or resource. Setting up chain effects is a particularly enjoyable part of the game design.
Some of the symbols lead you to mark off the four scoring tracks:
Renown
Piety
Valour
Discipline
These tracks provide end game points as well as additional workers. They also open up the possibility of building landmarks at high enough levels.
Yes, it’s overwhelming the first time you play. Take your time and go back to look at the rules for a particular building or area. Some things you build must be built in order; others allow you to mark boxes as needed. Still other areas require you to note the round number as you can only use them a limited number of times each round.
A strong suggestion: use your first couple of games to explore the space and try things. Don’t spend a lot of mental energy trying to figure out your best move when there is so much going on – it’s more important that you get a feel about how different elements of this game interact.
It’s also important to note that you won’t build everything. This is not Agricola – you can’t (and shouldn’t) try to do a little bit of everything. You’re going to need to lean in a particular direction.
Don’t Be Surprised When a Crack in the Ice Appears Under Your Feet
At the end of each round, the blue-painted folks from the North appear to attack your fortifications. You turn over cards from the Fate deck which indicate where the Picts send their troops – to your left, center, or right. Attacks that are repulsed earn you Valour; attacks that break through give you Disdain.
The Fate deck has one other use that I couldn’t find a great place to mention – so, since it’s combat-adjacent, I’ll put it here. When your gladiators fight, you flip a Fate card in order to see how much damage they take.
How Should I Complete the Wall?
The player deck offers twelve different scoring opportunities (worth 0-3 points each, for a maximum possible score of 18).
Final Disdain
Completed Wall Sections
Completed Cohorts
Complete Wall Guard Sections
Filled Temples
Completed Citizen Tracks
Total Gladiator Strength
Completed Scout Columns
Collected Goods
Resource Production
Large Buildings
Constructed Landmarks
Six of these will be under your player board to be scored at the end of the game.
Add to that four main scoring tracks worth from 0-25 points each. Subtracted from that score is the amount of Disdain you received from losing battles against the Picts.
And with that, you see if you are worthy of leadership… or likely to be working on the next milecastle carting rocks to the site. (Personally, I’ve chosen 60 points as the threshold to count as a win – though it’s the second tier in the rulebook rating system. With that metric, I’ve won three of my eight plays of the game.)
There are three difficulty settings – which are based on the number of Pict attacks you receive at the end of each of the six rounds. Personally, I find the middle (“Normal”) setting to offer the nicest balance between challenge and freedom to pursue a mix of objectives.
Is There Anybody Out There?
As the title makes clear, this is a review about Hadrian’s Wall as a solo game (see my final thoughts below)… but I still have a couple of thoughts about playing it multiplayer. I will stipulate that I haven’t actually played HW with anyone else, which means you need to take my next paragraphs with a rather large grain of salt.
There is very little interaction built into the game engine – only if you choose to send out a Scout or purchase a Trade Good will you give any workers or resources to one of your neighboring players. There are no racing portions of the game – in other words, no player gets a bonus for finishing their wall faster or winning the most battles against the Picts or (says the former theater kid) putting on the most plays at their theater.
In some ways, I think this low level of interaction is probably a good thing. The tableau of two sheets of paper is very busy and would be extremely difficult to read across the table – thus leading to frustration as players would have little or no idea what their opponents were doing.
On the other hand, I’m not sure there’s a great need to push for a full table of players to “get the real experience”. Your mileage may vary, of course… and, because I’m a stand-up guy, I once again remind you that I’ve only played this solo.
There’s Nothing You Can Say to Make Me Change My Mind
So, with all that information about how the game plays (and how the card decks are structured)… what do I think of Hadrian’s Wall as a game?
Honestly, I like it a lot. I’m intrigued by the choices I have as a player and the myriad pathways you can attempt in your quest for accolades and glory. After the first couple of plays that ran about 60-70 minutes, I’m now (just finished game #8 last night) knocking out games in about 35-40 minutes.
The same kinds of resource management issues that draw me into games like Terraforming Mars, Oh My Goods (and it’s cousin, Expedition to Newdale), and Empires of the North are an integral part of Hadrian’s Wall as well. (I’m not saying it’s just like those games or “if you love TM, you’ll love HW”.) These kinds of decisions make for solid solo designs – and Hadrian’s Wall has a lot of them.
In addition, the set-up/tear-down time (due to the flip-n-write design) is minimal, meaning a large chunk of your time is spent actually playing the game. And it has a relatively small table footprint, which means it will work well in my travel kit when I’m stuck in a hotel and need something to play on a less-than-roomy hotel desk.
The color palette of the game “pages” is pretty bland – appropriate to the historical time, but not what we’re used to with many current game designs. That said, the structure of the pages is well-thought-out and contains most of the information you need for play. (There is also a nice player aid for symbols on the back of the rulebook.)
Here’s the big finish – I usually give games I review 4-5 plays before writing the review… and sometimes 2-3 if they really don’t click. When I passed five games with Hadrian’s Wall, I was more than happy to keep playing… and look forward to bringing it to the table in the months ahead.
Notes of Various Kinds
Historical note: there are a variety of theories about the purpose of Hadrian’s Wall – defense from the Picts and other tribes to the north, regulation of trade, etc. I am not qualified to give a historical defense of this game design – but for someone who is a history buff, the combination of various elements of Roman society on the fringes of the empire seems right – gladiators but not to Russell Crowe-like proportions, trade markets and temples, diplomats and scouts (but not always and not always as helpful as you would hope), even a weak attempt at local theater (long before that Bill Shakespeare guy appeared on this very island).
Musical note: the headers for each section of this review are borrowed from Pink Floyd’s classic album, THE WALL (which both seemed thematically appropriate and an homage to my 15 year old self thinking that this album was the deepest thing I’d ever heard.)
Review note: I was provided with a review copy of Hadrian’s Wall by the kind folks at Renegade Game Studios. This review originally appeared on the Opinionated Gamers website.
Update: Since I wrote this review, I've played the game two more times... it's still intriguing and enjoyable!
I went to church... the Southern Baptist church my family & I have attended for the last three years. Our pastor, just back from preaching at a Centrifuge camp site, did an amazing job of teaching Philippians 4. We sang contemporary worship songs and even had a verse of "I Surrender All" acapella. We dedicated a family with their newest child... and we honored our graduates and prayed over them.
More than once, I teared up as I compared the joyful experience of worshipping with fellow believers to the horror show that has been the lead-up to the annual SBC convention this week.
Today
Later this afternoon, my family & I will make the trek to downtown Nashville and brave the crazy registration process in order to be present for the IMB Sending Celebration, where my nephew and his family will be recognized as new missionaries with the International Mission Board. As I've said before, I couldn't be prouder of them and their faith in Christ.
So... as I pray for justice to prevail, for the truth to set us free, for God to use what some have intended for evil instead to do good, some more thoughts for you to consider.
The only way to end these controversies is to do the right thing. And the right thing is to vote on resolutions that support the sufficiency of Scripture and acknowledge that there are places where racism from the past still systemically intrudes in the present. And no, this does not make me a Critical Race Theorist, no matter how many times people on Twitter lie about that.
If we fail to do so, we will spark an exodus of black, young, and other leaders who care deeply about these issues.
Friends, if you think that Danny Akin is liberal, that black pastors have secretly infiltrated us with Marxism, and that abuse survivors are the enemy, then you’ve been fooled. Instead, I hope you will be discerning as you make wise choices on resolutions, motions, and elections of officers.
The idea that black Christians needed Karl Marx to teach them about *systems of oppression* in a country that had *legalized slavery* and *Jim Crow* might be the wildest take to gain footing in a long time.
Guidepost [the firm hired by the SBC Executive Committee] is a highly skilled and qualified firm and I have confidence in their ability to do what the SBC needs.
HOWEVER, the ability to do what they are capable of will depend on the EC letting them do their job. Here's what you should ask for that isn't commissioned yet:
The EC has NOT included all paid, appointed or elected leaders or staff of the Convention in this commission. The scope should be broadened to include these official actors.
The EC has NOT committed to waiving privilege so that Guidepost has access to all data and information. This step is absolutely critical, but the EC alone can make this move, and any firm hired would be inhibited by a refusal to do so no matter how good the firm.
The EC has NOT commissioned a public report on the findings and recommendations. This is a critical component of accountability and transparency that must be included in the commission.
Guidepost is a truly independent, international firm that specializes in policy and cultural analysis and ethical compliance, with leaders that have a strong background in religious dynamics. I've been aware of their work for several years and been very pleased.
But the EC will only get the benefit of what they allow themselves to get.
Ask for waiver, an extended scope and a fully public report. Only the EC can make those decisions, and they are critical pieces of this assessment and training.
I pastor a small SBC church in East Nashville (less than 5 miles from where the convention is taking place).
The demographics of our neighborhood have entirely changed in the past decade. As Nashville has boomed, East Nashville (EN) has transformed from a rough neighborhood to the Brooklyn of the South. Most new residents come to us from NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, LA, Boston, etc.
There are more 30-year-olds than children under the age of 18 in my zip code. 1/3 residents are in their 20-30’s. And they are typical Gen-Z/Millennial in posture toward religion plus a good deal more progressive.
Many are non-Christians. Some are exvangelicals. Some never grew up in church. But many new residents don’t automatically find a church to worship in on Sunday.
Over the past 30 years, all of the SBC churches in my ZIP code have experienced significant decline. There were as many people attending my church 30 years ago than in all SBC churches in EN combined today.
Everything religious demographers haves predicted has come true here.
Many of my neighbors don’t agree with our church’s position of theological issues such as the inerrancy and authority of God’s Word, the exclusivity of Christ for salvation, or social issues concerning abortion or LGBT relationships.
At the same time, there is a passion for justice among many of my neighbors. We might disagree about tactics and degree on certain things, but it’s the kind of neighborhood where racial equity is on the fore of people’s minds. People want to help the poor and homeless.
All this to say: the inevitable row at #SBC21 this year is going to reverberate to my neighborhood. All the toxicity that will emerge is going to be on local headlines. They’ll chat about it in the neighborhood FB group.
It’s not going to help at all as we endeavor to engage in outreach and evangelism in our neighborhood.
Furthermore, if there is a failure to address the issues concerning sexual abuse, if decisions made on the floor result in a mass exodus of leaders of color and ethnic churches, if leaders are elected who refuse to address these issues, not only will it be a moral failure…
but it will also give a black eye to churches in my area who are trying to adapt to a changing culture while we proclaim the never-changing truth of the gospel.
It’s not about respectability in our neighbors’ eyes. I know where I’m going to diverge from them in my moral calculus, and it isn’t always going to make me comfortable or laudable to them.
But the all-or-nothing, winner-takes-all politicking, especially by those of the CBN who are literally waving flags with a symbol of death and war on it, it’s just going to besmirch the reputation of humble churches like mine trying to do God’s Work in our context.
It also besmirches the reputation of God and grieves the Holy Spirit.
I’m but a lowly pastor, and this is my perspective. But after the mushroom cloud clears on Wednesday, I’ve got to stay in town.
I’ll have to explain why we affiliate with people who are so uncooperative in the name of “Jesus.”
I’ll have to explain to skeptical neighbors why the Jesus of the gospels – who has the words of eternal life, who calls us into his own glory and excellence, who humbled himself for us and for our salvation – is worth following and worthy of praise.
But then again, so will we all.
But back to that plea:
Do justice
Love mercy
Walk humbly with thy God
Let’s tackle the bungled response to the sex abuse crisis head on.
Let’s resolve to be a place who is a missions-sending juggernaut AND where we have the highest standard of ethical conduct. No thumping our chests about missions if we can’t follow our Lord’s command (see 1 John)
Let’s not allow decades of efforts toward racial reconciliation be reversed by those determined to demonize black voices.
Let’s not allow falsehoods and half-truths perpetuate by those eager to win power.
Let’s resolve to believe abuse victims and seek justice on their behalf.
Let’s not let disgraced and ambitious men use the SBC as their hobby horse or platform for personal interest.
Let’s pray that the SBC would reflect who Jesus is and who he called the church to be.
Let us heed the master’s words so eloquently captured in the hymn: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
Two things are getting ready to happen next week that help explain why my heart & mind are a muddled mess when it comes to the denomination I've been a member of since I was seven years old:
1. My nephew and his family are being commissioned here in Nashville for International Missions Board work in South America - I couldn't be prouder of them or more grateful for their faith & trust in Jesus.
2. The actual SBC annual meeting - also here in Nashville - is going to have to wrestle with the fallout from leadership who chose to ignore and/or dismiss sexual abuse in our churches... and chose to focus on a legal theory about racism rather than grappling with racism and our call as followers of Jesus to live as "one in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 3:28)
...there’s frankly too much to take in. I can barely hold my own thoughts together, let alone attempt to wrap all of them into a neat package for my faithful readers. Instead, I’m going to simply put out a brain dump of personal thoughts, quotes from others, music from Common Hymnal, and Scripture.
My apologies for the length... it's actually shorter than what I started out with [he says with a wry grin].
---
Mark:
May God light up the dark corners of SBC leadership. It is past time for us to renounce abuse and injustice not just with our resolutions but with our day-to-day lives - and the way we do "business" as a denomination. For the many pastors and lay people who are serving others powered by the grace and love of Jesus Christ, this power-hungry manipulation of truth in denominational leadership must end.
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Aaron Schwartz:
Those who have claimed there is a "drift" are right. A drift away from the love of Christ, in favor of name calling, condescension, and outright dismissal. If we are this committed to the Word of God (which I 100 percent am), then we must recognize the spirit of the Pharisees which has permeated our culture. They loved the Torah, memorized it, taught it, and even strapped it to their bodies. It wasn't a lack of love of God's Word for which Jesus rebuked them, but their lack of love for God's people. It even led them to misapply the Torah they loved so much in order to keep power.
Mark:
Sexual predators should never be protected from the legal and employment consequences of their destructive and sinful behavior… no matter how winsomely they preach or how well-connected they are to those in authority. Success and talent are not a substitute for character… and it is not grace to cover up sin.
The worst pain for a survivor is the institutional betrayal - losing everyone, finding out the abuse might have been prevented or stopped, and that you are powerless to save others.
SBC Messengers, hear are some things you desperately need to hear:
Everything that Dr. Moore laid out in his letter was preventable - the abuse, mistreatment, bullying, intimidation, defamation of survivors - it was all preventable.
It was preventable because this type of behavior has been long-known and reported on. Survivors and advocates have been sounding the alarm on these exact dynamics for decades...
It's not a secret. It has never been a secret.
If you are shocked by the content of Dr. Moore's letter, I understand. But take this time now to find out the history.
Ask how these leaders could behave this way and KNOW they would not be stopped or caught. What gave them the confidence to act in that manner?
The answer is that they could speak that way, take those steps, retaliate and control, because history had long taught them that it was safe to do so. That no one would care enough to speak out, vote against them, or stop them.
These leaders could behave this way because history has taught them they can operate with impunity. That survivor and advocate voices would be quickly maligned as "angry", "bitter", "unreasonable", and by sidelining those voices, they could do as they pleased.
SBC's theology of autonomy and representative-based structure is intended to create a system with extra accountability - where power isn't concentrated in a few, but rather placed on the consciences of all. But...
That only works if Messengers are seeking out knowledge of what is taking place, and insisting on mechanisms of accountability and transparency.
Unless and until that happens, history will continue to repeat itself.
The church and the individuals in it have been complicit with horrific things that call for sanctuary. We are called to be a sacred place for the vulnerable. We have often chosen to be a safe place for the powerful and have deceived ourselves into believing that God would call that good.
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Proverbs 21:15 ESV:
When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.
Isaiah 1:13-17 NLT:
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
You’re more than the shame you were recklessly given
You silently scream through the tears you can’t keep from falling
Wishing they poured out enough to break through the hurting
Jesus runs after the broken ones
Weeping with those who weep, crowns them with purity
And years of shame shatter in Jesus name
You can’t shake the feeling
He’s not in a rush he has time for your healing Lean on his shoulder
It’s never too late and, your story’s not over
You wish you could go back in time rewrite your own ending
Then you find faith to believe it’s just the beginning
He is here and he has time
To take what’s wrong and make it right
Jesus runs after the broken ones
Weeping with those who weep, crowns them with purity
And years of shame shatter in Jesus name
Mark:
Opposition to discussing CRT (critical race theory) is a smokescreen that winks at racism (and doesn’t actually deal with CRT in any meaningful way.) Our brothers and sisters of color deserve better than a half-baked statement cooked up by six white seminary presidents. And if someone needs evidence for systemic racism, just look at the NFL finally backing away from “race norming”.
Our denomination has repented via resolution after resolution of the pro-slavery roots of our founding. Now we must stop taking steps backward in the name of false unity. We must stop pretending that the hard work of fighting for civil rights magically fixed the problem and we can simply rest on singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" at VBS.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.:
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
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Matthew 28:19-20 ESV:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Revelation 7:9-10 ESV:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
I find it helpful to think of institutions as flywheels. A flywheel is a device that stores and dispenses energy. Consider a potter’s wheel. A person puts energy into the wheel by pumping a peddle with her foot. This irregular energy input is then stored in the wheel which dispenses the energy evenly over time by spinning the clay even after the potter stops pumping the peddle. Likewise, when we build organizations, governments, or institutions, they store up our values and dispense them over time—sometimes even over generations.
Consider the U.S. government. The founding generation “pumped” their values into the Constitution and created a system of government that respected individual rights, freedom of speech, religious liberty, and limited government. Over 200 years later, the system they created is still “spinning” and shaping the lives of over 300 million people. Of course, a flywheel can also store and dispense evil values over time which is why the Constitution had to be amended to end slavery, recognize African-Americans as full citizens rather than 3/5ths of a person, and give women the right to vote.
Once we see human institutions as flywheels, we can see why the current debate between personal and systemic evil is misguided. It’s not a matter of either changing hearts or changing systems. It’s entirely possible to have individual hearts healed and transformed by the gospel, and yet still have centuries of evil energy stored up within the systems we’ve created. Left unchanged, these flywheels will continue to dispense evil far into the future and hurt many people. Likewise, only changing evil systems isn’t sufficient if the people overseeing those systems are still pumping the evil and injustice of their hearts into the flywheel. Rather than fighting about hearts or systems, Christians who care about injustice and loving their neighbors should desire to overcome evil with good no matter where it resides.
There's a sickness here that threatens to divide us
And we're all afraid to say its name out loud
But, Lord, I know that you can heal us of this virus
So, we need you, we need you right now
There's a darkness here that's dangerous and aggressive
It getting harder every day to shake its power
But, Lord, I know that you can free us from oppression
So, we need you, we need you right now
Cause we don't know what to do
So, we turn our eyes to you
We've run out of words to say
But if you come and have your way
You can save us from ourselves
Before our wounds hurt someone else
We need you now
What does it mean to have compassion for another?
How can I claim to love a God that I can't see?
If I can find the will to harm and kill my brother
Cause he neglected to look like me
I can speak the words of men and songs of angels
I can give all my possessions to the poor
But if your love can't move the mountain of my hatred
Somehow, I missed you, and I need you so much more
Mark:
As for concrete actions at next week’s annual meeting:
First and foremost, pass a motion for an independent third-party investigation of the Executive Committee. In particular, how the behavior of leadership and legal counsel impacted the treatment of sexual abuse victims and agency staff (such as Dr. Moore).
Elect a president who is not caught up in the continuing power plays of Paige Patterson (Mike Stone) and/or creating division from his current leadership role through mistakes like the CRT statement (Al Mohler).
Pass a motion to re-examine the abuser-protecting churches who were much too quickly cleared by the Executive Committee in 2019… and to continue the process moving forward to make clear that harboring sexual predators is not acceptable in SBC life.
Reject motions and resolutions that drive away our brothers & sisters in Christ.
Mark:
Any man who would allow a stained glass window created of him to be installed in a seminary chapel should not be taking a role in leading our convention, even if it is from behind the scenes of the CBN.
The issues reported by SWBTS over his departure (with a donor list and other items that belong to the seminary) are just icing on the cake.
In the aftermath of the Conservative Resurgence, the SBC made a mistake. We spent more time taking victory laps than really leading. We let our history become mythology. We turned men into heroes, and then we turned our heroes into gods...
What we really needed to do was be about our mission and hold each other accountable.
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1 Corinthians 5:12-13 AMP:
For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders (non-believers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church [to protect the church as the situation requires]? God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside [the faith]. Remove the wicked one from among you [expel him from your church].
We must be people of Scripture. We must pursue accurate teaching, stand on sound doctrine & walk in obedience to Jesus. But I believe some of the whirlwind we’re reaping is over past sins committed against fellow believers in the name of and behind the guise of doctrinal purity.
Religious conservatism without Christlikeness proves itself no better than religious liberalism because it inevitably results in arrogance and abuses of power, hurting many and causing the enemies of God to blaspheme.
There was sin in the camp of the Conservative Resurgence. That is not my opinion. That has proven to be a fact. A return to the Scriptures is & was vital but it was done without holiness and with what played out as slack jawing hypocrisy. We need to repent & do this differently.
Mark:
My life has been profoundly shaped by my history as a Southern Baptist layperson and pastor. Funding through the Cooperative Program helped create the Centrifuge camp experience where I surrendered to vocational ministry, the two summers I spent with the Home Mission Board doing summer missions, and made my seminary education affordable. So many faithful Southern Baptist ministers and volunteers poured the love of Jesus and the truth of Scripture into my heart and mind... and I was privileged to serve six different SBC churches as pastor or youth pastor over the last 35+ years.
At the same time, Southern Baptist life was my first exposure to virulent racism: the godly Sunday School teacher who sat on her front porch and calmly explained the "curse of Ham" to me, surprised by my rejection of this horrible false doctrine; the church I served that had an "unwritten rule" that the Family Life Center would close if local African-American students came by to play basketball; the fellow youth minister whose incredibly successful 5th quarter events were shut down by the deacons because the wrong color of students were being saved and baptized.
The longer I served as a pastor and church planter, the more I realized how many people have been affected by sexual abuse... and how often those behaviors and choices were swept under the rug. Resignations for "personal reasons"; avoiding asking or answering difficult questions during reference checks; pressuring victims to keep quiet "to protect the church".
Enough is enough. Our pious political games must end. We must be a people who do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) We must be a denomination who "give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute, rescue the weak and the needy; [and] deliver them from the hand of the wicked." (Psalm 82:3-4 ESV)
