Monday, May 29, 2017

Immigrants & How to Treat Them

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
- Emma Lazarus, 1883

Emma Lazarus
Lazarus’ work, “The New Colossus” was written three years before the installation of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde). The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States.

Not may people know that the official name of one of the most significant statues in the world includes a tribute to the function of liberty as “enlightening the world.”

Emma, while not herself an immigrant, was a strong supporter of indigent Jewish refugees and helped establish the Hebrew Technical Institute to provide technical training for them to support themselves.

Of course, most American schoolchildren know that the last five lines of Lazarus’ poem are inscribed on a bronze plaque that sits on the foundation of the Statue of Liberty.

These words unequivocally point to the people that Liberty is calling.

The tired, poor, huddled masses who yearn to breathe free. The wretched. The homeless. The tempest-tossed.

With all of the debate swirling around immigration today, we seem to have forgotten the most basic of principles that, until recently, guided our country’s stance on the subject.

An openness. An acceptance. A willingness to sacrifice security and convenience for hospitality.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that practically every ethnic group that has shown up on America’s shores has faced hostility. Irish. Polish. Chinese. German. Italian. Any group that didn’t fit in with the current majority (those of white Anglo-Saxon heritage) were viewed with suspicion. During times of war, in particular, violence and prejudice reared its head (notably against the Germans in WWI and the Japanese in WWII).

The history of how blacks in the US were treated is especially shameful. They came to this country initially as slaves. With no choice in the matter. With no rights. Regarded as less than human. (Ava DuVernay has directed an excellent documentary, 13th, that captures much of this history).  Our treatment of Native Americans is equally shameful. 

So, we as a nation, seem to be conflicted on our view of immigrants. On the one hand there is the Statue of Liberty, which is located about a half-mile away from Ellis Island, where 12 million immigrants first set foot in America between 1892 and 1954. The Statue sits almost directly in front of Ellis Island. The two structures share the same harbor. The same hope.

On the other hand, there is Ellis Island. A touchstone symbol for how we  choose to implement our hospitality.

During its prime Ellis Island was actively functioning as the US's largest immigration center; it processed 5,000 individuals a day. Early on, an intake system was established. It included a basic health screening, mainly to detect communicable diseases, along with questions to determine a person's nationality, mental ability and politics. Much of this process was put into place once immigrants from non-western European nations began to immigrate to the US.

There were two types of passage available to immigrants. First class and steerage (second class). Only steerage passengers were processed through Ellis Island. First class passengers had already paid for a sort of express service, entitling them to directly enter the US.

In large part, ever since, there has been confliction between how first (special) and second (the rest of us) class immigrants are treated.

Fast-forward to the present time. The 45th president campaigned on a promise to build a wall across our southern border and to severely tighten up our immigration policy. Meanwhile, the sister of Jared Kuschner is pitching special EB-5 citizenship to foreign investors in Kuschner properties at the $500,000 level.

On the positive side, a federal appeals court recently rejected the 45th's second version of a revised travel ban as being intolerant and discriminatory against Muslims. The first version was found unconstitutional for the same reasons.

So, the whole issue of immigration continues to be fraught with contradiction.

Which is not to say that we can't, as a nation, choose to do the morally correct thing.

We can choose to let what's written on the base of the Statue of Liberty guide us. We can choose to let liberty remain a beacon of hope. We can choose to welcome the stranger, the homeless, the tempest tossed to our shores.

All based on the virtue of generosity. Making an active decision to not give in to fear of those who don't look or act or think like us.

Members of faith-based communities should be among the leaders in the movement to ensure immigrants are welcomed.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10, in the Bible, for instance:

"Remember this - a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give... God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty to share with others.. For God is the one who provides the seed for the farmer and the bread to eat. In the same way, God will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you."

Here's 14 other verses for evangelicals to take a look at.

Those of the Jewish faith also are commanded to welcome the stranger. (Leviticus 19:33-34) "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt."

This doesn't sound at all like "America First." Or "Make America Great Again."
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For a great read on the loss of virtue in American politics, read Emma Green's review of The Vanishing American Adult, in The Atlantic.

Photo Credit: Emma Lazarus - American Jewish Historical Society
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island - XpatNation





Monday, May 22, 2017

The 45th & Proverbs 17th

It's been a tough 100+ days for the 45th president of the US.

His scorecard, thus far, is not very impressive. And there have been volumes already written about the current administration and its actions.
(Here's an example. And here's another. And more background on why it's not a good idea to populate a federal administration with former lobbyists).

But what I haven't seen much of is an objective, faith-based perspective on what's going on in the West Wing.

For the sake of simplicity, let's take one book (the Bible) and focus on one chapter (Proverbs 17).

Right off the bat, verse 1 (Proverbs 17.1) speaks to the general atmosphere of the West Wing. "Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting - and conflict." If there is one word that captures the past two weeks on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., it's conflict. The sidenote behind this verse is a subtle pitch for humility.

Verse 10 reads: "A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding that a hundred lashes on the back of a fool." A person of understanding seeks out advice and takes it. They don't need to be hit over the head in order to "get it." Last week the New York Times and other newspapers reported that the 45th president received several warnings to stay away from Mike Flynn. Those warnings went unheeded. Mr. Flynn is currently under investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee and has refused to turn over requested documents. His refusal could result in criminal charges.

How about this one: "Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out." (vs. 14) The 45th's tweeting history is a great example of how not to handle yourself in public. Almost every tweet (under his own name) is a negative reaction inviting or increasing conflict. Here's a sampling of the 45th's tweets.

The 45th has a tendency to deny any wrongdoing. It would do him well to remember that God doesn't like that sort of thing: "Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent - both are detestable to the Lord." (vs. 15). Quick example: The 45th's praise of a former talk-show host, who a few weeks later was fired over allegations of sexual harassment.

Proverbs 17th even has something to say about building walls. "Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin; anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster." (vs. 19) Interesting that quarreling, sinning and trusting in walls are grouped together in one verse. Remember, building the infamous wall across the Mexican border remains a top priority of the 45th's. The 45th has gone out of his way to emphasize that it'll be a "huge" one. Here's some background on the 45th's promise to build a "great, great wall."

The very next verse (vs. 20) mentions "the crooked heart will not prosper; the lying tongue tumbles into trouble." An investigation into the 45th and his campaign's alleged collusion with Russia to influence the presidential election is happening as this blogpost is being written. It's enough to say that the 45th's track record on this one has been a path of deep denial. Interestingly, he hasn't said much to clear his own staff. Mainly insisting that his character remains sterling. While other presidents have been investigated, I don't recall any of them having this happen to them so early in their presidency. Here's the Pultizer prize-winning Politifact's truth-check on the 45th.

Verse 24 tells us "sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth." It's been reported that the 45th has a very short attention span, doesn't read books and gets his news from soundbites. It's also been reported that his staff is often sent scrambling because they can't get the 45th to focus on what's important. He's said things like "who knew health care was so complicated?" Not having a sense of detail is one thing. Not having the discipline to adequately consider complex issues is another.

The current situation that we're facing in Washington can best be summed up in verse 27: "A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered." The 45th seems to suffer from an inability to keep quiet and listen. His personal tweets are mostly thoughtless and angry. His interviews, to date, offer more of the same.

On the bright side, we're being offered a fine litmus test for use in our own lives, as to how not to conduct ourselves.

Here's the latest episode of PBS News Hours' analysis with Shields & Brooks.

Author's Note: All scripture quotations are taken from the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers.

Second photo of (dark) White House by Bloomberg


Monday, May 15, 2017

John Lewis: Civil Rights Legend


In late March, civil rights icon Representative John Lewis (D-Georgia) spoke before the House during the initial debate on the GOP's health care bill. He said, "This is the heart and soul of the matter. We cannot abandon our principles, Mr. Speaker. We cannot forget our values. We have fought too hard and too long to back down now."

A few months earlier, the current president, in a tweet, called Lewis "all talk, talk, talk no action or results."

Rather than take time to discredit that statement, I refer you to David Remnick's piece in The New Yorker.

One positive result of that infamous tweet was that a lot of people, including me, were curious to delve a little deeper into Lewis' history.

John Lewis grew up the son of a sharecropper in Troy, Alabama. He became sensitive to the reality of racial inequality while attending grade school. He noticed that white schools seemed to be newer, with more resources being given to them. Black students, on the other hand, were left with the hand-me-downs. Of course, growing up in the South in the early 40's, he experienced the "COLORED" and "WHITES ONLY" entrance signs guarding many public places. And some places, like the local library, he couldn't enter at all. His life and the life of most blacks living in the South was anything but "separate but equal."

So, by the time Lewis was attending American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, he was primed to take action when faced with the ever-present reality of inequality that surrounded him and his fellow African-Americans.

In his book, Walking With the Wind, Lewis describes how he joined efforts to desegregate downtown Nashville, beginning with non-violent sit-ins at lunch counters. He eventually became a leader in the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

The logistics involved behind those early lunch counter sit-ins would become one of the templates used throughout the South to move towards civil rights.

For years Lewis was at the forefront of other efforts, like the voting rights drive in Mississippi. He was one of the original 13 "freedom riders," putting his life on the line, with others, to help ensure that black Americans had the right to vote. Previous to these efforts, Jim Crow - illegal means used to threaten and dissuade blacks from registering to vote - was the law of the South.


John Lewis, standing third to left of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lewis was alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on "Bloody Sunday" (March 7, 1965).

(You can see Lewis standing in the front row of the picture on the right, in a white coat). It was Lewis who actually had much more to do with the logistics behind the March than King. And it was Lewis who had his head cracked open by an Alabama state trooper's nightstick.

Despite profuse bleeding, he refused to go to the hospital, instead escaping back to Selma to speak at Brown Chapel to encourage other marchers not to give up hope. A few weeks later there was another, successful, march across the bridge to Montgomery.

In August of the same year, the first Voting Rights Act was passed. It was passed to enforce the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution. It read, in part, "no voting qualifications or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of their race or color."

By the time that the Voting Rights Act was passed, John Lewis had more than established himself as a leader in the civil rights movement. Both in the South and nationwide. Two years earlier, he spoke at the March on Washington in 1963, sharing the podium with Martin Luther King. Lewis' original speech was considered to be too strong by many of the other leaders of the March. In his book, Lewis recalls editing his speech, in an effort to keep the unity of the movement that was gaining momentum.

After that speech, Lewis went back to Mississippi to continue with voter registration and desegregation activities. He eventually left the SNCC in 1966, but continued efforts to enfranchise minorities. In 1986 Lewis was elected to the House of Representatives from Georgia, where he remains one of the most respected members of that chamber.

It was from that moral authority that Lewis helped lead a sit-in of 40 Democratic representatives on June 22, 2016 in response to the mass killings in Orlando earlier that month. Lewis sent out a tweet, "We have turned deaf ears to the blood of the innocent and the concern of our nation. We will use nonviolence to fight gun violence and inaction."

In summing up his life, Lewis said, "When I was growing up my mother and father and family members said `Don't get in trouble. Don't get in the way.' I got in trouble. I got in the way. It was necessary."

Monday, May 8, 2017

Meet Greg Brown: Author & Pastor


Greg Brown earned his MA in religion and MA in teaching from Trinity International University, a MRE from Liberty University, and a PhD in theology from Louisiana Baptist University. He has served over thirteen years in pastoral ministry and currently serves as chaplain and visiting professor at Handong Global University, pastor at Handong International Congregation, and as a Navy Reserve chaplain.

Greg married his lovely wife Tara Jayne in 2006, and they have one daughter, Saiyah Grace.

Currently you teach at Handong Global University and are pastor to the English-speaking students there. How big is Handong University and what is it like? Where is it located?

Handong Global University has over 4,000 students—mostly undergraduate. It is located in Pohang, South Korea. It is a small Christian school that focuses on training students to be lights in the world. The motto of the school is “Why not change the world?”


What’s the spiritual climate in South Korea? How did you decide to move and work there?

There is a strong Christian population in South Korea. It is has the biggest churches in the world and sends the second most missionaries in the world. However, like America, it is quickly becoming post Christian. The college students and young adults are becoming an extinct population in the church.


Do you have any concern living (relatively) so close to North Korea? Especially in light of recent development with North Korea attempting to test nuclear missiles? When Korea originally was split into North and South, there were many families that were torn apart. Is that still the case today?

We don’t have many concerns about North Korea. Our family members have more concerns than we do. But we’ve been here almost 6 years and the back and forth rhetoric is really repetitive.

In another interview you mentioned that you’re a visual learner. Can you describe what that’s like and how it affects your writing?

I’m specifically a visual-written learner. I learn primarily by writing, and I’m very nonaudio. I struggle when instructions are given to me auditorily and they’re not written down. So that always caused extra difficulties for me when I was young and in school. But, it’s great for writing. I want to know more about God and his Word and I have to write to learn. So, that works perfectly for publishing.


You’ve written several books for the Bible Teacher’s Guide series. Did you envision a series when you wrote the first guidebook?

After writing the first book, I definitely was hoping that God would make a series out of it. We had just finished preaching 1 Peter, and after editing and publishing it, it just made sense that the series would continue. However, going back and editing/re-writing old sermons is a lot of work, so I have a few sermon/lecture series that are just waiting. Right now, it’s enough work preparing new preaching series for publication.

Can you describe how you created the template you use for the series? (Big Question, Interpretation Questions, Application Questions, etc.)

Yes. It is really the format most preachers use when writing a sermon, though they probably ask the questions in their mind instead of writing them down. What is the main idea of this text—the Big Question, which becomes the theme? What things jump out in the text—Observation Questions? What does this text mean or specific parts of it—Interpretation Questions? What should we do about this text—Application Questions? So I write these out in order to guide teachers or help them prepare their own sermon or Bible study. These questions are also great to guide small group discussions.

Let’s focus in on your most current book in the series, Abraham: Living the Life of Faith. Why did you choose Abraham? Why did Abraham and Sarah’s life interest you?

A couple of years ago, my co-pastor and I were just praying about what to teach the next semester at our church. We hadn’t preached OT in a while so we both thought Abraham would be good. It ended up being a great series. Even when my co-pastor preached, I always prepared that sermon anyways since I have to train the small group leaders. It turned into a book, years later.


What did you hope to accomplish with this particular book in the series? What’s the main message you hope to pass along to readers?

As we consider the development of Abraham’s faith, we can see many of the same tests and trials in our own life. By learning from his successes and mistakes, we can be more faithful in our life journey.


It’s obvious that you really love the Bible. Was there a particular event in your life that caused this?

When I was going into my sophomore year of college, I started to struggle with depression and at times felt like I didn’t want to live. This was stimulated by several events—the end of my first real dating relationship, an injury that made me miss the majority of my sophomore year as a college basketball player, and a friend committing suicide, among other events. The only thing that gave me peace was studying God’s Word, worshiping him at church, or serving. So God’s Word, God’s presence, and his people became my retreat. Little did I know, God was storing up his Word in me and training me for ministry—and specifically writing ministry as I also devoured many Christian books.


How did you become a Christian? Was it a gradual process, or one, life-changing event?

My father was a 20-year Air Force veteran, and we were living in Belgium. I was only 7 years old. Because my family was going through some difficult times, we started to attend a Baptist church planted by some missionaries. It might have been my first time attending, but at the end of the service, they gave an altar call. I realized that I was a sinner, and I had no assurance of going to heaven. I went to the front, they walked me through the Romans Road and I gave my life to Christ. Around that time, both my parents became serious about God, and church became a regular part of our lives.


What’s your writing process like? Where do you write? When? How do make the time to write with being a husband, father, teacher and pastor?

Well, the fact that I’m a pastor makes my writing process easier. Essentially, I write one chapter of a book most weeks of the year, as part of a sermon series. Two weeks before preaching a sermon, I study the text with commentaries for 3 to 5 hours on Tuesday. I write the first draft which takes another 3 to 5 hours on Friday. Then I edit it and teach it to my small group leaders on Monday. Edit it and teach it again on Wednesday to my own small group. Then edit it again Saturday night and Sunday morning and then preach it. This allows each sermon to go through lots of growth including what God gives me as I teach it and what others share in small groups. Then over the winter or summer, I edit the sermon series two more times, then send it off to outside editors before publication. It’s a really thorough process. The fact that I work at a university with larger vacations in the summer and winter helps. I still oversee the church during those times, but my elders help out a lot more with preaching over the breaks.


Is there anything else you’d like to mention? (How can readers get in touch with you, find your books, etc.)

Most of the books, I eventually give away for free on Bible.org in order to reach a larger audience. Check this link for those works, https://bible.org/byauthor/156476/gregory_brown. Please follow me at www.pgregbrown.com and at https://twitter.com/pgregbrown. Also, please throw up a prayer for God to use the series to reach many people for his kingdom. Thanks so much!

Monday, May 1, 2017

Are the 'alpha males' back in D.C.?

Recent events in Washington, D.C. have resulted in a very small shard of sunlight emanating from the West Wing.

In early April, Stephen Bannon, the current president's chief political advisor was removed as a principal from the National Security Council.

To anyone with a forward-thinking approach to life, this news was most welcome.

As you may recall, Bannon, a former CEO at Breitbart News, was a proponent of "dismantling the administrative state."

While he remains as the current president's chief political advisor, Bannon's own ill-conceived ideas are no longer as influential in the West Wing.

In further good news, it seems as if Sebastian Gorka, an advisor on national security and a former co-worker of Bannon's at Breitbart, may also be on the way out. Gorka's the same guy who earlier boasted, "the alpha males are back," in Washington.

According to the New York Times, Gorka has been very vocal in stating that violence is an essential part of the teachings of the Quran. He was also a strong proponent of the infamous travel ban that has been twice thwarted in federal courts, being found unconstitutional.

Gorka also had high praise for Michael Flynn, former head of the National Security Council, calling his leadership "sterling," only 12 days before Flynn was forced to resign or face being fired due to lying about his ties to Russia.

In other news, over the weekend Congress averted a potential shutdown of the federal government. While the legislation still needs to be voted on, from all indications it should pass. It includes additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (going against the current president's wishes) and does not contain funding to build the infamous wall across the Mexican border.

The New York Times pointed out that this bipartisan effort may indicate that Congress isn't in total lockstep with the current president - bucking against his wishes to reduce funding for practically all federal agencies not aligned with defense, and not approving funding for the wall.

However positive these pieces of news may be, they are significantly minimized by the report that the current president has invited Rodrigo Duterte, the alpha-male president of the Philippines, to the White House.

Duterte has gained a sordid reputation internationally due to being accused of extrajudicial killings of over 7,000 drug suspects as part of his notorious crackdown on the drug trade.

The New York Times reported that it's not clear if Duterte would even be admitted to the US on a visa, due to human rights abuses, if he were not the leader of a country. "Trump is now morally complicit in future killings (of drug suspects)," said John Sifton, Human Rights Watch's Asian Advocacy Director.

In any event the possibility of Duterte coming to the White House has stunned both critics and allies of the current president.

In terms of the political outlook in D.C., there is still a long road ahead for any person with a progressive-minded world view. That's undeniable.

The current president has only been in office a little over 100 days. Thankfully, he has accomplished very little of what he told his followers he would do "immediately." He has not repealed and replaced our health care system. He has not begun to built a wall. The truncated tax reform plan he proposed will most likely not pass. It's actually a good thing that the current president hasn't been able to deliver on the promises he made to those who voted for him.

He has not yet dismantled the "administrative state," and that's a positive sign. After all it's the same "administrative state" that has given us social security, affordable health care for over 20 million Americans, world-leading scientific research and free public education (K through 12) along with a free press. And while there are constructive things that can be done to strengthen each of these systems, they are worth fighting for and retaining.

For extra credit, you can view Shields & Brooks' analysis of the current president's first 100 days.

Photo Credit: washington.org






Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Pinocchio: Art Credit, Disney If ever there were a time for a national "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" award, it's now. And certai...