Roger Olson, who teaches at the Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, is the most interesting of theological mixes:  a Southern Baptist, an evangelical who is not fundamentalist and, perhaps best of all, an articulate advocate of Wesleyan-Arminian theology.

In other words, he's a really good United Methodist . . . he just doesn't know it yet. 

And because of a recent post, he's my newest cyber hero.

On February 7, Olson wrote Why I Am Not A Liberal Christian which, I believe, is a substantive critique of where modern-day Protestant Liberalism comes from and where it leads.  And because Olson is not limited by any kind of "Top Five Tuesday," he lists at least six reasons for his beliefs.  He also has a provocative follow up:  Why I Am Not A Fundamentalist. 

Anyway, all that got me inspired and set me to thinking:  why I am not in the progressive wing of the United Methodist Church?

Why is it that I don't belong to the Methodist Federation For Social Action?  Why haven't I asked Good Shepherd to join the Reconciling Ministries Network?  And why do I look with suspicion at the majority of statements emerging from the General Board of Church & Society?

Well, here goes.  Five reasons why I am not a United Methodist progressive. 

(Actually, before I do, two quick caveats:  1) I am speaking in terms of theology, not politics.  While I don't make my voting record public, just know that on some political issues I'm conservative and on others, not at all; 2) this theological conservative/progressive divide also does not refer to worship style.  Many would say that Good Shepherd's approach to worship is progressive, yet we hope that the modern format is harnessed to ancient, orthodox theology.)

So, with that in mind, here goes:

1.  I don't believe that progressive Christianity holds exclusive rights to the longstanding goals of what we used to call the "social gospel" --

a vital engagement with the poor;
a radical commitment to ethnic diversity;
a continual reminder to the comfortably Christian that Jesus came to make their lives deeply uncomfortable --

because I have seen all those goals come to life within the community of an unabashedly conservative and evangelical church.  And Good Shepherd is not at all unique.  Throughout our connection there are congregations who are able to live out many of liberalism's aims while remaining moored to historic teaching.  Check here and here and here for examples of multi-ethnic and missionally-engaged churches who stay traditional in their doctrine.

2.  I believe that heaven and hell are real and that Jesus will actually return to earth one day to judge the quick and the dead.  Progressive  Christianity has a strong vein of universal salvation that runs through it.  And while I would like to believe in universalism, the consistent witness of the New Testament along with the specific words of Jesus prevent me from doing that. 

3.  I choose an ancient understanding of authority over a modern one.  For Olson, the conservative / progressive divide comes down to differing sources of authority.  Here's how he says it:  However, when I read [a three volume] history of liberal theology in America I discern that all these theologians have one thing in common—recognition of the authority of “modern thought” alongside or above Scripture and tradition.  According to Olson, what is current and/or personal becomes authoritative in progressive theology.  I am of the mind that newer is almost never better when it comes to doctrine.  That's why in the case of homosexual practice, conservative United Methodists believe that 2000 years of the church's understanding of sexual holiness (celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage) takes precedence over newer interpretations that have developed in the last 40 years. So there is a reason why part of our "liturgy" at Good Shepherd includes lifting the bible -- not because we worship it but because we choose to surrender to its authority to the best of our ability and understanding.

4.  I hope and pray to embrace the heart of the Wesleyan movement -- a passionate belief in free will, a celebration of the assurance of salvation, and a promise to spread scriptural holiness -- without a particular attachment to its contemporary forms.  That's why in our congregation we have plenty of women's LifeGroups -- but no United Methodist Women's circles.  It's why we have children and students lead us in worship -- but no acolyte ministry.  And it's why, yes, we built our church to include space for a baptismal pool -- so that we as a congregation can share in the celebration of new believers going public by getting wet.

5.  I don't read the bible literally.  I don't read the bible symbolically.  I read it literarily.  Like we say at Good Shepherd, "the bible is not a book; it's a library."  And libraries by definition have differing styles of literature on their shelves.  So it is with Scripture -- and you interpret the books according to the style of writing they represent.  That's why the best of evangelical scholarship can read a chapter like Genesis 1 and know at once that it is not pretending to be a scientific essay but is intead a glorious hymn of creation.  At the other end of the library, we can read Revelation and know that it can't mean to us (modern readers) something it never meant to them (the first audience of, hello!, the seven churches).  In reading the bible literarily, I come to believe in the miracles of Christ that many in the progressive wing jettisoned long ago -- chief among them, his virgin conception and his literal, bodily resurrection from the dead. 

These days, homosexuality appears to be the dividing line between progressive and conservative United Methodists.  Progressives advocate changing the denomination's official position (which currently states that homosexual intimacy is not compatible with Christian teaching) while conservatives hope to retain it.

But I suggest that the homosexual issue is not the cause of the divide; it is a symptom of a separation that already exists.  The more fundamental issues involve authority and eternity and even congrgational flexibility.  And on all of those I land alongside those Methodist who call themselves "conservative" or "evangelical."

Through all of that, I hope that some day I can be as strong a Methodist as my new favorite Baptist professor.
 

Over the last week, blog topics came faster than I could keep up with them -- a trip to Texas, a story in the Charlotte Observer on Home, Valentines' Love Songs, reflections on self-love, and then yestereday an anecdote shedding light into what kind of community Good Shepherd is becoming.

Along the way, Constant Contact got a bit overlooked.

And I believe it is a truly important series; the kind of inner-life-focused season we needed after the breathtaking ride we took through Home.

This week (February 17), we'll be looking at Psalm 13 and using that as a platform for a message called Honest To God.  Get ready to have a big lie exposed as well as to hear and experience some different definitions of prayer, praise, and worship.

In the meantime, I want to give you the transcript of last week's sermon, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?  With insights gained from both Andy Stanley and Mark Beeson, I feel like the topic of connection with God is having an good impact on the people of this church.

So here's last Sunday's message which I believe helps pave the way for the one this Sunday:

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During our most recent Next Step group, a woman made the most interesting observation about Good Shepherd:

This is not a big church.  It's a church where a lot of people belong.

And I did what I always do in a situation like that:  exclaimed "that will preach!" and then wrote it down to keep for future use.

Like today.

But I so love that sentiment.  She meant that in her experience GSUMC does not feel large and impersonal; it instead conveys warmth and intimacy in spite of the crowds.

Whatever size we have is possible because we go to great lengths to feel small.  That's why:

• Our band, choir, and Sunday teachers don't spend the moments before the service begin in some sort of Green Room.  Instead, we're out among the congregation, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.  That way, when the worship service actually starts, it's clear that whatever leadership is on the platfor is first and foremost part of the community.
• We send a lot of hand written notes.  A lot.
• People in the church make and deliver meals for one another in times of both sadness and celebration.  Recently a new couple in church suffered a miscarriage -- and approached me two Sundays later to express their astonishment that someone they didn't even know brought a sympathy meal to them.
• We try really hard to learn and remember names.
• We try just as hard to return phone calls and emails on the same day they come in.
• We have a full-time employee who has the job title of "Congregational Care" -- some churches our size and style have opted not to staff such a position but rely on small groups to handle care.  Both methods have strengths and weaknesses; we have simply chosen this route.

We get a lot of things wrong here and I make more than my fair share of mistakes.

But with my new friend's definition in mind, may gain strength by never getting big.  But may we always be a place where a whole lot of people belong.

Yes, you read the post title correctly.

I remember the time in seminary when one of our professors quipped, "Masturbation is the opposite of the weather.  With the weather, everyone discusses it, but no one can actually do anything about it .  With masturbation . . . well, you know the rest."

So it's a time to talk about it.  It's time to talk about it because of the impact of the Home sermon series & Radical Impact Project and how our church linked the rising use of porn with the increasing demand for underage girls in the sex trafficking industry.

It's time to talk about it because I've seen its impact on singles and marrieds alike.

It's time to talk about it because we understand the act in a toxic mix of humor, avoidance, and shame -- but rarely do we discuss from a theological perspective.

Which takes us to Scripture's earliest words regarding human sexuality:

For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  Genesis 2:24

The two shall become one flesh.  When a man and woman unite sexually, they create something that did not exist before.  It's not a series of isolated acts with disconnected partners as if we are nothing more than two-legged alley cats.  In God's design it's a deeply spiritual experience in which body and soul, heart and spirit connect in vulnerability and pleasure.

And I suspect that the exchanging of bodily fluids in that intimate act in a sense puts a "seal" on that new creation.  Seen from God's perspective, sex forges a new bond and forever links you to that partner whether you realize it or not.

What does all this sex-as-spirituality talk have to do with masturbation?

Think about it.  If sex creates something that did not exist before and forges an irrevocable bond with your partner and if bodily fluids seal that new creation, then in masturbation you are becoming one with . . . yourself.

It is the ultimate self-retreat.  And leads towards self-obession.  Which is why I've had counseling with wives who are at the same time desolate and confused:  why does he have no interest in me but only interest in himself? 

The theological answer is this:  because he's becoming one with himself.

The clinical answer looks like this:

Two brain chemicals play a powerful role in addiction. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that enables you to feel pleasurable emotions, and endorphins are chemicals released during stress and physical activity that allow you to recover and feel at ease. When you masturbate, the body releases dopamine to enable you to feel sexual pleasure, and frequently releases endorphins when you’re done masturbating. Over time, this frequent release of brain chemicals can become addictive. Because endorphins and dopamine can help you cope with stress, people experiencing extraordinary stress or mental health problems are especially likely to become addicted to the release of these chemicals that occurs with masturbation. Thus frequent masturbation can become an unhealthy coping mechanism that causes you to avoid – rather than address – your problems.

Whether it's theological or clinical, the result is much the same: increasing isolation and compounding addiction.  Not in every case, mind you, but in way more than you want to admit.

Masturbation is not boys will be boys.

It's not everyone does it.

It's not even  I need a daily release.

Seen theologically, it is instead that which can often appeal to all of our worst instincts -- instant pleasure and self-obsession -- while undermining God's inherently creative gift of sexual intimacy.