Barnabas File

An American space capsule returned safely to earth today with a major difference—the logo on the side was SpaceX and not NASA.  This was a commercial endeavor in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Watching the live television feed of the splashdown took me back to the 1960s and the return of American astronauts from orbit. Although the SpaceX Dragon capsule did not carry any astronauts, such an application is a distinct possibility in the future. Like many others, I was disappointed when the NASA space shuttle program was shut down and the United States no longer could carry personnel or cargo into space and to the International Space Station.  For the first time in 50 years, we no longer had that capability and were dependent on other nations for such accessibility.  SpaceX is a commercial enterprise and a very ambitious one.  Not only do they seek to resupply the ISS on a regular basis, but they hope to be able to f...

“Sully” Sullenberger was the pilot who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009 without the loss of a single life.   He was recently asked this question by Fast Company magazine: “How do you deal with uncertainty?”   You can listen to or  read his full response , but I thought that his observations apply to those of us who lead the church, especially through uncertain times.   He talks about “a firm foundation” based on several principles. First, “we had already built a team . . . in which we had already established well-defined roles and responsibilities.”  The idea of “team” and “well-defined roles” is not a paradox; they go together.  Each team member has something to contribute and is very aware of what that contribution is.  This is something that air crew members knew before the plane headed for the Hudson River.  They did not wait to find their roles until the plane started going down!  Church leaders...

Jon Meacham , who was born in Chattanooga and graduated from the University of the South, is clearly an admirer of fellow Tennessean Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States and the first to come from the frontier.  American Lion:Andrew Jackson in the White House , Meacham’s 2009 biography of Jackson, is not biased, however, and clearly presents both the virtues and vices of the man who considered himself “the people’s President.” Americans in the early 18 th century were looking for heroes and they found one in the orphaned boy who rose to prominence and influence as a military leader and planter.  Meacham’s theme is that this orphan who never knew his own father and lost his mother at an early age saw himself as a father to the American people.  With no children of his own, he had become a father by adoption to several young people and fulfilled that role to a number of his wife Rachel’s nieces and nephews.  When he became President, he sa...

I received my first seminary degree 42 years ago this month.   There is much about that experience that I still treasure.   I studied under some excellent professors, made a number of friends that I encountered occasionally in my subsequent years of ministry, acquired some basic knowledge about the Bible and ministry, and learned to be a lifelong learner.   In reality, the last thing was the most enduring gift of my seminary education—I realized that my education was just beginning. There were some things that were not so great.  Rita and I left family, friends, and ministry roles to relocate to another state.  We moved furniture and belongings over 700 miles. She had to find a teaching job that would help support us during seminary days (I got VA education benefits so I was not a total slacker).  We had to locate a new church where we could serve and be nurtured.   Only some years later did I realize other shortcomings related to my theolog...

Although The Avengers has been out for several weeks, I just had the opportunity to take my 13 year old grandson to see it this past weekend.  I must admit that my expectations were low despite all the hype.  This anticipated ensemble piece bringing together Iron Man (Tony Stark), Thor, Captain America (Steve Rogers), the Hulk (Bruce Banner) as well as Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) and Hawkeye (Clint Barton) could have been a disappointment akin to John Carter , but it works.  Thanks to the creativity and vision  of director/writer Josh Whedon and solid performances of all involved  (including an established supporting cast), the movie is everything that a good summer popcorn movie should be—distracting, visually impressive, and entertaining. The beauty of the film is that Whedon gives each character enough screen time to be personally interesting and adequate action time to show off their individual powers or skills.  He shows what happens when ...

In recent years, I have found myself in more than one church planning meeting when the conversation goes something like this:  “How about (insert name) to (serve on this committee, be a Sunday School teacher, etc.)?”  More frequently the reply is, “But that person is not a church member.”  The objection is not based on prejudice but on church policy that requires individuals who fill certain positions in the life of church to be official members of the congregation.  The interesting aspect of this is that other members of the planning group often do not know the person’s status until the person’s name comes up. Because the person is so involved in the life of the church, the others have assumed that they were “official.”  They attend worship and participate as volunteers, their children are involved in church programs, and they may even be financial contributors—but they are not “members.” To the best of my knowledge, the Bible never addresses church memb...

In going through some files recently, I came across a church newsletter from April 1976.  It provided an interesting snapshot of this particular church at that time.  This county seat Baptist church in a southern state was averaging over 650 in Sunday morning worship.  What caught my attention was that they had only three full-time staff members!  Today we talk in terms of a church needing one full-time staff member for every 100 worshippers.  The same church today runs about 450 on a Sunday and has the equivalent of six full-time staff ministers.  What changed? A lot has changed in three and a half decades.  Let me suggest five primary changes that have impacted churches, their staffing expectations, and their effectiveness in mission. First, society has changed.  In this particular case, what was once a small county seat town is now part of a metropolitan area made up not only of individuals commuting 45 minutes  to an hour to ...

Although some say that we live in a post-denominational age, there is something comfortable and reassuring about identifying not only with a particular denominational “tribe” but a specific “clan” of that tribe.   This is true of those who call themselves Baptists and it may well be of others, but I will confine my remarks to the Baptist tribe because that is where my primary experience lies. I have found it very interesting to hear members of congregations who want to declare that they are just “one kind of Baptist”—Southern Baptist, Cooperative Baptist, Alliance Baptist, etc.  This is understandable, but I am surprised at their choice of a starting point.  Those motivated to declare that their congregation should related to one particular clan of Baptists begin with their perception of the clan rather than understanding and embracing who they are as a congregation.   Let me suggest some questions that church members might ask in order to clarify their...