The Dream Factory

Why Is It Difficult for Rural Americans to Conceive of Police Brutality?

 

It really is difficult to see what you do not see.

It is hard to conceive of something outside of your experience.

My question is designed to get you reading more, but it is based on an observation. My goal is to advance the conversation. I don't have all the answers and my simplistic suggestions do not cover all variables, but there is a perception gap in what rural America believes about police and what urban dwellers believe. And it is based upon experience.

Never-mind that Southern law enforcement, in  the days of Jim Crow, was often participating in or turning a blind eye toward violence against black bodies in small, rural towns ... some of that may be over in those small towns as they have become more responsive and their citizens have become enfranchised.  There are exceptions.

Why is it difficult for rural Americans to conceive of urban police brutality?

I think there is a simple, if not simplistic explanation that may apply in some cases.

Because it does not exist in their experience.

That is, in the experience of a small community, with a small police force, elected sheriffs or chiefs appointed by elected officials, whose members live in the community, eat where their neighbors eat, go to church with them, are representative of the diversity of the community, and accountable to the people.

This presupposes that there is a low level of disenfranchisement in terms of voting and participation and that the community is healthy.

In such a community, if there is a loose canon in a police department, people know and they speak up.

There are avenues for correcting the matter.

There is accountability and there is cooperation. The police know the people and the people know the police, by name - usually first names.

In big cities, police only display their last names. They may live outside the community. Accountability is far removed from the common people. There are multiple layers. There is very little proactive work possible. There are no relationships.

But this is reversed in small communities with small police entities which the communities feel they really own and that are responsible to them.

That sounds a lot like community policing and that is why we advocate it.

The answer to many of our current problems is small, community policing structures that are demilitarized and hyper-relational.

I have seen it work in one of the most troubled neighborhoods in Fresno - until the funding ran out.

If I were to envision a new paradigm for resolving crime and protecting our communities, it would be a partnership.

 

 

Lemonade requires the lemon be squeezed. Oil requires that the olives be pressed. Art, so often flows from tormented souls, twisted, pressed, heated, squeezed. Out of the depths we cry to Thee, Oh Lord. There is no correctness in art, just depth of expression offered on an altar.

 

The New Order

The church is part of a brand new order in God's Kingdom where human authority is not required to legitimize its message and deeds.

It is neither required nor desired, recognized nor sought.

It is a strange and wonderful movement where everything is turned upside down in order to land right side up.

It scandalizes our notions of worthiness when the prostitutes and tax collectors enter before the religious folks who ask for authority and legitimacy from the world and honor from the religious institutions that title them.

God, let us be the sons that do what you tell us to do and don't just talk about it and posture ourselves for position.

"And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.""

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him."

- Matthew 21:23-32 (ESV)

Feeling Lost? Disoriented?

 

Where are we?

We are right where we started.

We live in a world of ambiguity and confusion, a world of tension and hostility, and a world of lust and desire. We share a common humanity with every broken soul on this planet.

We are bearers of good news, prophets of repentance, messengers of grace, candles of light, purveyors of hope, and children of God. We are sent into the world to be different.

Our spiritual forefathers took on the burden of strange and complex restrictions in order to be different, holy, and unique. Some wore identifying clothing. Many took marks upon the most personal anatomical features in order to be set apart.

The church, likewise, spiritually marked, is set apart. We do not fit in, but there is a place for all enter in and find a fit.

The covenant of walking with God in the community of His church is a hard and demanding one. It does not always fit the culture or make rational sense. The Head of the church invites you to come and learn of Him and to take His yoke upon you. He does not rush you or coerce you. He does not demean you malign you. But He will remake you and ...

If you choose to follow and continue to follow, He will ask of you some things that make you ask, "Why Lord?"

Where are we? Not where we used to be and exactly where we've always been - different, set apart, and called to holiness.

We are constantly being called back to the basic essence of scripture to seek God and His ways. We are constantly challenged to rethink our assumptions and reaffirm our core commitments. We are constantly provoked to peel away the layers of commentary and application of our religious culture and traditions and fin God's instructions and revelations in a new world that is becoming newer and older every day.

Is this this or is it that?

We will always ask about this or that, but we must be grounded in something that is neither this nor that, but OTHER, Wholly Other!

We are always going back in order to start over.

Don't worry about it. It is the same God in a different setting.

 

 

Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash

 

Examine Closely with Durable Hope

Assume less than you suspect.

Inspect even what you expect.

Squint the eye examining minutia.

Ask more questions than you answer.

Preface your declarations with wiggle room for change of mind and heart.

And yet, somehow, live with confidence.

Learn trust.

Relax and believe hope.

Collected Meditations on Paradox, Self-Reflection, Leadership, and Adversarial Relationships

Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

If you shy away from paradox,
You'll be left with only one doc.
Sometimes, a second opinion is in order.
Sometimes you can get both perspectives from the same Source.
God sometimes scrambles our understanding to lead us to His simplicity and clarity.

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News feeds come and go.

Hot stories, hashtags, and outrages well up, and swell up.

Themes recur. The same sins take different forms and expressions.

First, I must look in me.

"See if there be any wicked way in me ..."

and  pause only briefly before breathing,

"Lead me in the way everlasting."

 

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I lead nowhere unless I follow someone or something.
Who and what I follow determines where and how I lead.
Where I lead matters.
How I lead matters.
The choice to follow Jesus is hard.
It's not for those who wish to unburden their lives.
It's a light and easy yoke.
Real rest-not ease.

 

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Scanning the TV, book, and movie listings, I wondered about the heroes of our generation and what they say about who we are.

The culture, as many cultures through history, is attracted to real or fictional characters in film, novel, reality TV, and life who are cleverly diabolical and formidably adversarial.

Just a little word study from a biblical perspective for bible lovers and kingdom folk who might be attracted to that sort of thing:

Adversarial - Related to adversary.
Σατανᾶς - That's Greek.
Transliterated - Satan.
Do I really wish to make it my legacy that I am a formidable adversary?
"Ἰησοῦς Ὕπαγε Σατανᾶ γέγραπται γάρ"
"Get thee hence, Satan." - Mark 4:10

Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Hebrews satan), an opponent or foe (1 Kings 5:4; 11:14, 23, 25; Luke 13:17); one that speaks against another, a complainant (Matthew 5:25; Luke 12:58); an enemy (Luke 18:3), and specially the devil (1 Peter 5:8).

"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." - Matthew 16:23

In TEV:

Jesus turned around and said to Peter, "Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don't come from God, but from human nature."

What do I savor?
What flavor of life makes my mouth water?
What do I admire in myself or others? My combative nature?
My capacity to win?
My lust to trample my opponents?
My witty ability to put down?

Or something more from the heart of God?

Or, perhaps, we'd rather be clever and diabolical:
diabolos: slanderous, accusing falsely
Original Word: διάβολος
Translated as a noun: Devil

There is much power in the tongue for good or for evil.

What I cheer in popular culture, I may find myself cheering in real life and nurturing in my own nature.

I must stand guard over my own manner and motives lest I get swept away by the ways of the world.

The worst that might happen could be that I would win.

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Scandalous Forgiveness

 

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash

Forgiveness is a scandal. Forgiveness is irrational. It is out of balance, disproportionate, beyond our capacity, humanly unjust, and controversial ... and very, very real, liberating, and healing. It is always premature and it is always timely.

God forgives you. He does not excuse you or your deeds. He forgives you. He does not force you to accept forgiveness, but He does not cease to offer it.

Society may not forgive. Rational people may not. History may not. The justice system may not. But God does and God's people do as they open the channel of giving and receiving it in their own hearts.

The magnitude of the offense is not nor ever is the issue. Your remorse is not the issue. Deterrence is not the issue. There is no issue. This is beyond issues.

The only issue is the issue of blood from the hands, feet, and side of Jesus.

"Father, forgive THEM..."

It cost God to forgive. It costs God to forgive. To maintain truth and justice while extending mercy can tear at the heart of humans and of God. To be angry and to sin not is tough. But bitterness and hatred are tougher and more toxic.

God invites and equips us to do the same as He does. We cannot demand it of others or of God for ourselves or anyone. But when He enables us to give it, we receive more than we give.

It also costs us to receive forgiveness because it implies that we know we need to receive it and makes us vulnerable at levels that evoke it from us. It strips us bare and hangs our lives on crosses.

Sometimes it may be too early to talk about it because one must process what it is that is being forgiven. Yet, here is the scandal. It was brought to bear upon us by the victims of a terrible atrocity recently and no one has the right to criticize them for it. What they did was because their primary identity was not their skin color that made them a target or their ideology or their victimology. They identified with the Forgiver.

A racist was confronted with a God who is no respecter of the arbitrary labels we assign to human being.

Those forgivers are first and foremost, children of God and, in forgiving, they declare that nothing can take that away from them. That is their dignity not their weakness.

I hear people marginalizing them, dismissing them, considering them weak, naive, or unsophisticated in understanding their own emotions. How condescending!

Argue the societal implications of forgiveness all you like. Discuss who is authorized to offer forgiveness. Theorize its repercussions. It does not matter.

The voices of those who cry out, however prematurely you think it is, speak of their character before God and much more, the GRACE and power of God in their lives. His love in them is stronger than hate and it is love that shall prevail.

Nothing in forgiveness negates justice. Nothing minimizes indignation. In fact it fires up indignation at anything and everything less than God's love at work in the world and His justice lifting up every man, woman, boy, and girl.

I can only forgive the Boston Bomber or the Butcher of Charleston, or ISIS for the minimal effects of their crimes on me. Those who have suffered most and more have more to forgive and so many have.their witness inspires me to forgive the petty little offenses I have suffered with such boisterous protest.

If God forgives those who create the most horrific, massive, and public crimes, how about you and me?

Why would we leave such a gift on the table?

Stephen, in Acts, led his accusers through long bible study and recounting of the grace of God at work in history and the response of the crowd was ...

... to pick up rocks and throw them at him until he died.

His response ... "God, don't put this on their account ..."

Forgiveness.

God forgives you and it is irrationally scandalous.

What are you going to do about it?

Hypocrisy Police

 

We have a large force of hypocrisy police on patrol in the streets and back alleys of our world today. They can operate from the comfort of their homes or in the pubic square.

There are also vigilante who spend a great deal of their free time unmasking those they believe to be hypocrites.

I think there are many people who are dead wrong and proclaim deadly wrong information, but who are not hypocrites.

At the same time, there are people who say things we need to hear and heed who may be hypocritical in many areas of their lives.

And, I further believe that I am as susceptible to the undertow of hypocrisy as anyone. 

When one is convinced that one is speaking truth because one has sought earnestly to process truth, one does not need to join the hypocrisy police force.

Hypocrisy usually reveals itself without any outside assistance. If something is true in one context, it is true in the next.

I really do not have time, energy, nor inclination to be a full-time hypocrisy cop.

But, if I were such a cop, I might continue writing very objective tickets, one at a time, for running red lights.

I'd write the ticket and not make a speech about it. It is about the speed and the behavior. The character of the driver is of no concern in that moment.

Tell it to the judge.

In a general way, I will say that there is plenty of hypocrisy in the world and it is a sin ... maybe one of the biggest sins ... because it is rooted in the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves ... especially when we tell ourselves that we have no hypocrisy in us.

As for you or anyone else, I have no idea who is or is not a hypocrite.

Honesty is the antidote to all hypocrisy:
Honesty with ourselves.
Honesty with God.
Honesty with those closest to us.
Honesty with our perceived enemies.
Honesty with the world.
Honesty with our doubts, fears, and uncertainties.
Honesty that reserves possibility that we could be wrong ...
... that we might learn something.

 

 

Your Sins Are Forgiven

Photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash

What must I do to be forgiven?

If I allow myself to be forgiven, what does that say about me, my value as a person, my personal history, and all that I have cherished?

There are two times when Jesus is recorded in the gospels as specifically saying, "Your sins are forgiven."

Matthew 9:2 is the first (Also recorded in Mark 2 and Luke 7):

Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

This was in response to the faith of a man's friends.

Then, there is Luke 7:48 :

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This was in response to her love.

Both have one thing in common.

The person receiving forgiveness, never asked for it.

Others did cry for mercy. For instance, the publican prayed to God for mercy. The thief on the cross said, "Remember me."

Forgiveness costs God plenty in ways that we cannot grasp or explain, but God gives it generously.

If God gives forgiveness so freely, then why do we put up so many blockades to resist it? Why are we so reluctant to admit our need of it? Why are we in such denial of our complicity for the hurts of others?

The day has come to acknowledge the sin and sins that have brought us to our moments of need and accept what is being offered without price and use the space God has given us and Jesus has announced to make huge turn-around of repentance.

May we find the humility to acknowledge that we need God's forgiveness 

 

 

 

Thumbs Up

Thumbs up to all of the COVID19, love, faith, and justice warriors around us. To all who wear masks, maintain social distance, and care for the welfare of others as you do your own.

Thumbs up, always, to the medical heroes like those I am watching from within the front lines right now. They know the truths, the risks, the dangers, the horrors, and the numbers and still, come to work for us. This they do in spite of our suspicion,  carelessness, and sometimes, criticism.

Thumbs up to those who have organized our cities to safely, peacefully, in an orderly manner, and with great discipline and restraint stand against injustice, seize the moment, and work for systemic change.

Thumbs up to those who feel pretty useless now, but who can encourage and pray for those of you taking the lead.

Thumbs up to the young leaders in our nation and world.

Thumbs up for people who work with integrity within a broken system to change a broken system and perform those needed functions of our formal systems. They do this at great sacrifice and sometimes danger.

Thumbs up to the front line of the American economy who take great risks to keep us going, but also take great pains to keep us safe.

Thumbs up to faith leaders who are finding innovative ways to protect their congregations, love their neighbors, and continue to BE the body that expresses their faith.

Thumbs up to our government leaders who seek and propagate solid, data, driven truth and get ridiculed for It.

Thumbs up to the people of my tribe, the Jesus movement, who are discovering that the church founded by Jesus is not a building, a program, a hierarchy, or a formal gathering, but something deeper that all of those things only exist to facilitate. These have known that the church has never closed and have worked to make sure their"s have not.

Thumbs up to my interfaith friends who unite around the ethic of love for neighbor and some version of the Golden Rule.

Thumbs up to all people of goodwill.

Thumbs up to the vast majority in our communities who deeply desire to build a righteous world.

Hands up in praise to the One who gives us health, hope, and desire to move in that direction.

Thumbs up to you. Thank you.

And I almost forgot those who keep us singing, laughing, and informed.

Thank you as well.