Traveling through Israel for 10 unforgettable days

My wife has two birthdays. In the Gregorian calendar as commonly observed, her birthday is February 12. However, Joanna is Chinese and was born and raised in Hong Kong. Her Chinese birthday, according to the Chinese calendar, always falls on the day before the Chinese New Year - in other words, Chinese New Year's Eve.

When we were in Israel a few weeks ago, we learned that the state of Israel observes two birthdays as well. The existence of the state of Israel was officially declared on May 14, 1948 - according to the Gregorian calendar. However, in the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of Israel's statehood fell on April 26 this year, so we had the opportunity to observe - and participate in - Israel's Independence Day celebration.

A few days later, we sat in the very room, in Tel Aviv, in which David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister, officially declared the existence of the new state. In fact, as our group - consisting of Jews and Baptists alongside each other - sat there, facing the table on which the documents were signed, we listened to a recording of the brief, simple ceremony that had taken place in that room 64 years earlier. Ben-Gurion's nameplate still rests on the table, as future Prime Minister Golda Meir's nameplate rests on the chair in which she sat that day.

Joanna and I traveled to Israel with a group from our church, Wilshire Baptist, and a Jewish congregation, Temple Emanu-El, both from Dallas. Pastor George Mason and Rabbi David Stern provided context, throughout our journey, for the places we visited. We also had two tour guides, Shari and Doron, who wove their encylopedic knowledge of the area, its history, its people, and its culture with an equally remarkable understanding of the biblical context everywhere we traveled. They narrated not only the places we stopped, but also the hills and countryside through which our buses passed.

We cut a wide swath through Israel. Beginning in the 3000-year-old city of Jerusalem, we stood on a sidewalk at 8 p.m., on the eve of Israel's Memorial Day, as sirens sounded and traffic came to a momentary halt, and - together with the people of Israel, and our friends from Temple Emanu-El - observed a moment of silence in memory of Israel's fallen. Later that week, we watched as Israelis celebrated their independence. We also went to the Western Wall - popularly known as "the wailing wall" - where we saw people having their own private moments of prayer and mourning. As did many in our group, I walked over to the Wall to have my own private moment. I heard people sobbing, and I saw others going over to comfort them.

These were reminders - both solemn and joyous - that, despite the differences between the peoples of the world, there are experiences and feelings that are common to all of us.

On the other hand, there are a few experiences that are unique. We walked through Yad Vashem, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. This is an atrocity that was unique in its scale and horror. It is a reminder that we must never stand silently by while the powerful misuse their authority to exploit, abuse, marginalize, and even murder the powerless.

Our trip was a journey through time - not only in terms of going back in time, but in that the historical significance of the places we visited covered thousands of years. We worshipped together in a tent up in the hills where Abraham once tended his sheep. Fast-forward to Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation, commemorating the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would bear God's son. And to Bethlehem, Jesus' birthplace, and the Church of the Nativity.

We sang a song of blessing on the Mount of Beatitudes, traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing to visualize the crowd of people gathered there to hear Jesus that day! We visited the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus - as his disciples slept - agonized over the terrible sacrifice that awaited him yet reaffirmed his desire to do the will of the Father. We also visited Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, possible sites of Jesus' crucifixion, and the Garden Tomb, where some traditions have it that Jesus' body was laid.

One morning, some of us rode in jeeps across the Golan Heights as guides pointed out bunkers occupied by Israeli soldiers during the Six-Day War of 1967. Near the top, we got out of the jeeps and looked around at some remarkable scenery as a guide pointed in one direction, then another, saying, "over there is Syria, over there is Lebanon."

On our final morning in Israel, we picked potatoes! Leket Israel is a food bank, "rescuing" fruit and vegetables that would otherwise rot and go to waste, and redistributing it to needy people. At the end of about an hour of filling several large bins with "rescued" potatoes from a field on a farm, we were told that (and I'm relying on memory here) our efforts had made it possible for 800 families to have enough potatoes for a week's worth of meals.

I can't begin to do this trip justice in a mere blog post. Neither can I adequately describe for you the relationship between Temple Emanu-El and Wilshire Baptist Church, which only grew stronger during this trip. This was just another step in a friendship that has evolved over the past 20 years and began with the friendship of the two congregational leaders, David Stern and George Mason. For several years, the people of Temple Emanu-El have invited the people of Wilshire for an interfaith shabbat service and dinner at the Temple. Wilshire has reciprocated by inviting the members of the Temple for worship at our place. We have watched David and George, as well as other leaders of our two congregations, engage in candid and constructive dialogue. We have worshipped together, and now many of us have traveled together, eaten together, and gotten to know each other.

For me personally, this trip had a special meaning rooted in my heritage. My dad, A. Jase Jones, led and participated in many Jewish-Baptist dialogues back in the 1960s and 1970s when he was with the SBC Home Mission Board, and he and Mother spent 6 months in Israel during a sabbatical trip in 1973. Both of them have been gone several years now, but I know they would have loved this trip.

Joanna and I got to know several new friends from the Temple, and I think this was a common experience of all who went. Personally, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with several and even share our faith journeys with each other, and I was amazed at the similarities in our journeys, in spite of differences in where we've “landed.” We've all struggled with how to understand scripture, how to know God, and how our understanding of God and scripture meshes with our own faith traditions.

Perhaps this struggle was pictured best at Zippori, where David Stern demonstrated - by using ultimately about half of our group as actors in an impromptu drama (with a little comedy thrown in) - the layers that Jews must navigate to study scriptural texts, with the Torah at the center. As I reflected on this drama, I realized that we Christians - especially we Baptists - have similar layers of interpretation and tradition to navigate.

Well, in trying to describe our trip to Israel, I've barely touched the hem of the garment (a biblical metaphor seemed called for). There was way too much information - provided by our tour guides and our congregational leaders - to adequately process; it mainly whetted my appetite to come back home and study to help me better understand what I saw over there.

But, above and beyond all the very meaningful places we visited, what I'll remember most are the people . . . the new friendships we made . . . the friendships that grew even stronger . . . and the discussions we shared.

In a world where the norm these days seems to be shouting at each other through the faceless, impersonal world of social media, it’s nice to be reminded of the value of personal face-to-face discussion and dialogue. Discussing our differences with genuine respect and appreciation, and finding common ground even in the midst of our differences . . . it’s still possible if we’ll make the effort, and it’s refreshing to one’s soul. At least it was to mine.

Common sense lacking in Vanderbilt's new "all-comers" policy

I'm the last one to cry that Christians are being treated unfairly or that we are the victims of a "culture war" being waged against the Christian community. On the whole, Christians in America do not suffer persecution for their faith. Disagreement is not persecution!

So, regardless of this week's news out of Nashville (no, for once, we're not talking about the SBC), I'm not about to start crying "persecution." However, I AM going to call for a little common sense!

From Nashville comes the report that Baptist Collegiate Ministry has declined Vanderbilt University's offer of status as a recognized student organization on the Vanderbilt campus. In an article in the Tennessee Baptist Convention's Baptist and Reflector newsjournal, editor Lonnie Wilkey reports,

"The issue surrounds the decision announced by Vanderbilt earlier this year that the university intends to enforce its non-discrimination policy and a new all-comers policy. The all-comer policy means that any student at Vanderbilt is entitled to become a member and to seek a leadership position in any registered student organization on campus. In a nutshell, if a non-Christian wanted to seek leadership in the BCM at Vanderbilt, he or she could do so under the university policy."

Really?

This kind of knuckleheaded thinking jeopardizes the serious efforts on behalf of equal rights and nondiscrimination to which many - including yours truly - are committed. Nondiscrimination is generally a worthy goal, but not all discrimination is unfair and unjust. And not all nondiscrimination is equal!

Yes, technically speaking, it is discrimination to bar an atheist - or even a Methodist - from leadership in a Baptist organization. But such discrimination is not unfair or unjust. It's just common sense. Any organization should have the right to limit its leadership to those who understand, and are committed to promoting and advancing, the purposes and goals of the organization.

Our Baptist heritage and principles are unique, and it's important that Baptist organizations teach them and promote them. In the hands of those who don't hold to them, they will be ignored and discarded. We can't afford that.

Baptist Collegiate Ministry had no choice; it made the only logical choice open to it. Vanderbilt University, on the other hand, needs to rethink its policy. Maybe Vanderbilt needs to be a little more discriminating in choosing its own leadership - requiring some common sense would be a nice start. 

Howard Payne students interact with Currie-Strickland lecturers

This year, the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics, previously a one-day public event, added a new wrinkle: following the Thursday afternoon public lectures, a Friday morning of closer interaction between Howard Payne University students and the lecturers.

Breakfast with Ministerial Alliance officers
The morning began with a breakfast between the presenters - Suzii Paynter, Welton Gaddy, and Stephen Reeves - and the six students who have served this school year as officers of the Howard Payne Ministerial Alliance. It was an informal setting in which the presenters got to know the students and vice-versa. During the discussions, the students shared their own ethical concerns and the particular calling from God that each has sensed. But they also took the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters and gain a better understanding of the paths on which God has led these Baptist leaders.

Preaching class
Following the breakfast, Welton Gaddy spoke to a preaching class. Again, there was an informal atmosphere that made the students feel free to ask questions and interact with the speaker, and they did just that.

Gaddy stressed to the students that "preaching is not an isolated task" and that they should be respectful and attentive when others are making their own "gifts of worship," such as, for example, an organist playing a prelude.

Gaddy also pointed out that preaching must be relevant to the times. He quoted James Cleland, former dean of the Duke University Chapel, as saying, "The Gospel is best diagrammed as an ellipse, with the contemporary situation at one end and the biblical text at the other end."

"There must be interaction," Gaddy said, "between then and now."

He urged the students, when writing a sermon, to know their congregation, envision those who will be hearing the sermon, and be sensitive to how they might hear what is being said. "The preacher," he said, "should ask him or herself, 'what time is it . . . in the Christian year . . . and in the community?'" In other words, he explained, "are there recent events in the community that call for a response from the pulpit?"

On the other hand, Gaddy reminded the students, there would be times when they might find themselves stumped for a word from God in response to a particular issue or situation. "Don't ever be afraid to say, 'I know we need a word from God, but I'm not sure what it is.'"

The congregation, he said, will tend to trust a preacher who admits that she or he doesn't always know what to say. "There are few people who can pastor from a pedestal. You need to be down where the people are."

Ministerial Alliance members
The Lectures ended with a presentation, to the members of the Howard Payne Ministerial Alliance, by Suzii Paynter and Stephen Reeves on the work of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. Students were given an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.

Paynter emphasized that the Baptist General Convention of Texas, often thought of in terms of its institutions, is truly a relational body, not an institutional body. She emphasized the growing number of Hispanic and African-American churches relating to the BGCT, as well as the 700 chaplains serving in the BGCT's Advocacy and Care Center, which she directs. These chaplains serve a diverse population, including bikers, prison inmates, hospital patients, and members of the military.

Paynter mentioned that, in serving the Christian Life Commission, she and Reeves are registered lobbyists with the Texas Legislature. Then she contrasted the CLC's brand of lobbying with that of other lobbyists and political action groups. Other groups focus on one main issue and maybe two or three side issues, she said, whereas the CLC is involved in 12 different issue areas. Because of this, the CLC "convenes disparate groups, a witness to the whole community."

Paynter urged the ministers-in-training to "connect with elected officials. By virtue of your call, you are already a leader for Christ. Part of your responsibility is to work with civic officials."

Reeves said, "We need to talk with each other, including those who disagree with us; model Christian behavior in how we treat others."

Meeting Baptist leaders can change students' lives
I owe a debt of gratitude to Dean Donnie Auvenshine for inviting me to attend Friday's student-focused events. It gave me an opportunity to speak with some of the students one-on-one, particularly at the breakfast with the Ministerial Alliance officers. But it also let me see, up close, the value of personal interaction between our Texas Baptist students and Baptist leaders.

Dean Auvenshine told about his first meeting with Phil Strickland, the late director of the Texas Baptist CLC. Auvenshine and David Currie were Howard Payne students, and Strickland came to speak on the Howard Payne campus. Auvenshine and Currie went out to dinner with Strickland, and it changed their lives. Getting to speak one-on-one with someone who was making a serious contribution to ministry in Baptist life made an impact on them.

So it is with the opportunities Howard Payne University is now providing students through the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics. This lecture series is made possible through the generosity of Gary and Mollie Elliston, and their investment is paying dividends in the lives of students.

2012 Currie-Strickland Scholars in Christian Ethics

On March 29, Howard Payne University hosted the 5th Annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics. One of the highlights was the recognition of the 2012 Currie-Strickland Scholars in Christian Ethics.

Derek Hatch, assistant professor of Christian Studies, recognized the following three students as Currie-Strickland Scholars:

• Adam Hardy, senior from Corpus Christi

Adam is pursuing a triple major in Political Science, Academy of Freedom, and Biblical Languages. After graduation, he plans to either enter graduate school in film or work as a videographer for a nonprofit organization that helps those rescued from human sex trafficking.

• Ryan Hogan, junior from Cedar Park

Ryan is a Practical Theology major. After graduation, he plans to work with those ensnared in lives of poverty (and also become a soccer referee).

• Rachel Wohl, junior from Austin

Rachel is a Social Work major. After graduation, she plans to work with rehabilitating women and girls rescued from human sex trafficking.