The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference has concluded. The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. Lambeth Palace is the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London. There are so many bishops in the Communion now that the Lambeth Palace can no longer host them. Beginning with the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the bishops meet at Canterbury Cathedral and Kent University both in Kent.

Many anticipated fireworks at this year's conference over the issues of human sexuality. This did not materialize, mainly because Archbishop Rowan Williams designed the conference format to prevent such a thing from happening. The bishops used indaba groups to talk to each other. There were 16 indaba groups and each one of those was broken into smaller groups. In parts of southern Africa indaba groups are used by tribes to talk out conflicts. They are instrumental in achieving consensus.

No consensus was reached at Lambeth 2008, though many bishops more clearly understood each other's point of view. There were no votes taken. There is a conference report that is supposed to reflect what was said at the conference (http://www.lambethconference.org/reflections/document.cfm).

There is continued movement toward an Anglican Covenant. The bishops were able to give input on the latest draft. There is also a push to have a final version approved by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) at their May 2009 meeting. Perhaps not coincidentally, this would be in time before the Episcopal Church triennial General Convention. There would then be pressure for the Episcopal Church to ratify the covenant in 2009 or suffer a possible expelling from the Anglican Communion. 2009 should be a very interesting year.

8:40 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

July 08

Smart Marriages 2008

I had the pleasure to attend the 2008 Smart marriages Conference in San Francisco last week. John Gray was great as usual. Gray talked about how Mars and Venus collide. Our relationship patterns were set in our prehistory. Our brains still function in the same way. But over the past several decades, women have joined men in more dangerous vocational pursuits. This is good for the advancement of women, but their brains and their brain chemistry did not change. Women deal with their to-do list at work and come for another to-do list. Women need help in being able to manage their new circumstance.

This was the first time I heard Gary Chapman of the Five Love Languages fame. He was very good. Chapman related how finding our primary love language and how our partner can feed that love language and vice versa will improve relationships. He also does a great imitation of a southern preacher.

This was also the first time I heard Sue Johnson. She was great. Her premise is based on the new research that shows it is not just babies that yearn to be held, but that need is with us all throughout our lives.

The theme of the conference was about the reluctance of 20 and 30 somethings to marry. They tend to hold myths about marriage that prevent them from making a commitment. It is our job to educate them that marriage is beneficial and that with marriage education, they can have life long marriages. This situation is a likely result of our high divorce rate.

The highlight of the conference for me was to be trained in leading PAIRS classes. PAIRS is the best marriage education program I have ever seen. There are many practical tools that are taught to couples to aid in their communication and in resolving couple conflict. I am certified in four PAIRS classes (there are others). I will lead the first one in September at Our Saviour.

10:31 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 17

Religious men are better husbands and fathers

W. Bradford Wilcox recently published a study on the effect of religion and men. Wilcox is Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's Dept. of Sociology. He is addressing the issue of what is called the male problematic - the tendency of fathers to become detached, emotionally or physically from their children. Religious men are more happily married than other men. Religious men are engaged and affectionate parents. Religious men stay married to their children's mother. Religious men are more involved in youth activities. Religious men are less likely to father a child out of wedlock. (This creates another social problem by itself.)

Wilcox warns that religion is no silver bullet in provoking strong family orientation in men. There are always exceptions to the rule. An easy way for men to have a happier and wholesome life, enjoying the love of their children when they are adults is to become involved in the faith of their choice. Churches are infamous for being female enclaves. Men have a lot to gain by from religious affiliations.

("Is Religion an Answer? Marriage, Fatherhood, and the Male Problematic" by W. Bradford Wilcox, Center for Marriage and Families, Research Brief No. 11, June 2008.)

10:36 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 10

Rethinking business in a world of high gas prices

I don't think it is much of a secret that the sales of SUVs and pickup trucks are very low. What does surprise me is the Detroit didn't see this coming. The pursuit of short term profits and ignoring the long term has put our domestic car makers in even more financial jeopardy.

Oil is a finite resource. Refining capacity in this country has been frozen for years and years. Guess what? The cost of gasoline is going to go up and up and up. Big surprise! An exception to the rule above is Southwest Airlines, who locked in jet fuel prices a while ago and are so far immune from the higher cost of fuel.

A direct consequence to this may be utilizing technology to do meetings and other gatherings online rather than burn more gasoline and jet fuel. Consumers are already buying more fuel efficient modes of transportation. Even I am contemplating a motorcycle. There are a growing number of software solutions to have online meetings and many them are reasonably prices. The price of a webcam is ridiculously low.

The church, who is traditionally slow to adopt new technologies, can do much to help itself by embracing these new meeting technologies. There will still be value in an occasional face to face meeting, but I believe as we get more comfortable with online meetings we will see the value of meeting face-to-face less valuable.

11:01 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 03

El Dorado County Homeless Shelter

We are born anxious. At the moment of our birth, we are cold and we are hungry. And by God we want someone to do something about it! So we are wrapped up to keep us warm with our own body heat and we are given milk either naturally or not so naturally. From this very moment, we want to be clothed and fed.

When we are young, these things are usually provided for us. Some are not as fortunate. Before adolescence, we start to make our own decisions what we will wear (with someone else’s money), but only limited in our choices of what we will eat. When we are on our own, we get to make the decisions of what we will eat and what we will wear. And then those decisions are tempered by how much we can spend on those things.

Some of us find ourselves in a situation where we don’t have the money to buy clothes or food. Some of us depend on the generosity of others to eat. We might get enough money to buy something at a thrift shop (something more of us may soon be doing). We often have no shelter.

In some communities, shelters are provided so we might be kept dry and get a shower. Some will have washing machines. Some of us make this a lifestyle choice. Some of us are mentally ill. Some of us are disabled. Some of us are working poor. Some of us are victims of domestic violence. Some of us lost our jobs through no fault of our own.

We don’t worry about our 401(k)s. We don’t worry about our mortgages. We don’t worry about where we will take our next vacation. We don’t worry about how we will pay our next insurance premium. We don’t worry about paying for the next fill up at the gas station. We worry if we are going to eat today. We have no money to worry about those things.

We slowly slip out of the mainstream of society and become invisible. For many places, that is where people would prefer us to stay, invisible. Would it be too much for a shelter to be opened in this county? Would it really matter where it is? Will we serve God or will we worry about losing something transient? (So to speak.)

Jesus talks about anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount. He's basically against it. Because if we have faith in God, there is no need of anxiety. Jesus also tells us that when we help the least of those people around us, then we are helping him. Who are we turn away Jesus?

Instead of protesting a homeless shelter, maybe we should be visiting a homeless shelter. There we might meet Jesus.

11:18 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)