Pastor Jim Clarke    Pastor Paula McCutcheon

Progressive or Liberal?

Pastor Jim Clarke

In late January a new show appeared on TV about a church called, “The Book of Daniel”, starring Adian Quinn.  It was about an Episcopalian priest of a larger church and his family.  I am always interested in shows that have to do with the church, and I was eager to see this one.  I was blown away!  It was more like the Days of Our Lives in a church setting than anything either realistic of encouraging.  Sure there was a woman bishop.  Sure one of the sons of the priest Daniel was gay.  But that does not a good show make!  The gay son gets seduced by the niece of the woman bishop in the back of the bishop’s car – that’s right, ‘niece’, not nephew.  But she was like insistent, so what could he do?  Maybe say no?  But that’s only the beginning.  Daniel’s other son is sleeping with the daughter of the head Trustee.  She gets sent away to boarding school as a result, but he tracks her down, has sex with her in her dorm room and gets arrested – and the worst thing about that seemed to be that he didn’t make it to the groundbreaking of the new daycare at the Church.  The only daughter is caught dealing pot to support an anime habit; Daniel’s wife is alcoholic; his wife’s sister’s husband embezzles the funds meant for the new daycare, and the only way to get the money back somehow involves working with the mob; Daniel’s father, who also happens to be an Episcopalian bishop has the hots for Daniel’s bishop – the woman bishop, whose niece slept with Daniel’s gay son, who would be the bishop who has the hots for the other bishop’s grandson…We rarely hear Daniel preach (only once that I can remember – he advocated that everyone ‘get along’ – like really?) nor do we see him work much.  In one counseling session he is dealing with a man who is troubled about his father remarrying, which sounds pretty normal, until you find out his father is planning on marrying his (the son’s) former wife!  Daniel’s weakness is for oxycontin, which he pops “liberally”, and do we wonder why?  Jesus, who Daniel talks to (a nice looking chap with a beard wearing long white robes… where have we seen that Jesus before?), chides him about the oxycontin, but not too desperately.  He says something like, “you know, that’ll catch up with you.”  I believe in a gentle Jesus, but this image of Jesus was down right wimpy – call him ‘whatever Jesus’.  And I’ve decided the show ought to have been called ‘Desperate Pastor’.  It got cancelled, thank God.

My trouble is, I could imagine more ‘conservative’ or ‘evangelical’ Christians watching “the Book of Daniel” and saying, ‘see, that’s what the Liberal Church is like!”  Is it any wonder we want to refer to ourselves as ‘progressive’ rather than ‘liberal’?  There are times when I fear that someone will read our United Methodist slogan, Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors, and say cynically in their minds, ‘I bet that’s not the only thing that’s open!’  When The Book of Daniel was first being advertised I remember thinking, ‘why don’t they ever have a Methodist on TV?’  Now I am so thankful they leave us alone!  I’m afraid if Hollywood did decide to create a TV show with a Methodist pastor it wouldn’t be much different.  Part of the reason for this is that stereotypes abound, and the media love them.  Also, it is because we haven’t done a good enough job of making clear that having open hearts and minds doesn’t translate into moral laxity.  Conversely, we also need to say that having moral standards doesn’t mean that we have to be theologically rigid.  Being open to gays and lesbians does not mean that we are open to promiscuity.  Being open to questions does not necessitate merely situational ethics, or stance of ‘anything goes’, often called pejoratively and incorrectly, ‘relativism’.  Open Minds and Hearts is an extension of God’s grace – it is rooted in God, and God’s love for us all – it isn’t about us doing as we please, in our sex lives, but also in our economic lives.  Many good Christians ignore or even dismiss that part.
 
I think we live out the slogan of Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors very well at Fairwood.  And, I thank God we are nothing like the Church in the Book of Daniel.  As a church that values the primacy of grace, inclusivity, sharing and questioning and listening, it is especially important that we also live lives worthy of the gospel.  Lives that really do exemplify God’s grace and love.  Moral lives, yes, but also servant lives.  We may not see it, but to me the Book of Daniel demonstrated it:  we have an important witness to make in our world.  Let’s get on with it.  See you in Church. 

Pastor Jim