Who Was Bishop Ralph Henry Houston?

It has been well over a year since Bishop Houston first asked me to speak at this memorial service. I thought, then and now, that participating in this service would be one of the great honors of my life. 

A few weeks ago however, I began to have second thoughts.  I wondered what I would say. It would not have been difficult to prepare a eulogy for a man like Ralph Houston. His life was long, colorful and noteworthy. However, the bishop could not have had a traditional eulogy in mind when he asked me to speak to you today. He evidently sensed that God might use this moment for some purpose that I would to discern when the time. But what would that purpose be, I wondered?

Other people here have known Ralph Houston longer (and better) than I have. Indeed, by the time I met him, he had already lived much of his life. Were I to give a biographical sketch of his life, I would certainly leave out some important things and characterize him in ways many of you would think inauthentic. 

It has occurred to me though that my limited knowledge of Bishop Houston’s life might be an advantage on this occasion. By the time I met him, something important had already formed in his life that I believe God wants us to acknowledge today, but which we might miss were I to simply dwell on his fascinating life. 

That’s why I decided to speak less about what Houston did and more about who he was.

By the time I knew him, Ralph Houston was simply "The Bishop." 

But what exactly is a bishop?

On one occasion, St. Paul, said that "although there are Lords many and Gods many, to us there is only one GOD." 

Gods were everywhere in the ancient world. Every Greco-Roman village had a god or two. Their images filled the parks, on street corners and government offices. But these “gods” were not God. These lords were not The Lord. 

We could say the same thing about bishops. They are many and seemingly everywhere. Every day it seems, some pastor, weary of his lowly estate, grants himself the title of Bishop. So, we feel obliged to pay proper homage to his freshly acquired high holy immanence, even if his diocese consists of three widows and calling card. 

This sort of self-promotion has become so common that for many people the very word "bishop" is something of a joke. 

Then there is the abuse of those bishops who have hidden the sins of the church, misused funds, and in so many other ways have disenchanted the public and even the followers of Christ.  All of these things have worked to undermine the efficacy of the episcopal office. They have created a caricature that unfortunately comes to mind whenever we hear the word “bishop.”

Imagine my surprise then at meeting the real thing.

It happened on a specific morning in this very church. We had asked the people who needed prayer to come forward and among them was a tall African-American man wearing a clerical collar. The impression he made that morning would endure for the twenty-five years I knew him. This, I realized, was no imposter. This was not someone who was trying to impress us by wearing a piece of cloth around his neck. This was the real thing.

Ralph Houston helped me to realize that a bishop is a vital part of a New Testament Church. The bishop is the "episcopos," overseer, the pastor of pastors; the spiritual father of the church’s emerging leaders.  Without a bishop, the Lord’s church become fragmented, superficial and disconnected from its past.

Ralph Houston knew that a bishop is not named to care for just a specific ethnic group or to serve a specific denomination. A bishop, he realized, is called to be a shepherd to all those who follow Christ and even to those who do not yet know Christ. A bishop works to connect the Lord's people scattered throughout the world and through time and space. A bishop watches out for the flock of God. He observes the opportunities and challenges that come during his watch and what they may mean for the church. He discerns the spiritual strengths and weaknesses of the pastors he leads. He takes care to address their susceptibility to temptation and their opportunities for development. He senses when their teaching may be drafting away from sound biblical doctrine or when they may be sliding into of some sort unhealthy attitude. At such times, the bishop steps in to correct, exhort, heal, forgive and restore. He does all these things because the bishop’s motivation is not to demonstrate ecclesiastical power but to maintain the spiritual health of the Lord’s church.   

For all these reasons, a bishop does not pontificate out of a sense of authority and entitlement but out of an influence he earns through love and by manifesting God’s grace through his life and ministry. Out of that grace, he offers prayer and advice. He listens. He waits to be received. He is patient. He is kind. However, does not hesitate to use his authority to bring health and correction to the flock. Most of all, whether in kindness or rebuke, a bishop must strive to speak and act like Jesus.

And didn't Ralph Houston do all of that? 

On a specific date, and in a specific ceremony, the Church of Jesus Christ consecrated Ralph Houston to be a bishop. But Ralph Houston knew what many seem to not understand: that ceremony and vestments do not create a bishop. The spiritual blessings offered through rite and ceremony must be actually received and cooperated with by the one to whom these blessings are offered. When the church lays it's hands upon a person to consecrate him or her to a ministry or office, it is up to that person to accept, receive, and act upon the consecration. After the ceremony of episcopal consecration comes the hard work of doing what is required to actually become a bishop. Becoming a bishop requires that the one set part for this office actively participate in his own personal transformation. The grace is given through the church but it must be received by the person, in the same way that bread and wine are given to the church but must be received and consecrated in order to become for us the bread of life and the cup of salvation.

Ralph Houston did these things. He did not appoint himself to be a bishop. He walked into the appointment that had been given him by the Lord’s Church. Once the appointment was given, he cooperated with the spiritual process that gradually turned that role he had assumed into the man he became. 

That is how Ralph Houston became "the bishop," even for people who do not usually recognize the calling and role of bishops in today’s church.

We will bury him today.  A few days ago, he surrendered his title and office and has joined the communion of saints. So, I conclude my remarks with these brief observations. 

Not all pastors are disciples and not all bishops are Christians. But this pastor was a disciple and this bishop was a Christian. The affairs of the church never became more important to him than the state of his soul. He ministered to us out of his personal walk with God, and so what we received through him came from the Lord he served.

He rose from poverty and built a great business. He led a prosperous church. He grew a healthy family. He was known and respected by national politicians. He led the delegation that welcomed Pope John Paul to California. He was known by church leaders and heads of corporations. He led his denomination. But above all, Bishop Ralph Houston did justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly with his God. He walked with Jesus until he became a lot like Jesus. Then, over a week ago, he went to be with Jesus. 

We ask of our fathers-in-God that they strive to model the attitudes and actions of Jesus Christ in how they talk, live and die.

And didn’t Ralph Houston do this? 

Can I get a witness that he loved us, served us and taught us the way of God?

Can I get a witness that he prayed, studied the Word and walked uprightly before us?

Can I get a witness that he ran the race, that he kept the faith and that he finished his course?

The Lord’s Church on the earth then joyfully releases our father-in-God, Bishop Ralph Houston, into the hands of the glorified spirits in Heaven, into the community of saints, into the company of the holy angels, and into the care of him who sits upon the throne and the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
We release him to heaven with our deepest respect and devotion. And as we do, we pledge to walk as he walked so that we may achieve what he has now achieved: eternal delight in the presence of the Lord. 

Why Righteous People Will Vote Whig This Year

This close to an election, it is probably insane to say anything about politics. 

People constantly tell me it is my responsibility to speak up about political things but I usually resist. The reasons are simple. I actually have political opinions. I am just not certain I got them from the Almighty.  So I don’t think it is right to place the weight of my spiritual office behind private opinions. That's why I try to keep quiet, especially during an election.   

A lady once insisted that I reveal my party affiliation. So I told her I was a Whig. A few days later, she returned to say she had discovered Whigs were extinct. I replied with shock, "that must be the reason it has become so difficult to locate my candidates on the ballot!" "Perhaps," I added, "I should think about becoming a Tory."

On a more practical level, I pastor a diverse congregation. After this blasted election I hope to keep serving all the people in the congregation. Eternal issues are at stake and are far, far more important than who happens to win this election.

Nonetheless, it is important to get under the hood of one’s political passions; to take a look at the spiritual forces that work at a deeper level than the superficial labels we wear or the clever sound bites we repeat. It is an important spiritual exercise to do this if we can. So let's take a shot at it.

Carl Jung, who, as far as I know, is not running for anything this year, said something important that can help us.

One of Jung’s most helpful concepts was that every person (and every society) has a shadow. The shadow is a collection of attributes that a person or a society possesses but does not want to recognize. According to Jung, we make no real progress in our spiritual or psychological growth until we acknowledge the existence of our shadow, until we recognize the reality of the things in our lives that are at odds with our preferred view of self.

People and societies are complex.  Unlike the old Westerns, villains in real life don’t always wear black hats. And, as you may have discovered by now, heroes don’t always wear white hats.  Good hearted and well-intentioned people can do bad things. Wicked and selfish people can do good things. Our real self is also more complicated than the spin we feed to ourselves about ourselves.

Sometimes, our shadow can exert itself so forcefully that we are as surprised as everyone else by its appearance. That is what has happened when we hear someone say, “I don’t know what came over me. That just wasn't me!”

Of course, it was me; the other me; the me I don’t want to acknowledge. But the shadow knows that it belongs to us. It  also knows how to get control over us at crucial times.  If that were not true, none of us would have addictions (or bad habits).

Groups have shadows too.

The people in that group usually don’t see its shadow though. They see only the good and wholesome things the group offers. Church people, for example, usually can’t understand why their unrighteous enemies can’t see all the good that their church does in the world. When they hear outsiders describe their church it just seems crazy.

A group’s enemies on the other hand, see only its shadow. This is why the way people inside a group and the way people outside it sees things so differently  Neither the insiders nor the outsiders are stupid. Its that the shadow, the group's other self, remains invisible to those inside but obscures its better self from outsiders.

For example, when nations are at war few of its citizens can see the crimes committed by his own country. Nor, will he see any goodness in the country with which his nation fights. Patriotism requires a man to deny his nation’s shadow as it leads him to over emphasize the shadow of his enemy.

Sometimes though, individuals and groups do see their shadow and like the groundhog want to run and hide. 

One rarely becomes aware of his shadow during comfortable times. Usually, some life altering event forces us to deal with the shadow.

For example, when someone enters psychotherapy he may come face to face with those traits and behaviors he has been hiding from himself his entire life. This sudden encounter with reality can plunge him into despair. He can go from admiring himself to suddenly loathing himself. This can be a dangerous period in which the patient becomes nearly unhinged, no longer capable of even knowing who he is. If he works through that painful season however, he may learn the truth about human life: that because people's true motives are mixed, we all try to hide unpleasant things about ourselves from ourselves. Emotional healing thus requires a person to acknowledge both his faults and his strengths, so he can then learn to hold his judgment of both those things as lightly as possible. 

Groups can also arrive at such moments of healing.

Immature groups rarely acknowledge their faults, of course. If a person in an immature  group begins to point out its faults, that group will usually move to punish, or even eliminate, the irritating person person from its midst. It is rare for a group to acknowledge that the one speaking may be offering some valuable insight that ought to be considered. Acknowledging the existence of the shadow however, may lead the group to make some great improvement; if only the group is willing to face the momentary pain of self discovery.

This is the role of a prophet: to expose his group’s shadow and motivate it to strengthen the forces of goodness, truth or beauty within it so it can celebrate those things and then share them with the world.

Ok. Enough philosophy.

Here’s what I think about politics.

In America, a conservative tends to think there is nothing wrong with our country except for the continuing presence of liberals, who are bad people trying to take our country in the wrong direction.  A liberal thinks there is nothing much good about our country because the conservatives keep holding back the kinds of progress that would make our country a better place.

One party refuses to see the nation’s shadow.

The other one refuses to see anything in the nation except for its shadow.

The difference often becomes visible in discussions about American history.

Conservatives may get upset at the suggestion that four hundred years of slavery is still affecting our culture or that our state sponsored genocide effectively eliminated entire groups of native people from the continent. To many conservatives, acknowledging such evils seems unpatriotic, perhaps even unchristian. 

Liberals, on the other hand, get upset with any emotional affirmation of the miracle of American democracy; with the fact that no other nation in history has done so much good for so many of its people in so short a time. To many liberals, acknowledging our country's goodness betrays those who have suffered or who continue to suffer from the nation’s shadow.   

One side refuses to acknowledge the brutal nature of life on the bottom of society, that there are societal obstacles that seriously hinder people born there from ever rising up, or that there are things the nation could do to help improve that situation.

The other side refuses to acknowledge that opportunities for social lift abound in our country and that numerous private forces in American culture are constantly at work to help people find and utilize those opportunities.

These differences arise from each party’s refusal to acknowledge the contributions of the other, or in some cases, even the patriotism of the other.

As a pastor, I have watched this polarization hardened over the years into something akin to a test of religious orthodoxy. Left leaning churches make it clear that a vote for a conservative is a vote against compassion and the nation’s common good. Right leaning churches make it clear that a vote for liberalism is collusion with the Antichrist and a failure to take a stand for righteousness.

But can this polarization be right?

Is there nothing good in American society that we ought to conserve?

Are there no improvements that we ought to make to our traditional way of life?

You know by now that I am one of those awful people both parties have come to despise – a moderate. I am not a moderate because I have no convictions.  I am a moderate because I have one very strong conviction: that neither side of our cultural war has it all figured out.

In the end of course, we have a two party system, not a multiparty one. So, I get to make one of two choices. That means I will not get all I want, whoever wins. And, I will have to live with many things that I do not want, whoever wins. That causes me considerable anxiety every time I prepare to cast my vote.

As I listen to the other side, I am convinced that our country would be a much better place if my party were not too proud to sometimes doubt itself; if it had even the slightest inclination to look at its shadow.

But some anxiety over political life is spiritually healthy, I think. It is the result of resisting groupthink – of not falling into the trap of “my side is right, utterly right; the other side is wrong, utterly wrong.” Healthy anxiety can lead me to pray, to read, to listen to the other side, to seriously evaluate things before casting my vote. Then I can do my best to vote what I believe is the best course but without hostility or judgment toward my fellow citizens who have come to different conclusions.

The spiritual word for what this kind of anxiety can produce in us is repentance, the acknowledgment of one’s shadow and a plea for human and divine help to deal with it.

Once we see our shadow, we stop praying like the old Pharisee, “I thank Thee I am not as other men.”

We start praying like the Publican, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Mature people must, sooner or later, come to that point.

So must a mature nation.

But if you get stuck this year, please consider voting Whig. It really is the party of purity and grace. Just look at how far we have slipped since we abandoned it. But perhaps this is finally our year, the year the good old days finally return -- to us righteous Whigs.

Facing Ishmael

 The American South is troubled by the growing presence of Islam.

In a region where even ancient forms of Christianity have been rare, the sudden appearance of Hindus, Buddhists and, above all, Muslims, threatens to unravel our last thread of civility: both toward the immigrants and toward one another.  

Our inboxes are filled with warnings of conspiracies and Islamic domination. People are frightened.  Frightened people frighten other people. There may be real trouble ahead.

The events of September 11, 2001 set this stage, not merely because hundreds of people died but because that eventful day changed how Americans view their society and future.

For four hundred years, Americans were geographically isolated from other world powers. We enjoyed an ascendant role among the less powerful nations of our hemisphere. We had endless land into which to expand.  We rarely felt a need to learn other languages or study other world religions. Other people would adjust to us. That was the way the world worked. We had every reason to believe it was the way the world would always work.

The events of September 11, 2001 destroyed this sense of isolation. What decades of jet travel, the Internet, and geostationary satellite communications systems had failed to drive home became utterly clear in a few short horrifying hours. As we watched the images of foreigners flying planes into our buildings we knew we too were a globalized society. What was once over there was now over here. In fact, there was no more “over there” and “over here.” Everything and everyone was now intimately connected to everyone everywhere at every moment.

Since then, waves of alien people, languages, religions, food and dress have been continually pouring into the American heartland. The tide has unsettled American consciousness and threatened our sense of identity.

We are asking ourselves new questions. What does America look if it is not isolated from the rest of the world? What has globalization done? What can we do to reverse the tide?

At some level, Americans always realized they were a part of a greater entity called Western Civilization. Our grandparents studied Latin, for goodness sakes. Nonetheless, we tended to view knowledge of European history and European languages as something like playing Trivial Pursuit. Such information was impressive but what could one do with it? As for non-European cultures? Well, they seemed like figments of our imagination.  We didn't know anyone who had ever met a Turk or an Inuit.  

All this was especially true in the American South. Our social categories were visible and easy to navigate: White, Black, rich, poor, male, female, Democrat, Republican, Baptist and a scattering of other, minor strands of American Evangelicalism. One could pick from that list the elements that  determined how he or she fit into Southern society. Black, poor and female suggested a certain sort of employment, religious affiliation and place of residence. White, wealthy and Baptist suggested another sort.

What was one to do in such a society with an Arabic-speaking, Coptic pediatrician? Or a Chilean born Roman Catholic Republican? Or an agnostic Hungarian Jew?

Well, one could tolerate such unique characters. He might even enjoy their company, unless, that is, they tried to marry his daughter! The trouble came when people like that began arriving in groups. When a thousand Copts move into a town that didn’t even know such people existed before, it destroys the town’s social categories. If the Copts want to build a church, it means there will be new architecture in town. Looking at a weird doomed covered church like that will upset the people’s sense of identify.

There are only so many alien characteristics a people can handle. 

If a group of Mormons want to build a temple, it will make some people uneasy. However, even though Mormons don’t believe like other Christians, they least speak English. They eat hot dogs. They don’t wear funny clothes. They have names like James and Betty. We can adjust after a while.

The problem gets really serious when a new group looks like the people who are at war with your sons and daughters overseas. It gets even more serious if you believe this group seeks not only to enter and become a permanent feature of your society but is actively plotting to destroy your religion.

I faced this situation before, from the other side. As a part of an Evangelical missionary family in a Roman Catholic nation, we were treated well by people in the large cites. But when we wanted to buy land and build a church in small towns and villages, we often faced popular hostility and bureaucratic passivity. Usually, the people who sold us the land didn’t actually live in the town. Had they lived there, they may not have sold it to us. After all, their neighbors would have been shouting at them about ho the buyers were “American imperialists trying to destroy our traditional way of life.”

The American missionaries in these situations would often sigh and talk among themselves about how in America we had true freedom of religion.  Everyone, even Roman Catholics, could build a church in our country, even in predominately Protestant areas. “Why, this sort of persecution would be unthinkable in our country,” they would say proudly.

It is interesting to watching this situation from the other side. That's the way many Christians are reacting to Muslims.

Don't get me wrong, as an Evangelical Christian, I share the anger of many of my fellow Christians against Islam. Coptic Christians are persecuted in Egypt, or are at very least reminded they are second-class citizens. Saudi Arabia, supposedly an ally of our country, does not have even that much freedom of religion. A Saudi who converts to Christianity should immigrate -- fast! In many Islamic countries it is even dangerous to be the wrong sort of Muslim. Sufis, for example, don’t do well in many Muslim nations. To be a Jew in much of the Muslim world has become truly unthinkable.

So we American Christians push and prod Islamic nations to open their doors, to issue building permits for churches and synagogues, to stop using blasphemy laws to persecute Christians. We send letters to our congressmen about this stuff. We force our politicians to tell us how they will deal with repressive Islamic regimes. We insist that our fellow believers in Muslim countries have freedom to practice their faith as they wish.

Unfortunately, people in Islamic countries often view Christians with the same suspicion as we view Muslims here. Especially in small communities, the presence of a church can irritate someone enough that he decides to burn it down. When he does, it can be difficult to get a building permit to rebuild the church. Local religious leaders in those towns urge their followers to take a stand against the church. It’s the same sort of stuff one hears here, only in reverse. And, the Muslims over there read in their news how Christians are making it difficult for Muslims here. That leads to reprisals against local Christians there, many of whom we would not actually associate with were they to move into our town.

Neither Christians nor Muslims seem to know about the differences between the sects of each religion. Neither seems to acknowledge that we both derive from the same roots: Judaism. Neither seems to understand that we have a common and very intertwined history. Christians seem not to know that Muslims call God Allah because that is how one says God in Arabic, whether one is Muslim, Christian or Jew. Muslins seem not to know that Christians don't really worship three gods. Ignorance of such things allows hot heads among both religious groups to keep stirring the pot.

But all of that aside; as Americans, we allow any Tom, Dick or Harry who wants to do so to start his own church or even his own religion. Scientology is a good example. Even snake handlers have churches. Peyote smokers, Vishnu worshippers, and Rastafarians all get a piece of the action. We shake our heads at each other. We write our books. We make our arguments. But we do not forbid the freedom of any religious group to assemble, worship or build holy sites.

If, as Americas, we believe we have even the slightest contribution to make to the cause of freedom in the world, we cannot afford to deny any group, even one with whom we are especially aggrieved at the moment, the right to worship. If we do, we must stop pressuring Muslim nations to open up freedom for Christians in their countries.

We cannot have it both ways. 

We must learn how to adjust to a globalized American South. 

To make that shift, Christians in the American South must learn to disentangle three things we have historically interwoven:

·      Our traditional culture

·      Our faith, and

·      Our commitment to freedom of religion.

Our traditional culture is still a major component of this society. It is not, however,  the only component of the society. We are still free to enjoy our traditional way of life with those who wish to enjoy it with us. We are not free to impose it on those who do not relate to it.

As for our faith, Christianity transcends all local cultures and eras of time. Although Southern Americans have made wonderful contributions to the Christian faith, Christianity is much bigger than the nation and will outlive it.  We cannot assume that what is advantageous to one is advantageous to the other.  Sometimes we must chose between our faith and our nationalism.

 

Then, as Americans, we must affirm, in deed as well as word, that our constitution guarantees freedom of religion, to everyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians and atheists. If we work to erode this right for others, we are eroding it for ourselves.

The right way to defend Christianity is not with a gun, or by placing unfair roadblocks in the path of Muslims to build on land they own, or to put up signs mocking their religion. Our Lord told us how to defend the faith: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

Given that, the right way to face a Muslim is probably over a hot cup of coffee.