Salvation from Seniors

This past weekend I had the chance to spend some time with my longtime friend and mentor, Bishop Claude Payne, retired Bishop of the Diocese of Texas. Some of you will remember that it was Bishop Payne who wrote the book, Reclaiming the Great Commission, which I have found to be a very helpful guide in my ministry as Bishop. Bishop Payne was in town to preach at the installation service of The Rev. Philip Jackson, the new rector of Christ Church of the Ascension in Paradise Valley. Philip's connections with Bishop Payne go back further than mine. They worked together in Texas, and the Bishop presided at Philip's marriage ceremony.


Bishop Payne was one of the oldest bishops ever elected in this country, not taking the reins of the Diocese of Texas until age 61. But once started, he accomplished some amazing things. Prior to his call to the priesthood, Bishop Payne was an engineer. Like most engineers, when confronted by a problem, he devised a solution and then implemented it. The newly-minted Bishop Payne faced a diocese with declining membership, stagnant growth and lack of vision. But thanks to his methodical approach to problems and solutions, the result is that Texas is now one of the largest and healthiest dioceses in the country.

What struck me most strongly during the time we spent together this weekend was that although now well into his retirement, and at an age when many of us would be content to play golf or bridge, Bishop Payne has taken on a quiet, but determined, reformation of the Episcopal Church. A few years ago, he began a series of informal meetings of bishops and clergy, a "Gathering of Leaders." Those attending share a common goal of not being sidetracked by the all too ubiquitous political infighting and to keep focused on the church's main task of spreading the Gospel. We share best practices with each other, and give each other mutual support. I am honored to be part of this group, and I have, in turn, invited several young clergy of our diocese to participate.

Not long ago I visited a vestry where, after I had challenged them to commit to a new vision of growth, one exasperated vestry member said, "We can't do that, we're too old!"

I recalled the saying of Winston Churchill, "Most good is done in the world by people who don't feel very well."

Bishop Payne is an example of someone who is having a huge effect on the lives of many in his "retirement." I am sure you can think of other examples in your own church or community who contribute to a future they may never see. I am quite proud of my Dad who last year at the age of 84 volunteered to work on a building project for the poor in Guatemala, who spearheaded a library expansion program in their town, and who sat on the board of directors of their county community college district. I recall a gentleman from St. John's church in Glendale who sang in the choir there-up to when he was 102!

It is true that the Episcopal Church is "grayer" than many denominations. That is certainly true here in Arizona. But that does not mean that even our older members can't continue to exercise dynamic, thoughtful, and productive ministries, and even change the course of the church for the future.

I wonder what Bishop Payne plans to do once he turns 80?

Interviewing for the Faith

This past week I joined some of my Episcopal colleagues in New York City for some “media training,”—translated, “how to give an interview on television and not look like a doofus.” Together at the recent House of Bishops meeting in Texas we had all had a taste of this, but a group of us decided that we needed some more intense work in this area, including some practice runs on camera.

I think that the Presiding Bishop (probably prompted by our own Chuck Robertson) realized that at the upcoming Lambeth Conference we are likely to have a microphone stuck in our face and we had better be ready to respond intelligently. Moreover, I realized that since I have been bishop, I have probably given about 25 such interviews.
After last week’s media training, I wish that could have done most of them over again!

Dealing with journalists is not easy, but there are at least three main points that we learned in our training—take time to prepare, know your core story (the point you want to make sure you get across in what is likely to be a seven second sound-bite), and always include a story.

It occurred to me that these tips for doing a good interview are also fundamental to being a good evangelists—know the topic (the Gospel of Jesus Christ), insist on the core point (this is “Good News” for all people); make it personal and passionate (speak from your own experience).

We had a chance to critique several recorded television interviews. It was amazing to see how many people when confronted by a camera wander off-topic, or string together the worst kind of generalities, or are distracted by curve-ball questions which have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

How are we doing when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel? Do we take time to prepare what we are going to say? Our coach reminded us that most clergy spend 10-20 hours a week preparing a sermon that a few hundred people might hear. What about an interview that thousands or even millions will read or listen to? I am often saddened by the small number of folks who participate in parish education classes or the Church School teacher who brags that they “looked over the lesson for a few minutes on Saturday night,” or the priest who clearly has not his or her homework, or the Sunday morning service which is thrown together with no real thought. “Be prepared” is not just the Boy Scout motto, but for any of us in Christian leadership.

Likewise, our frequent lack of passion about what we proclaim is often a result of the fact that we don’t take it personally. Unless we share with others our own experience of God’s work in our lives, then we cannot expect to influence them. This does not mean that every sermon has to be a personal testimonial, or every coffee hour an occasion for witnessing, but it does mean that our religion is rooted in our experience ( Frederick Buechner once said, “Religion begins with a lump in the throat”), and unless we base our words on what is going on in our hearts, our presentation of the Gospel will be boring and irrelevant.

Most of us will never have to face a camera team, but each of us is called everyday to be interviewed by others about our faith. It can happen in simple ways: around the water-cooler, on the sidelines of the soccer field, at the senior center. The questions may be more subtle than on TV, but they are asking the same thing—tell us about what you believe and why?

What will be your answer?

“Film at 10”

God is Green?

The Diocese of Arizona recently received some good front page coverage in the Phoenix paper, the Arizona Republic, when they did a long piece on how churches are being environmentally responsible.

You can read the article at http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0322greeneaster0322.html



Its a good start, but we have a long way to go!

Thoughts from the House of Bishops

I have not posted anything here for a while, so I will share with you all the report from the House of Bishops that I sent to the folks in the Diocese of Arizona:

Wednesday afternoon
March 12, 2008

The spring House of Bishops Meeting in Camp Allen has just concluded and I want share my impressions with you before I head back to Phoenix.

We have enjoyed 6 days of fellowship, prayer (we worshipped together three times a day), great preaching and teaching against the backdrop of a springtime in rural Texas. I even managed to join some colleagues for a couple of hours of horseback-riding!

Much of our time together was spent on the hearing of reports and presentations, but the meeting was framed by two very emotional bookends.

The first was the announcement that in spite of intensive lobbying by many bishops of our church, the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided not to permit Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire to participate in any capacity at the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July. Although Bishop Robinson was the only American bishop not to receive a formal invitation, it had been hoped that a way could be found to have him present in an unofficial capacity. This news was greeted with great sadness by most of the House, and we are working to find ways support our brother during our time in England, and especially to invite our counterparts in the Anglican Communion to meet with him. I invite you to read all the documents that are posted on the Episcopal News Service website, including Bishop Robinson’s very moving response to the Lambeth decision, as well as a resolution passed by the House in support of him. Whether one agrees with him or not, it is important to remember that he is a duly elected Bishop and that his exclusion is hurtful not only to him, but to the integrity of the American church.

The other sad moment in our time together came when we took action to depose two bishops of the church who had violated their ordination vows by working to take parishes out of the Episcopal Church, Bishop John-David Scofield of San Joaquin, and Bishop William Cox, retired Suffragan of Maryland. This action was taken after long moments of prayer and silence reflection on the floor of the house. All of us wished to be as charitable and forgiving as possible, but the fact remains that both bishops have worked for many years to separate themselves from our church and in doing so have cause great harm to their dioceses. We consider our action to be a recognition of an existing situation, and not a punitive action.

Many of the presentations we heard focused, appropriately enough, on reconciliation and on our need to go to the Lambeth conference in as open, humble, and cooperative way as possible. We spent an entire learning about “faith-based reconciliation” and how it has been successfully practiced in our own church in around the world. We also renewed our commitment to anti-racism training.

As always, there were a number of practical items. We can expect, for example, some changes in our clergy medical insurance program that should result in considerable savings. We also received some training in dealing with media which will come in handy when we are interviewed by reporters this summer.

I continue to be impressed by the great wealth of talent and diverse thinking of the bishops of the American church, and their willingness to undertake decisions prayerfully and seriously.

A prayer used by our chaplains at worship each day sums it all up:

Give to your Church, O God,
a bold vision and a daring charity,
a refreshed wisdom and a courteous understanding,
that the eternal message of your Son
may be acclaimed as the good news of the age;
through him who makes all things new,
even Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

A Dog-loving Bishop

The spark of reading the excellent new book by Larry Witham, A City Upon A Hill, How Sermons Changed the Course of American History, has rekindled my interest in the history of the Episcopal Church in this Country, as evidenced by my obsession with Arizona Missionary Pioneer Endicott Peabody (see the entry below).

It is amazing how much interesting material is available on the Internet, thanks to such sites as Project Canterbury. This weekend, I stumbled across a great picture of the Rt. Rev. William Doane, who was the first bishop of Albany. He also was for a time the rector of St. John's Church in W.Hartford, where I was curate back in the 1980's. I found on-line a contemporary biography which included a poem he had written about his St Bernard dog, Cluny. It's not bad theology, and is a great picture, both of which I share with you here. Could Bishop Doane ever have imagined that his work and likeness would be found in an electronic archive and flashed around the world 150 years later?

A Christmas Message

A Christmas Message from Bishop Smith


O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.

---Philips Brooks, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”


“Be born in us today.” This is my prayer for all of us in the Diocese of Arizona this Christmas season. As followers of the Christ Child, our celebration is far more than just a commemoration of a stupendous act that happened long ago. Our calling is rather to reflect in our own flesh and blood the reality of God’s becoming flesh and dwelling with us as one of us. Just as God took our full humanity in Jesus, so he expects our humanity to reflect his divinity in all that we do. If God was incarnate in Jesus, that means that Jesus can be incarnate in us. We become the means through which Christ is born into the world.

How would those around us know that Christ is born in us? Simply through the countless small ways that we reflect God’s love for all creation. As St Francis used to say, “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary, us words.” They would see it in the way we treat each other, in how we spend our time, with what we do with our talents and possessions, and above all in our willingness to share the Good News with others.

As I have traveled around the Diocese this past year, I have witnessed countless ways in which Arizona Episcopalians have birthed Christ into the world. I have seen a new courage among church members to share their faith with others. I have been impressed with the growth of programs for children and youth. I have rejoiced in a renewed concern for creation and especially for the needs of the desperately poor of the world.

Of course, we still have along way to go. Our growing State needs more communities of worship. Our country needs to learn from us what it means to care for the stranger in our midst. Congregations need to understand that mission to others, not maintenance of the status quo, is the essence of our baptismal promise.

It is well neigh impossible to ignore an impending birth. That baby is coming, ready or not, whether means being born into a sterile hospital, the back seat of a tax cab, or into a feeding trough in a barn. God has been born into our world. That is a fact we cannot igmore. Now it is time for him to be born into our hearts.

May you all have a blessed and holy Christmas season!




Icon image copywrite: Laura Fisher Smith

Beowolf and Hollywood

Last week I had the opportunity to see the hit movie Beowolf. As a sometime medievalist and Anglo-Saxon period history buff, I looked forward to this special effects treatment of the earliest English writing. As pure entertainment, I would give it an A, but as history or literature, an F would be generous. The story as told by Hollywood has only the slightest resemblance to the great 8th Century poem. What was intended as a epic portrayal of the struggle of good and evil has been turned into a predictable sentimental love triangle. Gone is the poetry,the mystery; what remains is bland dialogue and Angelina Jolie as a naked water demon in stilleto heels.

What was especially disappointing was how Hollywood has turn a Christian story into an anti-Christian polemic about how the age of heroes has been replaced by simpering Christian whimps. It is hard to believe that the writers ever even read the original story!

But my biggest sadness is that now millions of young people will think they have seen and understood the story of Beowolf without ever experiencing the brillance of the original epic. Do yourself a favor, rummage through your old college textbook collection and enjoy it all over again.