David Waters wrote this piece and posted it on a blog on the Washington Post shortly after the death of Jesse Helms.  I hope you were as moved by it as I was.

MCW

Most of us have strong opinions about public figures, especially politicians and especially those we've never met. But my grandfather taught me never to speak ill of the dead.

So I'll pass on passing judgment on the late Sen. Jesse Helms, who seemed to spend so much of his life passing judgment on anyone who didn't fit his narrow view of what is right and good and Christian.

No doubt his family and friends loved, admired and respected him very much.

"Jesse Helms is one fine gentleman. He loves the Lord and that came through in everything he did," Religious Right stalwart Paul Weyrich wrote in 2005.

The gentlemanly Jesse Helms known by Weyrich was not the bigoted Jesse Helms known by so many African-Americans, homosexuals, liberals and others who were the targets of his mean-spirited words and deeds over the decades.

Clearly, the man who once called the University of North Carolina the "University of Negroes and Communists" was a product of a particularly exclusive, judgmental and nationalistic strain of Christianity.

In an insightful Commonweal article in 1995, journalist and professor Ferrel Guillory explained "the political theology" of the Baptist born and bred senator from North Carolina.

"He grew up a Southern Baptist at a time when few of its white congregations questioned the prevailing racial segregation of the region and when the denomination's pre-Depression struggle between fundamentalists and modernists still echoed," Guillory wrote.

"To those who read the Bible literally and who rejected efforts to mesh the scientific with the religious, disagreements were more than mere differences of opinion between reasonable people . . . Anybody who did not agree, it was automatically assumed that they were non-Christian, or even atheist. '

Helms saw atheism, socialism and liberalism "infecting" his Christian nation. To "halt the long decline," Guillory wrote, "the senator proposes his brand of conservatism -- a brand rooted in the Bible but practically oblivious to the implications of such critical passages as the Sermon on the Mount."

Practically oblivious.

In 2002, just before he retired from the Senate, Helms agreed to meet with the rock star Bono, one of the world's leading advocates for fighting the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Helms, who had spent many years slashing foreign aid budgets, had rendered his judgment on AIDS loudly and clearly. In 1995, for example, he told The New York Times that the government should spend less money on people with AIDS because they got sick as a result of "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct."

But after talking to Bono, Helms apologized and said he was ashamed. "I have been too lax too long in doing something really significant about AIDS," Helms said.

What did Bono tell him?

"Christ only speaks about judgment once and it's not about sex but about how we deal with the poor, and I quoted Matthew, 'I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me.' Jesse got very emotional, and the next day he brought in the reporters and publicly repented about Aids. I explained to him that AIDS was like the leprosy of the New Testament."

If a rock star can have that sort of impact on Jesse Helms, there's no telling what Jesus can do.

            The Search Committee at Fairfax Christian Church could not have been more honest and sincere. The past twenty years or so had not been good ones.  The church is located in the historic mill town of Fairfax, Alabama (now known as Valley) nestled in the heart of the Chattahoochee River Valley.    Let me share with you a brief part of their story.

            About twenty years ago this well-established church witnessed the departure of their last “Disciples” pastor.  A local school teacher with no previous experience was secured to serve as the interim.  The interim, with strong Baptist leanings, ended up staying eighteen years.  During that period the membership of the congregation gradually decreased in numbers and support.  Paired with that decline was a shift away from our basic theology of inclusion and our historical ecumenical witness to one of exclusion based upon the perception that the sinful nature of persons had no place in the church.   As you might suspect, the church became divided between “liberals” and “conservatives” and thus spent a good bit of time in behind the scenes debate about the shortcomings of the others theological, political, and moral shortcomings.  The church began to decline one family at a time.  When I was interviewed the church was down to an average attendance of 15 persons.  Twenty five years ago the average was 120 plus per Sunday.

            And there is more.  Fairfax was a mill town.  It isn’t now.  At its peak some twenty years ago there were more than 8,000 manufacturing jobs.  Now there are none.  All of the mills are closed.  Kia, a Korean automobile company, will build a plant in a nearby community.  The Search Committee shared with me that perhaps we would succeed in attracting the new persons who will come into town when the plant opens.  That is the miracle they were praying for when they interviewed me. 

            In June of 2007 I closed my ministry at First Christian in Valdosta to return to the practice of school psychology, consulting, and university teaching.  My spouse and I moved to Columbus, Georgia and began working for the Muscogee County School District.  After preaching for more than 30 years it felt good to take some time away.  It was nice to watch Meet the Press and CBS Sunday Morning instead of preparing to lead worship. Even better was the opportunity to spend time sitting in church next to my wife of 33 years, my arm around her shoulder, listening to the minister of the church share the Good News.  I was tired.  And I needed the time with my spouse. Besides, I was serving the Christian Church in Georgia as Moderator.  Wasn’t that enough?

            It never is.  I accepted the call to serve the congregation at Fairfax on a limited basis.  (There is no such thing as part-time ministry.  I am supposed to be doing that….however it isn’t ever part time!  I’m still a psychologist and a university teacher.)  And it struck me; the decline at Fairfax is similar to the decline we’ve seen throughout our beloved faith tradition.  Church attendance is down.  Giving is mixed, and as most of you know, we made necessary cutbacks in staff and programming in the regional church.

 There is hope.  I believe we need a series of miracles that leads to congregational transformation.  The role of the Christian Church in Georgia is to serve as a catalyst for renewal of our congregations.  One thing is certain, change is in the winds.  I am wondering…..will we recognize God’s miracle when it comes our way?

Grace and Peace,

Milton        

When people come to Jesus for predigested spiritual instruction, he gives them chewy stories instead. What must they do to inherit eternal life? What is the greatest of the commandments? Who does Jesus think he is? Over and over, he answers such questions with more questions, so that those who came hoping for confirmation of their beliefs go away more confused than ever. They do not even know who their neighbors are, but thanks to him they are going to stay up all night thinking about it. (Barbara Brown Taylor, Something about Jesus, The Christian Century (April 3, 2007)

            As a college student, my favorite professors were the ones that had the most rigorous academic requirements for their courses.  Paired with those high academic expectations my favorite instructors invested just enough of themselves to encourage me to think freely and independently.  More often than not they answered my questions with more questions.  It was my search for the answers to those questions that formed my worldview.

            Jesus calls us to follow him.  Once we hear and respond to his initial call to discipleship I believe he guides our understanding of faith by posing questions through our experiences with other persons, our study of scripture, and the Holy Spirit.   It is through that continuous process of action and reflection that we live out our evolving understanding of God’s grace. 

            Following where Jesus leads is never easy.  More often than not the path is difficult to see.  I am thankful for the ache I feel in my heart when I consider how much God loves me.  His love will keep you up at night.  At times the only thing that lifts that ache is the certainty that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

Grace and Peace,

Milton