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Knock, Knock.  Supreme Court.  Right outside the door

Church State law, especially cases that make it to the US Supreme Court, can seem distant and esoteric. But this month the US Supreme Court is waiting for you right outside your office door in its unanimous decision affirming “ministerial exception” in a broad way.

Who can the church  hire and fire according to ministerial exception?:
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, et al.
In this case the Supreme Court, for the first time, recognized an explicit “ministerial exception” to anti-discrimination laws at any level.  It did so, with considerable enthusiasm.  The Court returned a unanimous decision that churches have tremendous latitude over employment decisions if the person involved is in almost any way considered ministerially responsible.

“The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the court. “But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission.

The case was asking the government to punish a church school for a firing decision related to a religion teacher. The Court said that “requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision.  Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs.”  Such interference, it concluded, violates both the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, and that Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The fact that the Court asserts violation of both tenets of the First Amendment is significant and outlines a strong line of demarcation.

The Supreme Court has long recognized a First Amendment right for religious organizations to control their own internal affairs, including the selection of their religious leaders — a history in which the Court has had a role since 1872 and in which the Founding generation was involved at least as early as 1806. But this case provides protection of the religious organization to make authoritative employment decisions even when the ministerial employee is someone who may not be serving in what would be considered a traditional role of clergy, like a pastor, but can extend to employees who are religiously trained and called to service, in this case a functioning teacher in an elementary classroom.

This decision has been lauded for its clear support of church autonomy.  This sounds affirming and great. But with great freedom comes great responsibility.

The decision is for near unfettered freedom for employment decisions, but the case is framed within charges of discrimination. The church is given the freedom to discriminate. Without the external requirements of standard discrimination protection to guide the church in hiring and firing decisions, what standards will churches, religious schools and religious institutions use?  All too often churches and religious organizations have been lax in clarifying employment processes and have been shoddy when it comes to establishing grievance procedures or clarifying pathways of resolution for difficult employment situations.

It’s “take stock” time for churches. Without the threat of government employment law, the church should be more fair, more judicious, more compassionate, more thorough than the secular world. Too many congregations and religious organizations are lax or, even worse, dismissive when it comes to processes for discerning call, hiring staff, managing employees and mapping the course for personnel transitions.

The call to servanthood is the high calling of Christ’s ministers, paid or unpaid, vocational or volunteer.  In Matthew and parallel passages in Mark and Luke, Jesus said we should not “lord it over” one another and that the greatest of God’s people must be servants rather than tyrants (Matt. 20:20-28). Christian leaders lead by serving.  Power in the conventional sense is, in effect, turned on its head, so that the greatness of leadership is not determined by how many lives we control, but by how faithfully we serve each life with whom God has entrusted us.

A Covenant Approach

Ministerial Ethics, a Covenant of Trust is a resource for you and your church to guide dialogue between ministers and congregational leaders. It provides guidelines to build a framework for basic ethical obligations for ministry, it helps to de?ne the ministerial profession as it is expressed in each congregation, and it serves as a support to protect the individual minister.  There are topical pages designed to promote reflection on the shared responsibility from both the congregation and the minister to consider how a congregation will interpret: the Call to Ministry, the Minister’s Relationship, Stewardship of Time, the Minister’s Health, Economic Responsibilities, Sexual Conduct, the Minister and the Community. This is not an employment document, but it is the beginning of a prompt for dialogue about the covenant of trust between a congregation  and it’s minster(s). A covenant that is too often unspoken and unaddressed until an employment crisis emerges.

Here are some of the basic considerations for churches and the minister:

For the church:

• We will honor and respect the call of God in the lives of our ministers and count their service among us as a gift from God.
• We will commit ourselves to forming relationships, time structures, and ministry activities so that our ministers can build wholesome family relationships.
• We will respect our ministers’ families and honor them as vital parts of our ministry team.
• We will commit to develop and nurture strong relationships within the congregation and show we are Christians by our love.
• We will recognize our ministers’ need for rest and time to be away from work.  We will protect their time to have a day off and their family time.
• We will recognize our own and our ministers’ needs for spiritual formation and physical well being.
• We understand that workers are “worthy of their hire” and will compensate ministers with fairness and generosity.
• We will commit ourselves to exhibiting faithful and wholesome sexual relationships among ourselves, within our families, and beyond the church family.
• We shall endeavor to know and be known in the communities that we serve as witnesses to the love of Christ, who meets physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and to the world.

For the minister:

• I will re?ect the integrity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my ministry by leading the congregation to follow Jesus, so becoming the salt of the earth and the light of the world, loving our enemies, becoming agents of reconciliation, doing justice for “the least of these,” speaking the truth in love, loving God as we love one another, and serving God as we serve one another.
• I will respond to the call of Christ with faithful obedience and count it a joyful privilege to be asked to serve in ministry.
• I will be intentional in nurturing relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and members of the congregation.  I recognize the importance of building healthy relationships which are both open and honest and free from coercion, deception, manipulation, and the abuse of the power of my position.
• I will be committed to the faithful stewardship of time.  I will be disciplined in my use of time, which includes not wasting time or working at all times.  I will take time for spiritual formation, study, prayer, family, and rest.
• I will develop a healthy lifestyle which includes my spiritual, physical, and emotional health.
• I will be ?nancially responsible, which responsibility includes paying my bills, avoiding ?nancial favors, living within my salary, contributing to the ?nancial support of my church and other ministries, and adopting a lifestyle consistent with biblical teachings concerning possessions and money.
• I will clearly demonstrate a life of sexual  ?delity and integrity in all of my relationships and a commitment to the biblical standard of faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness.
• I will participate in the larger community as the context of my ministry.  I will be committed to the issues of justice, compassion, reconciliation, and to the marginalized as I value all of God’s children.
• I will be directed in all that I do by Jesus’ vision in the model prayer: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  I will be dedicated to God’s sovereign role and reign in every area of my life and be faithful in announcing that God’s Kingdom has come in Jesus Christ.

The occasion of this Supreme Court decision gives the church a prime opportunity to tune and fine tune the processes within our congregations to maintain ethical and productive relationships.

Includes information from: Lyle Denniston, Opinion recap: A solid “ministerial exception”, SCOTUSblog (Jan. 11, 2012, 11:33 AM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/01/opinion-recap-a-solid-ministerial-exception/

FIRE!

We had a major fire in our home on October 14 while I was in Africa….several of you have asked, here are my recent thoughts:

There is nothing but an endless stream of tedious and sad work to clean up after a fire at home. Smoke, ash, smell and tracking the dusty residues of fire are ever-present. Little wisps of feathered charcoal work their way between pages of books and into the graceful fibers of silk scarves; they settle everywhere as if to remind you of the laws of nature that provide that air itself can be the carrier of destruction.

The work of a fiery mess is enough, but today we are entering an even more daunting and frightening territory. Arson. Someone deliberately set this blaze. Someone took a match or lighter and held it to the corner of our lives until it caught ablaze. Someone lit two simultaneous  fires in our house from a plan they hatched to make double sure it burned. Did they doubt themselves or were they just habitually thorough? They used items that they either carried in or found to build a fire with us in mind. With us in mind. With us in mind. This thought is terrifying.

There is no known perpetrator at this time, but there is an ongoing investigation. The mystery of it all lends to the feelings of fear and frustration. We are blessed nevertheless with cooperative insurance agents and adjusters and a number of service providers helping us put the pieces back together. Cleaning and restoration is a mountain of work itself but with a welcome “next chapter” end in sight.

Besides exhaustion and frustration however is another very strong impulse. An impulse to outshine the destroyer and neutralize the feeling of violation by overwhelming it with the strength of love in sheer record numbers.

The prayers, kindnesses and generous friendship of so many have surrounded us with – well, joy.  In the light of this crisis, we are the fortunate ones to be surrounded by the love and hope that are the hallmarks of God’s grace in our lives.

So in the very shadow of the footprint of a destroyer, I feel like a party. I want the more the merrier. I want FBC Austin and CLC and a hundred footsteps to step where the destroyer stepped. I want to bury the intent to destroy with the promise of love. This is the cleaning process that is beyond ashes and soot and tedious days. I don’t want to wait for new paint and sheet rock to bring the blessing of joy. Before it’s all pretty again, side by side with ashes, I already have the blessed assurance that makes the journey through the crisis a sure journey.

I NEED to put out the fires of retribution and open up my own channels of grace. I want to make visible the life giving community of our family love, the resilience of friendship, the support of our church and Christian friends. I want my children, my neighbors, my universe to see love in action. That’s a party.

Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP)

Today I depart for Africa in the company of five other US religious leaders and the capable staff of Bread for the World. We will be exploring programs of maternal and child health and hunger in Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania. The Texas Baptist Hunger Offering has supported projects started by the Baptist Unions of these nations. These stalwart colleagues have been friends in Christlike compassion that we have known mostly through reports, emails and photos. By this time next week they will be friends with real live faces. The words of Jesus in the Gospel of John promising living water and lasting bread echo in the worship services of our African counterparts and are calling us to a special mission.

If there is one theme in the state of the world today, it is that we are connected. If your bank fails, my life rumbles. If my floods destroy, your food prices rise. If my debt escalates, your economy dips.  This is certainly true for powerful nations and the rising economies of the world, China, Brazil, India. Sometimes we fear we are just spectators for a tottering ride on the uncertain coattails of the fortunes of a few.

A part of our trip to Africa is to explore the many efforts to create healthy families – beginning with healthy moms and babies – by scaling up nutrition. A particular emphasis is developing agricultural potential. As soon as Mutharika, the President of Malawi became Chair of the African Union this year, he pledged more support for agriculture saying, “Africa must feed Africa.” There is great potential for food production in Africa. As quoted in Foreign Affairs (Nov 2010), “the scientific institutes that transformed Brazil’s savanna from idle bush land into verdant fields…are beginning to work in areas in Africa.” A fertile productive Africa is the hope of millions and support from the US is important.

A world where a billion people struggle with hunger is not a secure world. Over the last several years many countries have collaborated for basic agricultural growth in Africa through a multi donor trust fund, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP).  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a significant contributor, “Helping the poorest smallholder farmers grow more crops and get them to market is the world’s single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty,” Gates said. Among these smallholder farmers are the mothers and grandmothers we will encounter on this trip.

So today I am up early and ready to go. I feel a little uncertain but trusting God; we are seeking hope and a harvest of life. Join me to pray and to put our faith in action.

What pattern for life? Labyrinth or Maze?

I began praying on a labyrinth several years ago. Stepping out of an ICU unit to a small labyrinth in the hospital complex, I found that I could pray and walk.  Walking the labyrinth gave me a rhythm that helped my mind and heart center on God when the challenge of the medical crisis around me brought only chaos.

Prayers and patterns have intrigued me ever since. I made the mistake of calling a labyrinth a maze. “A maze,” I was told emphatically, “has dead ends.” A labyrinth, although full of circuitous and unpredictable turns, ultimately leads to the center and out again. No dead ends. A labyrinth is built to require patience and trust,  but it is not built to frustrate you with walls.

Life plagued with addiction, it is a maze. The dead ends of illusion, loss and destruction rise up and stifle even the persistent. Frustration, despair, depression wait in the  corners – there is no way out but back. And even the fits and starts of retracing your steps in a maze do not guarantee progress. You are likely to end up in a dead end spot you have visited before.

The maze of addiction is a cruel trap. But the healing power found in treatment can transform the maze of addiction to a labyrinth journey.  The labyrinth is full of turns that are unpredictable and circuitous, but an it is an open path. A path that leads to God at the center and back out again to a new day. The geometry of the labyrinth requires the journeying pilgrim to make 180 degree turns. Like the process of recovery, there is a long path requiring diligence and patience. The turns cause you to face yourself and the very direction you just came from while all the while moving forward.

Even though we may not all be subject to addiction, we are faced with dead end patterns that turn our lives into mazes. The gospel power of saving grace removes the walls on dead ends and opens up a path with God. Trust, patience and a commitment to keep on going toward the center are the marks of a pilgrim who responds to Jesus call to “Follow me,”

I recently attended a workshop where we walked a labyrinth. Among the participants were two ministers who used a labyrinth in their church’s ministry to battered women in the process of rebuilding their lives. “It took me 10 trips to believe that God would actually meet me,” one woman said. “but I kept walking because someone walked with me all the way to God.”

Recovery Sunday and all the acts of compassion towards healing are an invitation to walk toward God side by side with someone who needs a companion. The journey to a healthy world is not made alone.

The Matrix of Migration

I used to think that Immigration law was simple, straightforward and sorta one-size-fits-all. Then I began to learn about immigration law, human trafficking law, refugee and migrant labor law. Each of these sectors is tied and interconnected to the others. They are a matrix – woven together – and are among the most humane types of law in the world.

In many cases, this patchwork of laws is imperfect, flawed, anachronistic, and confusing. But, even in their frustrating imperfection, they stand as a lawful attempt at providing a beacon of resolution and light for individuals and families. Genocide, brutality, exploitation, crime, terrorism and violent discrimination are their opposites destroying human lives with criminal violence, callous prejudice, consuming greed and racial hatred. The US has a proud heritage of providing a matrix of migration laws in opposition to these evils.

Immigration law is only one part of this lawful fabric and like its partners has been created and developed in fits and starts. Immigration law does not change as fast as the world context changes.  Even so, it remains as a path to defining citizenship, preserving human life and family relationships. US immigration, human trafficking, refugee and migrant labor law use categories and demarcations, but nevertheless are applied to an individual and his or her family. This matrix of migration laws is built upon an assumption of the value of the person, the priority of family ties, the sanctity of marriage, and the sanctity of children and their lives. There is a Biblical echo of imago dei in the intent of the matrix.

Today however, immigration law has been elevated to the front burner of American and worldwide political life as a malleable political tool. Immigration law is controversial because it is not adequate. This can be fixed, but too many are benefitting from the brokenness.  The matrix of migration law can and should be reformed, preserved and strengthened both to protect the US and to match our laws with our 21^st century reality. Human trafficking convictions, refugee rescue and resettlement and even disaster relief are inhibited and inefficient in part because immigration reform is stagnating. Some reasonable solutions can be accomplished and are important.  What if…

• What if…We had enough work permits for all those who wanted to temporarily work in the US and then return to their families in Mexico? How many would come and go seasonally and lawfully?
• What if…We had enough permanent resident cards for those who qualified to work for an eligible employer? How many would be properly documented in short order?
• What if… We had enough duly trained and certified people to help all those in line and eligible to become US citizens or legal permanent residents before their length of time in line itself makes them undocumented? How many millions would move seamlessly from undocumented to lawful status in a relatively short time?
• What if…We had a VISA system that allowed accomplished students in US doctoral programs to stay and build a professional life in the US?  How many jobs and companies would be starting here rather than in India, Brazil or China?
• What if…We had a religious VISA program that encouraged cooperative Christian ministry across world borders? How many kingdom partnerships would be born to bring the gospel to the world?
• What if…Children that came to the US could graduate high school and proceed to college or work lawfully in the US gaining a permanent resident card? How many families and futures would be supported?
• What if…We could easily convict and deport undocumented criminals and gangs who perpetrate violence and crimes against US citizens and foreign national victims inside the US? How much justice would be done and how much money would be saved in criminal justice costs?
• What if… We had a swift and adequate prosecution for traffickers and a network of support for victims of human trafficking? How soon could we end modern slavery?

In the past five years, I have met folks who have navigated the US Immigration system, proposed changes to human trafficking law, refugee and migrant labor law and as I heard person after person, family after family, what struck me has been that NO two stories are alike. Rather than a linear application of arbitrary rules, immigration, human trafficking, refugee and migrant labor law is often like medical treatment – each person is a case unto themselves, requiring an accurate and timely diagnosis of the problems and also requiring the particular and specific remedy case by case.

The complex matrix of US immigration law is frequently hobbled in confusion and inconsistency in today’s world, but there is no doubt that the character and nature intended in immigration law reflects the Biblical value of respecting and preserving human life – it is structured to take into account origin and borders, but it does not deny human protection because of these important boundaries.  It would be a true violation of Christian values to dismantle rather than reform immigration law.

A clear and straightforward video about the Topics of Immigration that Affect Churches

A drama unfolded on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives this week. It was a parable of Biblical proportions – money, self interest, moral outrage and free market politics. If someone tells you that Christian ethics is irrelevant, dead or outdated, just provide them a link to the debate on the House floor from this week.  The debate begins at the 3 hours and 48 minute mark of video.

The bills – by Rep. Vickie Truitt (R-Keller) presented her bills to begin a disclosure and license process for payday lending and auto title loan businesses. The conflict of interest – Rep Gary Elkins ( R – Houston) owns 12 payday loan sites across Texas. He challenged the bills by defending his business; his desire was to eviscerate the payday loan bills by striking the “enacting clause” that makes them law. The parliamentary procedural gadfly – Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R – Dallas) continually tried to kill the bills with more than 5 parliamentary procedure challenges (points of order) and strong statements that these bills were massive government overreach and over-regulation of business. The loyal opposition – Former House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) opposed the bills because they were too soft on the industry and didn’t have enough regulation to truly help the consumer (like the Midland woman who paid endless fees on a burial loan). The auto dealer – Rep. Patricia Harliss (R-Spring ) another  small business owner who acknowledged the uncomfortable necessity of regulation, because she finances the family car only to see it repossessed by unscrupulous auto-title lenders who are not governed by the same rules. In the gallery were more than $5 million dollars of lobbyists for the payday industry and the coalition of payday reform lobbyists (seven religious and nonprofit groups).

You could hear a pin drop. Legislators usually buzzing around on the floor and hallways were in their desks riveted to tense, sometimes personal battle over payday lending reform bills.

Whether you are a Texas legislator or Joe Christian, our values are not played out in big sweeping statements or through bumper sticker quips. Our values are forged daily by the actions we take to promote Christian principles and Biblical priorities.

These questions, played out in Austin, are not that different than the judgment calls we are asked to make every day. If some law directly benefits you and your business, do you take the microphone and defend your position? Do you vote on the bill? Do you argue but don’t vote? How do you handle an obvious conflict of interest? If you have a direct advantage, do you use it? If you favor free market principles, does that also include allowing loopholes for financial products that are otherwise regulated? Payday loans? Auto-title loans? Mortgages too? If you favor regulation and consumer protection,, do you protect them to the extent that you take away their choice for short term help? do you take away the choice to do something totally adverse to their own financial future? What is fair? What is right? What is a bridge too far? In the heat of debate, what do you actually say about your opponent? How do you characterize them? as anti-business? as a schlep for the industry? as a liberal sellout? as naive? and when you have made your point, do you make it again and again and again?

At one pivotal climax in the heated debate, Rep. Truitt summed up her bills and gestured with arms raised above her head – pointing first to the payday owner, she said ” So I am regulating way too much,” and then pointing to the loyal opposition on the other side of the chamber she continued, “and I’m not doing nearly enough. Now you see what I have been up against during this whole process.” she finished with a tone of exhausted exasperation….soon after that, the vote was taken.

The vote, although important, was not the measure of the ethics that will shape our lives. The ethics of the debate was played out line by line, person by person all though this process…Values of thrift, not debt. Values of balance, not advantage. Values of personal respect even in the heat of debate. Righteous anger. Was there unfair treatment of other bills and negating colleagues and collaborative leadership? It is confusing and unclear. Ethical processes are not often lines in the sand, but a continuous series of small decisions and attitudes that loom large as a collective power.

The Thrift report (.pdf) that we are featuring this month is a document that emphasizes some of the guiding principles about thrift, prosperity and financial stability. It also emphasizes the principle of balance versus greed that is echoed in the parables of Jesus and the laws of the tribes of Israel. Relevant Christian ethics are a rudder to the ship of values as we continue to make decisions on this and other important issues for Texas. I am very thankful to God that as pastors, lay leaders or church members, your convictions find their way into the public square. Do not be afraid to speak up.

Senate Floor – HB 2592: Sen. Davis on Payday Lending – May 23, 2011

Live! at the Legislature…Round Two

Dear Friends,

Your contributions have been mighty. I am spending today and tomorrow following up with almost every member of the committee who have been calling and contacting us today because of the strength of your testimony and visits.

Thanks be to God for the patience and eloquence of our wonderful pastors!

Suzii

Here is the first clip from testimony and the press conference.

To see more, follow the links at the end of the clip, or view the entire collection of footage here…
The sound on the press conference videos may have spots in it that are bad due to the windy day.

Live! at the Legislature

On February 22, 2011 the Senate Business and Commerce Committee met for a hearing on SB 253 (Davis), SB 251 (West) and SB 254 (Davis). All three of these bills address limiting fees and abuse by payday lenders by closing the CSO loophole that allows them to operate outside the Texas Finance Loan Code. Below is excerpts of testimony by Suzii Paynter and Dr. Chad Chaddick of Northeast Baptist Church in San Antonio

• Suzii Paynter, Director, Christian Life Commission testimony on Payday Lending
• Dr. Chad R. Chaddick, Northeast Baptist Church, San Antonio testimony on Payday Lending
• February 22, 2011 Senate CSO Hearing News Coverage(.pdf)

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

If Christmas Eve is a time of joyful anticipation, and New Years ‘s Eve is the time of hopeful celebrating, then prepare yourself for Legislative Eve as a time of enduring contradictions.

Glancing  over our shoulders back to 2009 and 2010 reveals that the Lone Star State is making it through the Great Recession in better shape than most other states. The Texas economy has avoided collapse, our population is growing, jobs are coming back, home sales have improved in all metro areas.   Texas, as some like to say, is wide open for business. Texas’ economic resilience can be chalked up to the state’s many assets and advantages: relatively low living costs, modest taxes, oil and gas wealth, great research institutions, a youthful working-age population, and an attractive business climate (Laila Assane and Pia Orrenius, “Texas Economy Shakes Off Rough Ride in 2009,” Southwest Economy – Dallas, Texas: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2010).

Contradiction #1: Ok got it. If all that is true, why is Texas facing a record setting budget deficit of $27B? And why are Texas families going broke? Why are young, educated adults unemployed? Why are seriously ill seniors on an 8 year waiting list? Why are so many Texans hungry?  Isn’t a “good economy” supposed to mean  a “good econo-for-ME”, too?

Texas families, the state’s greatest economic asset,  are not riding this latest wave of success.  While the state’s economy overall is moving ahead, the state’s hardworking families are struggling to stay afloat.  Texas families have less net worth and more debt than 46 of the other states (CFED 2009-10 Scorecard – Texas and U.S. Households by Assets and Income:  2009-2010. net worth 48th/50 states; installment debt 46th/50states).

Despite our apparent needs, Texans (especially Texas’ elected officials)  are very fond of talking about Texas’ independence, and I don’t mean the Alamo.  I mean that Texas is “a whole nuther country”, unique, not subject to the same rules (environmental or otherwise) as other states. As Texas we have unique needs in food security, agriculture, energy, immigration, border security, education, roads, transportation, tax structure, family services, insurance rates, healthcare, wellness, water quality. You name it, you’ll find an association, business or advocate group to tell you that Texas is solitary and proud.

Contradiction #2:  OK got it; all that is true. Texas may be unique, but Texas is not a “whole nuther planet.” Quite the contrary, Texas is a hub to the world; full of international business and families, Texas government and Texas cities partner around the globe and Texans are in every corner of the world for business, pleasure, mission, charity and innovation. Our water, our energy, our air , our commerce, our culture, our economy, our military  and certainly our family of faith are all intertwined with the other  billions on this planet. Our Texas well-being is linked to the well-being of people everywhere. And that is just the international facet.

Texas is also (according to last week’s census release) a bigger portion of the US population than ever before. Being a leading state means being connected and cooperative with other states for the well-being of our country.  Texas is unique, but we can’t turn our message of uniqueness against the real needs of our great union, the UNITED states. Being a representative democracy is a cherished legacy, but it’s continuing health is a challenge. Ideas and words matter in every era of history and ours is no different  leadership is stewardship and as Texans, we can’t maintain the tone of a rebellious adolescent who so slander his family that he has no home.

There is no mere business interest, there is no association, there is no political institution that can, by being the beneficiary of generous policy, set the single plumb line for a stable future.   And  the inaction of  ignoring the elderly, the mentally disabled, the hungry , the poor, the abused, the economically exploited, the neglected, the dying, the recovering addict, the re-entering felon,  is a sure way to  destabilize the future of  Texas families. Although the airwaves are full of dollar signs and reality-check statistics, any principled moral voice is clear that the stepladder to a successful tomorrow will not be made out of budget cuts alone.

The Texas legislators will convene in the context of these contradictions. These are real folks who come to Austin for 140 days to sort some of this out. Speaking of contradictions – I suspect  it is common among  elected officials to close their doors after 30 days in Austin and ask themselves why they worked so hard to be elected to face such a cacophony of competing  interests – head on. While campaigning a candidate has a microphone to clarify their convictions but after election, they discover there is a crowd at the microphone clamoring  to put their priorities first. As one official said to me “ Some people mistakenly think that they elected me to a screenplay. The think I’m their dutiful actor; they are the producer, director, scriptwriter and critic rolled into one… This ain’t no play, it’s the future of Texas. ”

All too often we act like we are in a screenplay – that what is said and done will be over by midnight, and all will return to normal.  If there is one compelling message in the Bible, it is that this life is not a dress rehearsal, but according to the Word of God what we do and say and live matters – even when we tell ourselves it doesn’t.  So, as the kids say “ man-up”

• Find your voice when it comes to important  values – they almost always come with some contradictions that need to be spoken , aloud.  What we know to be right or just may not be politically feasible – at least at first.  The great statesmen of our history called this deliberation; they fought. They talked about struggling with either/or and they talked about wanting both/and  until there was a healthy compromise and they set the world on a course to constitutional democracy.  In more modern times – in the resolution of wars, the ending of apartheid, the growth of micro-enterprise, the healing  of vast diseases, the ending of ethnic genocide, the dismantling of human trafficking – workgroups and consultations and polite and not-so-polite negotiations stayed at the helm until…until there was a step to a more just tomorrow.
• Be honest about all the points of view – even if they are not your own.  It is honest to say that you don’t want Medicaid to bankrupt the state, but you also don’t want the fragile elderly to be kicked out of nursing homes.  It’s honest to say that you don’t want to send 12 million to get immigrants out of the US, but you also don’t want a immigration system that fails to provide adequately for  lawful workers, family unification and border security.  The rise of fact checking websites and Politi-fact  tools are one expression of a desire for some honest reflection.  Your children, your city, your state need courage and strength for honesty in citizens and elected officials to build a future for all Texans, the US and thus shape the rest of the world.
• Borrow wisdom – Take the Achievement Test.  Op Ed columnist David Brooks posed the criteria he calls “The Achievement Test” (Jan. 3, 2011 NYTimes http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/opinion/04brooks.html).
  • The size of government doesn’t tell you what you need to know; the social and moral content of government action does. The budgeteers and the technicians may not like it, but it’s the values inculcated by policies that matter most.
  • The best way to measure government is not by volume, but by what you might call the Achievement Test. Does a given policy arouse energy, foster skills, spur social mobility and help people transform their lives? Over the years, America has benefited from policies that passed this test, like the Homestead Act and the G.I. Bill.
  • …it might be useful to put the Achievement Test back at the center of politics. This would help focus the national mind on the fundamental challenge: moving from a consumption-dominated economy oriented around satisfying immediate needs toward a more balanced investment and consumption economy.

We are on the eve of a new Legislature in Austin. Complicated leaders representing diverse constituents will be charting a course (or not)  on  a complex landscape . My prayer is that we begin to see signposts for this kind of achievement  – stability, health, growth, and prosperity for Texas families and putting them first.

Maybe the next apps for our Texas-sized ipads and smart phones promote reflective dialogue and bring on a shiny, new moral compass?

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

On Nov 15th, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon , released the Economic Research Report on Household Food Security. The report Food Security in the United States 2009 (pdf) found that 17.4 million households in America had difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of resources, about the same as in 2008. The report supports the conclusion that that federal nutrition assistance food programs are providing a valuable safety net to the most vulnerable Americans. These programs are designed to respond rapidly and automatically to emerging needs in times of economic change and will expand and contract with the economy. We anticipate that food security will improve as the economy improves but in the near-term, without these benefits, many families would face far more severe problems getting the nutritious food they need.

Texas grew hungrier and according to the report showed an increase in food insecurity.  Of Texas households, 17.4 percent of Texas were at risk of hunger between 2007and 2009, up 1.1 percent from the prior three-year period. Nationally, 14.7% of households were deemed “food insecure” in 2009 – essentially unchanged from 2008 and the highest number on record. Food insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas, and rates were substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line, households with children headed by single parents, and African-American and Hispanic households.

Unsatisfied with Texas ranking, Texas Baptists and other leaders were in Washington to discuss efforts to improve food security. Jeremy Everett, Director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, Baylor University School of Social Work ,and Suzii Paynter, Director of Advocacy and Care for Texas Baptists met with Undersecretary Concannon and USDA officials to report on the major elements of a statewide effort to address hunger.

“The reported numbers of food insecure families is a wake-up call for Texas,” said JC Dwyer, State Policy Director for the Texas Food Bank Network. A partnership of state leaders, including Texas Baptists, are awake; they are not sitting on the sidelines

Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples, is challenging Texas Mayors to end hunger in their cities and is resourcing healthier meals for kids and local programs like Texans Feeding Texans.
The Texas Food Bank Network, one of the strongest in the US,  is sharing best practices and taking on new outreach efforts to enroll  eligible Texans for SNAP ( Supplemental Nutrition).

Led by regional USDA officials, Texas state agencies that administer more than 15 food programs now collaborate in a State Operations Team, for problem solving and efficiency.

Baylor School of Social Work’s Texas Hunger Initiative is helping communities, counties and councils of governments identify and change the profile of the hungry, whether in urban or rural settings.

Hundreds of Texas Baptist congregations are feeding their neighbors and generously serving up summer meals to hungry kids, including thousands of meals provided through Angel Food at the BGCT Annual Meeting in McAllen.

The Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission is a convener of the Texas Food Policy Roundtable working on improving policies for access and effectiveness of feeding programs and healthy food in Texas.

Public private partnerships, like the recent cooperation of Pepsico with Central Dallas Ministries, are multiplying capacity to provide thousands, not hundreds, of meals.

Outstanding community leaders like Carol Heibert, Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo , led her city to increase feeding from 1000 to 28,000 in summer 2010.

Leaders in Washington and Texas agree that if communities and congregations promote awareness of hunger, commit to concrete solutions, and measure the progress then the face of hunger in Texas will change.

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