Trying to follow

1. “God helps those who help themselves.”
2. “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
3. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
4. “Money is the root of all evil.”
5. “…Blessed Trinity”

Who said I actually had to have seven? I mostly wanted to post this after reading the intro to an article I had posted a few weeks ago:

Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.

So, I felt the need to post Verses that are Not in the Bible, in an effort to clear things up once and for all. Now just a brief note one each one, listed by number again:

1. Like it said, counter Biblical.
2. This can be found strongly implied in other scriptures.
3. Don’t know that there’s much Biblical support for this one.
4. It’s the Love of Money that is a root of all kinds of evil.
5. Though you can Biblically find support for the trinity, no where in scripture does it actually make this distinction.

I’ve mentioned before that everyone (especially guys) should be reading Ms. Magazine. The main reason is that it brings up a lot of issues that need to be addressed that aren’t being mentioned in major media. Issues such as sex discrimination, abuse, mistreatment, and the wage gap. These are issues that should be dealt with in our society, and particularly in the church.

So, how can we as a church begin to address these issues? I thought I’d start by taking the six points from an article entitled, Mind the Wage Gap, from the fall 2005 issue of Ms. and discuss these as they relate to the church, rather then to the individual reader.

1. Document
2. Do the Research
3. Collaborate
4. Learn to Negotiate
5. Talk to the Boss
6. Celebrate!

1. Document- As I said in an early post on the wage gap, I think there is some compelling reasons to make our salaries known. Particularly the fact that keeping it a secret has kept us from addressing the fact that women make 70 cents on the $1 that every man makes. I’m not sure of the most appropriate way to do it, but I think we should have more open conversation and documenting of what we are making in our churches. This has other implications, but as it relates to the wage gap, knowing what others in your field make will help you be aware of if you are being unfairly paid. Documenting also means letting it be known when you feel you were mistreated or unfairly dealt with as it relates to your wage. If any place should be a safe haven and a place to share those things, it should be the church.

2. Do the Research- This also deals a lot with investigating wages within your field and if you are being appropriately paid. Doing this research individually is fine, but I would imagine a church would be a wonderful central location for the results of research concerning wages could be held.

3. Collaborate- Caring after the orphans and widows has to do with a lot more then providing them clothing and shelter (though that’s good too). Sunday School and Soup Kitchens are good things, but wouldn’t it be amazing to see the church as a collaborating force to ensure women were treated and paid fairly? If ever a person would be distressed, it’s when they are being discriminated against, harassed, paid unfairly, or worse. The church, as a unified body, is just the sort of location and group to help address these sorts of situations.

4. Learn to Negotiate- Again, what better place to learn this then in the church. At the least, Churches should be resources centers for this sort of information. If someone had concerns about their unfair treatment at work, the church should be able to provide contact information and resources for learning how to negotiate, rather then just an offer to pray for the person.

5. Talk to the Boss- Probably the most intimidating and daunting task of the six steps for most people. Especially for single-income households, talking to your boss about your pay, or any acknowledgment of being unsatisfied with work, can be a very scary task as there is probably a great fear of getting fired. Once again, the church has an important role in this step. The churches role is to be a supportive and loving body in the midst of injustice. So, not only do we help empower and prepare people to ask for equal wages, we are also there to support them should their demands be met with resistance. It’s much easier to stand strong against mistreatment and discrimination if you have a loving supportive community around you.

6. Celebrate!- I’d urge churches to have Wage Parties, or maybe Against Injustice parties. When my house mate paid off his last school loan and became debt free, we had a celebratory party. It was a beautiful thing. Like a celebration after finding a lost coin or sheep, we should celebrate when unjustly stolen salaries have been given back. The church should be a place of praise and celebration, for fair wages as much as anything else.

My wife will soon be entering into a full time professional career as a Family Nurse Practitioner. And I’m not ashamed to say, she will be the primary wage earner in our family. She’ll be the one pulling in the big bucks and putting bread on the table. I have no doubt will survive just fine and be able to support a family. What’s disturbing though, is to know that, without intervention and advocacy, it is very possible she will be denied a fair and equal wage. I believe the wage gap is wrong and you can be assured I will stand up for the rights of my wife and other women to receive proper pay for their work and talents.
The Chart below is from The WAGE Project and uses US Census data. According to the chart, Mindy will earn $30,000 less a year then if, say, I went ahead and had gotten a Master’s degree:

Today is Equal Pay Day, a chance for Women (and the men around them) everywhere to stand up and demand that our bosses, supervisors, CEO’s and businesses put aside the discrimination and inequality and begin paying Women an equal pay. If your a husband, father, or son, I suggest you try and sit down and do your best to put your listening ears on and ask your female loved ones if and how they feel they have been discriminated against. If your a business owner, boss, or anyone with any authority over pay scales, I suggest you start doing some research and agreeing to take action on this issue today.

I’ll be writing more about this later, but for now I’ll just close with this brief summary from The WAGE Project.

Why Is There A Wage Gap?

The wage gap is the result of a variety of forms of sex discrimination in the workplace, including discrimination in hiring, promotion and pay, sexual harassment, occupational segregation, bias against mothers, and other ways in which women workers and women’s work are undervalued.

Hiring, Promotion, Pay

First comes what most people think of as sex discrimination: the simple and straightforward refusal to hire, promote, or fairly pay women who are just as qualified as men.

Sexual Harassment

Few people realize that sexual harassment also constitutes wage discrimination. After long and repeated sexual harassment, women leave or lose their jobs, potential raises, promotions, opportunities, emotional stability, ability to work, and sometimes their lives.

Occupational Segregation

In 2000, two-thirds of all US working women were still crowded into twenty-one of the 500 occupational categories. And, then women’s work is consistently paid less than men’s work. Are janitors really worth more than nurses’ aides, parking lot attendants more than child care workers, construction laborers more than bookkeepers and cashiers? According to American payrolls, they are.

Taxing Motherhood

Many people believe that the wage gap exists because women choose to care for children. But do they really choose to be paid less for doing the same work they did before giving birth? Forget the mommy track: too many women find themselves shunted unwillingly onto the mommy sidetrack. Frustrated women talk about how, once they came back from maternity leave, colleagues began to treat them as unreliable and unpromotable—almost willfully overlooking any evidence of productivity

Undervaluing Women Workers

Everyday, women workers suggestions are dismissed — only to be discussed seriously when made by a man. Or when employers turn to old boy networks rather than public postings to recruit new talent. Or when interviews or screening tests prize male strengths or deeper voices, even though women’s strengths and communication styles could accomplish the job just as well.

Read more from The Wage Project

Corporate Responsibility Mondays are simple, I’ll highlight responsible companies, Josh will highlight not so responsible companies. Today we are taking on the beverage industry, and I’ll be giving you two for the price of one.

When it comes to Fair-Trade, Organic Soda Pop, there is only one certified company out there, and that’s JavaPop. But it’s not your normal Soda, it’s Coffee Soda. I’ve never had Coffee soda so I’m not sure if it fits in with the Pepsi and Dr. Pepper products, but it is a Soda, and your coffee addicts might just love it. JavaPop was created to fill the niche market of beverages for those looking for Fair Trade options. They get their beans from a well established fair trade Roaster, Green Mountain Coffee, so you can be pretty sure it’s the quality and value your expecting.

The thing is, I don’t really like Coffee, so I wanted to make sure I highlight another company that might also be worth buying from, Jones Soda. The only reason I was hesitant to highlight Jones is because there isn’t a lot of information on their website or elsewhere highlighting why they might fit with our values and ethics, but there also wasn’t any criticism (though they are smaller so that’s not too surprising).

Their profile on Knowmore.org has only a praise listed and they have pretty good ratings (compared to others). If your looking for Organic, they have a whole line of organic teas, USDA certified organic at that.
Here are some other highlights:

• Jones Soda Co. announced today its support of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). Jones Soda will raise a minimum of $25,000 (US) for ADA and $5,000 (CAN) for CDA to further diabetes research, information and advocacy.
• Jones Soda uses recycled products to create their bottles and encourages consumer recycling
• Jones uses pure cane sugar for their sodas, not High Fructose Corn Syrup.
• They have this great line hinting at alternative fuel ideas: “So leave the corn for your cars, and keep the sugar for your soda.”

I couldn’t find conclusive evidence about the distribution and where their ingredients and materials come from, but from what I could see I think they are completely made in the USA. Jones Soda, as you might know, is a fun company that displays consumer submitted photos on all their bottles. They are unique and different and I think they are more willing to embrace responsible values then the big companies out there. So if your looking to quench your thirst, check out Jones Soda and JavaPop.

And be sure to check out Josh’s post on a irresponsible company.

It’s Earth Day folks, an exciting and important day for us to sit back and remember Mother Earth needs to be loved and cared for too. So, besides running out and getting your free CFL Lightbulb from Home Depot, lowering your carbon emissions, and maybe planting a tree or flowers in your garden, let’s reflect a little on some of the Biblical mandate that compels us to care about the creation around us.

Creation Care Magazine has a great intro:

Despite our desire to be close to the natural world expressed through birdwatching, gardening, camping, and hiking, it is really the poorest of the poor who live in closest contact with the physical world. The environmental experience of poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa dealing with drought is direct. Poor people in America’s inner cities breathe polluted air and feel heat waves without the buffer of elaborate air-conditioning systems. Most good things in our economy are distributed unequally between rich and poor, and clean, healthy environments are no exception. Concern for the “least of these” (Matthew 25) moves us to care for the life-support system God created and which sustains them and us.

In a globalized world, we need to think broadly about who our neighbor is. The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that difference, distance, and geography matter very little in our call to express compassion and love. In an interconnected climate system, emissions from our cars and factories are “shared” with our neighbors around the planet (and have impacts that will last for hundreds of years). Pollution from foreign factories producing goods for the American market is being emitted on our behalf. Understanding the side-effects of how our global economy works helps us to understand that our compassion must similarly be without borders.

What if we began to realize that ‘Church’ and our ‘Christian’ life had more to do with how we live then just what we say we believe? What if our actions and choices on Sunday reflected the scripture and God’s love for his creation more? Is it odd for people to drive for miles from all over a city, to a central building pumping in climate adjusted temperatures, drinking coffee out of Styrofoam cups, all to sing songs about the beauty of God’s creation? That seems like a problem. Will Braun from Geez Magazine casts a vision of what Church might look like in High Efficiency Worship:

What if the cracks around our church windows are letting the holy spirit out as they let the wintry cold in? What if the energy-sucking light bulbs in our sanctuaries are casting an unholy glow on our otherwise holy scriptures?

The sacredness of our sanctuaries has something to do with the pipes, wires and ducts that connect them to the warming world outside. The figurative energy in the room – the good vibes, feelin’-the-spirit sort of energy – has something to do with the literal energy in the room; the energy that heats, cools, lights and amplifies. So maybe the text for next Sunday’s sermon should be the church’s monthly energy bill. That bill is a spiritual matter.

Since many church buildings are old and brutally inefficient, assessing enviro-spiritual impacts can quickly become overwhelming and paralyzing. But what if we just skipped the hand-wringing stage – just suspended guilt and went right on to the actual task of bringing our worship in line with the ecological and spiritual realities of our time? The warming earth doesn’t really have time for our guilt (or our SUV-maligning, Exxon-bashing self-righteousness either). This world needs all the sacredness it can get, so it’s time to make our sanctuaries as holy as they can be. (read the rest)

I didn’t, at first, choose biking because I liked it. I certainly didn’t buy CFL bulbs to save money, and my obsession with not wasting water wasn’t because I hated long warm showers. If we are to love our global neighbors, as scripture compels us to, if we are to stand in awe of God’s creation, which scripture is full of praises about, then today and every day should be celebrated as a chance to tend to the Creation God has placed us in. Amen for Creation Sunday.