On Following a New Generation with a New Voice

Let me explain why I listen to the survivors of the Florida shooting when they say that our thoughts and prayers are unwelcome, and frankly, agree with them.

The gist of my point is not that prayer as such is an abomination, but that bullshit prayers are. Obviously you and I are not into bullshit prayers. Clearly we're among the sincere ones. But I think we (and the religious and spiritual leaders of America) are too easy on ourselves. The young people in Washington DC today protesting with a 'lie in' / 'die in' are showing us the way. https://www.mercurynews.com/.../photos-students-stage.../

What they are doing is what our generation of leaders in the church, the pastors, elders and deacons etc. should have been doing years and years ago. We have been the shepherds who have been silent. We have been the shepherds who betrayed the generations younger than us by being silent when we should have spoken, who have preferred the status quo than to protest. Our generation of spiritual leader failed the children when it was on us. It was always on us and we have failed. We should have been doing the die-ins and lie-ins. We should have been staring down the culture of guns and violence that has come to supplant Jesus' teachings on peaceableness and non-violence.

When these young people in Florida tell their Senators and House Reps and the President that their prayers are bullshit they are telling the leaders of this country that they are whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside with their thoughts and prayers, but are corrupt on the inside, willing to take money for their silence and inaction. But if you listen carefully and discern the spirit of their pain you will also hear that the spiritual leaders of this nation, including you and I, are included in their cries. We have let the NRA and the American obsession with guns and violence define the spiritual and moral landscape. Our generation of spiritual leaders have been so busy praying and doing church that we have failed to be the salt that we are called to be. 

But when the shepherds fail, God's Spirit always raises up a generation who will lead. That generation is standing up now and showing us the way. They are asking us to listen to them and to walk with them in solidarity. And, much like Isaiah, they are telling us that our public prayers are no longer welcome. And so, while I agree with you wholeheartedly on the principals of contemplative action, there comes a time when if it is plain that the prophetic imagination has failed a generation of leaders we who were called and did not answer must reckon with why.

The Kids Are Alright

"We're children. You guys are the adults. You've got to take some action." - David Hogg, survivor (See linked NY Times article)

I have 3 teenagers and I've got to say the biggest fear I have for them isn't about drugs, alcohol, grades, relationships or what college they go to but that they'll be gunned down at school.

Having said that, my general impression of kids these days is that they're awesome! I love my kids. I love their schools, I love their friends, I love their soccer teams. The orchestra and bands they play for are amazing. They work hard, they're intelligent and curious, they're playful and have a sense of humor that keeps me laughing and cheerful even during weeks when I can barely leave the house. I honestly don't understand why there's a Baby Boomer cottage industry based solely on bashing 'kids these days'. The drumbeat of disdain and criticism that younger generations go through in the media and mass culture I just don't understand. In my experience the kids are smarter, more interesting more fun and more hopeful than I remember being - and I've got to tell you that makes me glad.

I also am utterly baffled that as a nation our actions regarding the upcoming generations is that we just don't give a damn about them. They get slaughtered in their schools with regularity and yet we still vote for the NRA. We make sure it can happen again, and again, and again, and again. We say with our mouths that we are heartbroken but actions speak louder than words. And what our actions say is that we want it to happen. We need it to happen. We don't mind seeing their blood, guts and brains splattered all over school chalkboards and linoleum floors. We vote and celebrate our death culture. We might as well worship Baal and Moloch.

Every time I overhear my kids having a conversation with their friends peppered with gallows humor about how global warming is going to destroy the world as we know it, or how they better go whale watching now while the ocean can still support life, a little bit of me dies inside. The truth is that we adults have failed our children. We've failed them miserably. We have lived selfishly and we have concerned ourselves, for the most part, with what our kids can give us, how they make us look, how they reflect on us.

When I look at a video like this and I listen to the words of children who have just survived a mass murder more or less sanctioned by a society that doesn't care I am humbled. Listen to their heartfelt plea. It's not on them to change our world. It's on them to try to understand and survive a mad world we've created and brought them into.

The kids are alright. We've got to listen to them. Love them. Get to work for them. They're worth it. And if the world is going to make it it will be because of them.