Just Wars, PTSD, and God's Grace: Spiritual Healing for Military Members

Last Sunday I was preaching on the theme "Do no Harm" from Bishop Ruebin Job's book Three Simple Rules.  I spoke about how when I was a military chaplain I realized that when I lead worship overseas we needed to be intentional about praying for our enemies.  I spoke about the spiritual tension I felt in that setting.  And afterward I was asked a difficult question.  One of my church members lived through Nazi occupation in Europe.  She asked me wasn't it justified to want to do harm to Hitler given the injustices of the Nazi regime.  This lead me to reflection on my own experience of military service in wartime and the counseling I did with folks affected with PTSD.

War is never a good thing.  The classic doctrine of a Just War affirms that war is only tolerable as the lesser of two evils -- when the evil of going to war is less than evil of letting an injustice continue.  Too often we try to explain away the spiritual torment those in combat feel by saying they did the right thing or they were only doing their duty.  But that does not take away the tension we feel.  In some ways I think trying to explain away the anxiety only exacerbates the stress.

I think a better approach is to be honest about the evil of any war -- even a just war.  It may be the lesser of two evils but still an evil.  The hell of life is that sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we can make no choice but a choice to sin.  Then we try our best to find the least wrong path.  War is one of those situations.  I think the doctrine of original sin has less to do with the garden of Eden and more to do with the inevitability of sin while living in a world in which God permits evil.

I have found in counseling with folks affected by PTSD in the war on terror that being honest about our sin is the first step toward finding health.  We  must first admit we found ourselves in a difficult situation and chose what we believed at the time was the least wrong path.   It may have been less sinful, but was sinful nevertheless.  It is only after we admit the sin that we can be open to the healing grace of God and find the redemption we need.

We forget that in war, our military not only puts their lives at risk, but also their souls.  I could not overcome the trauma of my own experience in war, until I realized the reality of my sin in participating in it.  It was then I could accept the abundance of God's grace and mercy.

To Grow Again The United Methodist Church needs a Holiness revival based on Matthew 25 not an Evangelical Revival based on Matthew 28

How Can The United Methodist Church experience renewal and revival?  In my last blog I shared some of my thoughts about why reorganizing our denomination is unlikely to have the intended effect of renewal.  Truth be told, without spiritual renewal any reorganization is simply rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic before it sinks.  What is really needed is rediscovering the purpose John Wesley gave to the people called Methodists -- "To spread scriptural holiness throughout the land."

The Discipline of our Church tells us that the church's purpose should be "to make disciples for the transformation of the world."  It is true that this restatement of the great commission is a good general purpose for all churches.  But I think we need to think about what is the particular purpose of our Church not churches in general.

For many the call to make disciples seems to be more about increasing the names on membership rolls or perhaps the numbers in worship or involved in projects.  Do names on a list really mean disciples? And if other churches do this better than us, what makes us unique?

John Wesley's call was to "spread scriptural holiness throughout the land."  These words may seem old and outdated.  We often think of holiness as acting "holier than thou" or living an austere lifestyle but true holiness is much different.  John Wesley gave us his "General Rules for the United Societies" to explain what living a holy life might be like.  Until recently they were almost forgotten. The details were enmeshed in 18th century culture and we often wrote off the rules as an outdated historic document.

Recently Bishop Rueben Job in his books, "Three Simple Questions" and "Three Simple Rules" reminded us of the importance of these "General Rules."  I like to call them the "method" of Methodism.  Bishop Job reminds us that at its heart the General Rules were there principals easy to understand and difficult to live out:

     1. Do no harm
     2. Do Good
     3. Do what you need to do to stay in love with God (attend upon the ordinances of the church in Wesley's words.)

The main point seems to be that the measure of our faithfulness isn't the type of worship we attend, the creed  we give assent to, or pious words we speak.  The measure of our faith is living out God's commands to love our Lord, love each other, and be a blessing as we've been blessed.

When I think about it, we've focused so much on the Matthew 28 command to make disciples; we've forgotten Jesus' story in Matthew 25 outlining what a true disciple who inherits eternal life will be -- one who acts toward the least among us as if they were Christ.

I truly believe all the reorganization of the Church will be in vane unless we take the "General Rules" and Bishop Job's writings to heart.  We must rediscover the "method" of Methodism.  Growing in our ability to do no harn, do good, and stay in love with God is to grow in holiness.  Calling and inviting others to share this lifestyle is to spread scriptural holiness.  I believe there will be no renewal in our Church until we once again embrace holiness as the measure of our faith and invite others not simply to worship, not simply to programs, not simply to membership, but to living a holy life in which we love God, love others, and become a blessing.

Changing United Methodism's Structure Alone -- Only Delays Death

Will Changing Structure Revitalize The United Methodist Church?  Many are lamenting the decline in membership among United Methodists.  Some think changing the structure will produce revival. I'm inclined to believe it is more a re-arrangement of the deck chairs on the titanic than a genuine renewal.  Truth be told even if we eliminated the entire national bureaucracy in our denomination it would only save two or three dollars per church member.  To most small and medium size churches this makes little difference and honestly, does saving money really produce revival.  Let's take a look at how religious movements rise and grow for an answer.

Nineteenth Century German Sociologist Max Weber extensively described how religious movements rise and grow.  They arise out of the charismatic ideals of a visionary leader.  Over time, however, one person's vision can't sustain the growth of the movement.  Through a process he calls the routinization of charisma the original vision becomes encapsulated in an organization that supports even further growth. 

Why then does decline come?  Over time, as the organization becomes larger it begins to forget about its original purpose and simply works to perpetuate itself in a process Weber calls bureaucratization.  Ironically the model Sociology professors often use to describe this process is the Catholic church that has developed an extensive organization over time.  The United Methodist Church is in that stage of bureaucracy.   We have a committee and an organization for everything.  Each has their own agenda and promotes their own programs; however, the original overarching vision that gave our church meaning and purpose as been nearly forgotten.

Some knowing this process think simply getting rid of bureaucracy will solve the problem; however, church history teaches us something very different.  Throughout the history of the church revitalizing spiritual movements have occurred to remind us of that original vision and structures modified in light of that renewal.  Without spiritual renewal any reorganization will at best only slow  our decline.

In the Middle-ages when the church lost it's vision, new monastic groups would emerge from within the church to remind us of our purpose.  Over time however, Popes decided there were enough monastic groups and forbid new ones.  Guess what happened then?  Within a century there was the Protestant Reformation.  The rise of Protestantism gave birth to new energy in the entire Christian Church.  New Protestant expressions of faith adapted to a new age and within the Roman Church, what was known as the Counter-Reformation gave birth to new vitality which expressed itself in a new monastic order -- the Jesuits among others.  This process of   a Charismatic Vision, transforming into a bureaucracy that at times needs spiritual renewal continued as the Church moved to the United States.

Without an established Church, a number of denominations grew up in our nation.  Each with their own visions and organizations.  At times they lost sight of the vision and what tended to remind them of their purpose were spiritual revivals.  Indeed one can trace  much of the history of American Christianity through a series of revivals and awakenings that not only gave birth to new Denominations but called established churches to rediscover their purpose and once again become vital and growing.

The key was that spiritual revival preceded the bureaucratic reform.  Indeed much of the structure we have now was the product of a revival that occurred in the post- World War II era.  During that time Church Attendance in the United States reached a record level.  That system served us well in its time and yes new structures may be needed -- but only if they come out of a revival that helps us once again see clearly the vision of why God has called the Methodist people together.

If we truly want our church to become a vital spiritual force again, our first step must not be playing with organizational structure but recapturing the Charismatic vision of leaders like John Wesley, Phillip William Otterbien, Francis Asbury, and Jacob Albright.  When we re-connect with that original vision "to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land" effective organization change will naturally flow.

As I read our denominations leaders talking about making disciples for the transformation of the world, I realize they too have lost sight Methodism's vision.  It seems to be more about increasing contributions and contributors to keep an aging bureaucracy going another generation.  I hear little talk of spiritual revival or scriptural holiness.  The vision I believe God is calling us to is the subject of a blog yet to be.  But I do indeed believe that without a genuine spiritual revival ( that re-presents our ancient vision for a new age) our church will die regardless of any organizational change.

Check back in a few days for my thoughts on what that vision should be and some simple tools we already have in our tool box (thanks to Bishop Reubin Job) to share our vision for "spreading scriptural holiness".   When we once again have a passion for our purpose, then the necessary changes will naturally flow  Forcing them will only lead to death.