Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally)

Beadle 09192025

On a church sign in Scotland, below the minister’s name, I read Church Beagle: {name}. Church Beagle? Did the church have a mascot? Had they gone to the dogs? Was the alpha-dog bully publicly named on the sign? (In our system it might read TLG – That Little Group). It was a misread, not a misprint. The sign actually and accurately read: Church Beadle. 

For Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist”, Mr. Bumble was a Beadle who ran the orphanage workhouse outside London — “tears were not the things to find their way to Mr. Bumble’s soul; his heart was waterproof.” Wow. I cry with tears, bad beadle, bad beadle, sit, stay.

During the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, the Beadle was “the minister’s man.” He would open the church, take care of the grounds, ring the bell, etc. As Sunday worship began, the Beadle would process in with the Bible and the Psalter, escort the preacher up to the pulpit, lock the door of the pulpit steps, and sit by the door with a mace. His actions said the preacher was called to interpret the Bible whether you liked it or not. He made sure the word was proclaimed, unhindered. (He might also waken those who had fallen asleep during a long sermon.)

I wonder if the Beadle is shown below John Knox preaching at St. Giles Cathedral. Maybe he was protecting Knox’s freedom of preach as he questioned the autocratic actions of Mary Queen of Scots who ruled from Edinburgh Castle halfway up the royal mile.

In line with the Beadle, as a Presbyterian Preacher, I can’t be silenced by “That Little Group” for what I say in a sermon. It takes a vote of the congregation AND a vote of elders and pastors from a majority of congregations in the presbytery. With wisdom from a wider witness, they might act to get me the help I need, correct my errors, or protect me as I faithfully speak truth to power — especially when it’s unpopular and thus Biblically prophetic. 

Who has been a Beadle in your life? Where might you see a need for Beadles today? What protections do you have to speak your truth to those who greedily abuse power?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 3 Comments

Moby Dick 03122025

I don’t recall reading every word of Moby Dick after “Call me Ishmael”, but I do remember my high school classmates calling the book “The Biggest Dick”. Maybe it was the size of the tome or a synopsis of Captain Ahab. Melville scholars say the original title was “Mocha Dick — the White Whale.” Today a small cell phone is a “Moby” and a “Trenta” is the biggest Iced Mocha at Starbucks.

Speaking of Starbucks…. my favorite character in the 1851 novel is the first mate “Starbuck”. He repeatedly warns Ahab that his egotistical maniacal quest is suicidal for the ship’s crew, immoral for humanity, and against the laws of nature. Seeing the captain has no well-reasoned pragmatic plan, no boundaries on his narcissism, no sense of morality, no limit to his prideful retaliatory vengeance, no compassion for the crew, Starbuck contemplates ever more drastic actions to stop him before it’s too late.

Even though he’s their first mate, the crew chooses to remain loyal to Ahab’s powerful personality. Over against the crew’s increasing unease and fear throughout their erratic voyage, the captain’s charisma and his promise of a fleeting future financial reward keep them cowardly conspiring to sail the ship to its destruction. 

Like the captain and crew, Starbuck suffers the consequences he tried to prevent. The sole survivor is Ishmael, rescued by another ship while floating on the coffin of his best friend, Queequeg, a skilled harpooner from a different race and culture.

Fourscore minus seven years ago, and a century after the novel, the film starring Gregory Peck, and directed by John Houston was released. If you watch it or read it, what are your reactions to this work of fiction?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 1 Comment

What’d I Miss? 02052025

Washington Irving’s character “Rip Van Winkle” slept through 20 years and returned to a changed village. I’ve only been out of it for 2 weeks. We’ve been in France (the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin) since Jan. 19. That was the day before the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday (a day of equality, mercy, inclusion, and service to others) and the day of beginning of the end (grabbing all the money and power you can by those lusting for more). 

The historian Dom Crossan taught me this truth: “The history of civilization reveals that you can have a Republic and you can have an Empire; but you can’t have both for long.”

In Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” the second act opens with the beginning of the American Republic and Thomas Jefferson returning from France. Red-faced James Madison greets his return with these words: “Thomas, we are engaged in a battle for our nation’s very soul. Can you get us out of the mess we’re in? Hamilton’s new financial plan is nothing less than government control. I’ve been fighting for the South alone. Where have you been?”

Thus begins Jefferson’s song “What’d I Miss?”…. “What’d I miss? I’ve come home to this! Headfirst into a political abyss! What’d I Miss?” 

Being unplugged for two weeks, I too wonder what’d I miss? You can speak it, write it, rap it, or think it but I’m curious what your answer would be to my question: “What’d I miss?”

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally)

Questioning Writings 013125

On my 21st birthday, during my cousin’s funeral, I learned it was good to disagree with those who seek to represent God. As we sang the comforting hymn “our God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come…” my aunt said, “I hate that idea; it’s not true for me or helpful at all.”

The battle-line was “time like an ever-rolling stream bears every child away; they fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day.” Before the closing “Amen” my aunt leaned over to say, “My daughter is not and never will be forgotten!!!!” Grieving mothers, like all God’s creatures, need to speak their truth in love.

Soon, in addition to evaluating poems, God gave me the freedom to evaluate human ideas expressed in Biblical passages. Among the many views over the millennia of expressions I would question what was true in my experience, what was helpful and life-giving, what inspired beauty, compassion, equality, love, and what best expressed God’s vision for an abundant life for this planet. Sometimes a Biblical writer’s expression of God was “not true for me or helpful at all” but most of their insights transformed my life.

As Rainer Rilke taught me: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a foreign tongue. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Living the questions has been helpful and true for me.

What questions do you live into without simple answers? How have you found God encouraging you to seek what is true and helpful from the writings of others? How do tyrants who don’t allow questions without retribution seem anti-Christlike to you?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 2 Comments

Shibboleth  103124

As a break from watching candidates’ speeches and interviews, we’ve been watching “West Wing” on HBO. That sentence may raise anxiety about my mental meds still working — they are. The season 2, Nov 22, 2000 Thanksgiving episode called “Shibboleth” is my favorite. I laugh at CJ’s turkeys; I tear up when President Bartlet entrusts Charlie with his carving knives passed from father to son; I am inspired by an obscure Biblical story from a catholic president’s character — the character displayed by the character portrayed.

A boatload of Chinese evangelical Christians arrive in California seeking asylum for being persecuted for their faith. How does anyone determine if they are sincere in their life-threatened beliefs or just saying pre-scripted words to get into this country? Bartlet cites the metaphor of “shibboleth”. In Judges 12:6 it was not just knowing the word meant “corn” or “river”. It was how you pronounced the word tested trust. The dialect difference between saying Shibboleth instead of Sibboleth let you know whose side you were on. 

There’s a man who bragged on tape he grabbed women’s genitals whether they like it or not because he’s the star…. who owes five million dollars to E. Jean Carol because an impartial jury believed legal evidence he sexually assaulted and defamed her whether she liked it or not….  who tried to use lies, intimidation, and violence to steal an election whether the majority of  voters liked it or not. Last night I heard that man promise: “I’ll protect women whether they like it or not.” That was the wrong speech — autonomous women needing autocratic patriarchal protection to make decisions for their lives. Maybe Sibboleth is a bunch of corn that floats down a river of shi…..bboleth.

Nine days ago, as a pastor and hospice chaplain I was interested in hearing the Vice-President’s answer to the CNN town hall questions on grief and her faith. “I pray every day; sometimes twice a day. I was raised in church to believe in a loving God, to believe that your faith is a verb — how you live your life, how you can serve in a way that is uplifting other people, caring for other people — that guides a lot of how I think about my work and what is important.” 

How do I know if that’s genuine or a script used to get in? Soon she said she called her pastor Amos Brown, the Sunday the president announced he would no longer seek the nomination. She said, “I just called him. I needed that spiritual kind of connection. I needed advice. I needed a prayer. There’s a part of the scripture that talks about Esther, ‘such a time as this,’ and that’s what we talked about. And it was very comforting for me.” Citing the Bible’s book of Esther and knowing Mordecai said to her, “Who knows if you’ve been placed here for such a time as this?” — that was true shibboleth for me.

What is your shibboleth? How do you determine who is genuine and trustworthy in your life? How do you measure yours and other’s words and actions?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 1 Comment

Our Ball  Oct 18, 2024

I have enjoyed supporting our town’s 2-year community college basketball programs. Men and women coming together to visit, smile, and cheer for our men and women players. Our seats are close enough to be heard by players and refs. Sitting right under the basket as an opposing player attempted a free throw sporting a tattoo that read “Keisha”, one fan yelled, “Hey Rodney, what you gonna do with that tattoo when Keisha dumps your ass?” That shot made him miss his shot.

While our players only last 2 years, our refs work our circuit for a decade. One ref grew up in the area, was a popular friend to many, and had family associated with the college. With so much possible bias, I was amazed how fairly he called the games. While my bias could skew my conclusion, fact was, the usual complaints were evenly distributed between the two coaches.

One scout for a 4-year college was invited to our watering hole after a game. When he saw the ref sharing in the revelry, he asked, “Do you always go drinking with the refs after your games?” “Only if we win” was the quick reply. But the line we never let that ref live down was the one time the other team threw the ball out of bounds and he called, “OUR BALL.” 

We kept laughing at “our ball” through that loss as we watched players shake hands with the other team. Our ego wasn’t shattered, because we knew one loss didn’t make us losers. We didn’t vow violent retribution to the other school; we used lessons learned and teamwork to get ready for the next game.

“Our ball” was funny until a losing president keeps repeating the lie that “our side” was peacefully protesting with one death while nothing happened to “their side”. (Ironic aside — Jan 6th  is the church’s annual “day of Epiphany”; epiphany means the revealing of one’s inner nature). “Their side” are law enforcement officers, 150 of whom were injured by beatings, pepper-bear-wasp sprays, and the trauma of 3 hours of hand to hand combat which resulted in deaths and suicides. “Our side” was a violent mob he summoned and sent to steal an election he lost. “Our side” includes 1,516 citizens charged with federal crimes — so far 1200 guilty, 1000 sentenced, 3 acquitted, and 12 dismissed. 

When you get to be the referee, whose side are you on?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally)

Betrayal 10-03-2024

Her name was Leslie? I seldom mention names in these reflections, but it may have been fake. She sprung into my frat house the spring of my sophomore year at Emory. For weeks, we shared several socials together until I left for summer study in Vienna, Austria. Upon my return in the fall, I fell into two betrayals.

The first was a feared betrayal that wasn’t. The fraternal code was broken by a brother seeking to oversee Leslie’s availability — while I was unavailable overseas. Like Jacob to his brother Esau, he was afraid of how I might react to being betrayed. I told the three friends sent to “confess on his behalf” that I really had no claim on or plans for a relationship. I trusted women to make decisions about their lives.

The betrayal that didn’t matter resulted in the one that did. I was told that Leslie lied to me. He wanted to protect me with his discovery that she was in high school, not college; she lived at home, not an apartment, and on and on. I didn’t want to believe it. How could I have been so gullible? What kind of person would lie repeatedly? What was her motive? Experiencing someone who knows the truth while repeatedly lying dispelled my naïveté.

Some of her statements that had seemed a little off, now began to make sense. My ego-protecting denial eroded, as my pride crumbled. Everyone knew I had been conned; they saw the usurper as the better investigator. I wonder how that experience influenced my future visceral reactions to religious and political leaders who confidently con followers with deception. I hope my embarrassment helped my compassion for other people — I wouldn’t want to waste the pain.

When have you realized someone had been lying to you? How did you react? What actions ended or restored your trust? How long did it take to move forward?

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Snakes on a Plane 090924

The evening of August 19, I had an interesting experience flying home on Delta airlines. There were videos on the back of each seat with headphones. Each passenger could choose to watch live TV, listen to music, see a game or many movies. Being the first night of the Democratic National Convention, I wanted to hear some speeches after watching the Republican Convention three weeks before. 

I chose a channel from a news source that showed what was actually going on. Other screens I could see from other seats had Fox on. While I listened to Coach Steve Kerr talk about the Olympics, teamwork, and the attributes of a positive leader, the Fox screens only showed Hannity talking — before a screen of buildings burning while Trump was president. Then Fox showed a long-shot image of crowds at the convention while Hannity and Ingraham continued their conversation over every speaker I heard. 

I wonder if commentators were telling congregants what was being said instead of “letting” you “judge for yourself” by actually listening. I wonder if it’s like pastors who tell you what the Bible says when they don’t like you to see what is in the Bible. Could showing an image of a convention hall allow Fox to say “they covered the convention”? After we landed I wondered if Fox showed US Senator Raphael Warnock’s “sermon” or Jamie Raskin’s insights to Trump’s actions in the weeks before and on the day of Jan. 6 trying to steal an election he lost.

Where do you see divisions based on differences in people’s sources of information? How do you try to overcome confirmation bias (being only comfortable with information that confirms what you already believe)? How do you burst your bubble to discover what information is true? 

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 2 Comments

With God On Our Side 090424

My deepest theological roots were watered by the poetry of Bob Dylan. As a youth I spent hours each day in the presence of two-sided LPs by BD, JB, K3, AG, S&G, and PPM. Meanwhile, each unrhythmic Sunday sermon was sort of listened to one time only. Baez’s rendition of Dylan’s song “With God On Our Side” inspired a lifetime of resisting religious justification for the conquest of violent victories. “If God were on our side, he’d stop the next war.”

As I matured, I learned that the third commandment was not about childish cussing. Using the Lord’s name in a “wrongful way” (or in vain) was more about misrepresenting God. Thou shalt not use God to justify actions that actually go against God’s desire for us. Thou shalt not say God is on our side and against them — when we proclaim “there is no them”. Thou shalt not use God’s name to justify violence, oppression, racism, sexism, pyramids over tables, to name a few.

Later still I was taught that the worst wars and most violent acts in human history have been done in the name of God — and the times aren’t changing today. The song “With God On Our Side” revealed the importance of learning lessons from history instead of ignoring or distorting history; after all, every LP has 2 sides. How many times can a preacher proclaim the all-powerful prefers “his” politician? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.

Which song lyrics have influenced your beliefs and impacted your life? What songs inspire you,, lift you up, and bring you joy? Which genre of music spoke to each age and stage of your life?

Posted on by Wallis Landrum (Wally) · 3 Comments

Right to Pray Right Aug 28, 2024

At 17 I asked myself whether God had spared my church and my home when the 4/3/74 tornado did damage all around both. Had I done something right to be rewarded? Had others suffered God’s wrathful punishment? Should I thank God for sparing “me and my house” who serve the Lord our way, while punishing those outside my “tribe”? Is it just to pray, “Thank you God for sparing me and destroying them”?

When I read Matthew 5, I see that God gives the sun’s warmth and the rain’s nourishment to the just and the unjust, the nice and the nasty alike. God doesn’t play favorites and neither should I by only loving the lovable. 

As a teacher of “Becoming a Love and Logic Parent” I learned that allowing consequences to befall behavior is more effective than rewards and punishments. I came to believe that God’s ways are not transactional – the art of the deal. God’s ways are relational – compassionately suffering with us as we learn and mature through the consequences of our choices.

I am thankful that I have the right to pray anywhere, anytime. I am thankful I have the right not to be preyed upon by those who force their prayers on me. I seek to use my right to pray to pray right. When I request something from God, I talk to God about how it might affect others.

A rabbi’s deep wisdom asked me a question, “If you are heading home, and you see smoke coming from your neighborhood, is it ethical to pray, ‘O God, don’t let it be my house.’”

How do you answer the rabbi’s question? Where do you see God portrayed as punishing us BY our sin (consequences) instead of FOR our sin (retribution)? Which God are you drawn to?