Month: August 2023

What’s Wrong With Christianity in the YMCA?

…I could go on, my point being that Christianity is a critiqueable religion, it invites criticism, it requires self-critique, it ought to be critiqued. Obviously Christ Jesus could handle it without getting defensive or sullen…. So what’s a way forward for Christians in the YMCA who are sensitive to the realities of self-criticism but also yearn to follow Christ Jesus as faithfully as possible in this world?

What’s wrong with Christianity in the Y? Christians, of course!

All the complaints and frustrations and hurts and even injustices experienced in the Y via Christians is less about Christianity and more about actual people stumbling and bumbling, sometimes being mean jerks and leaving wounds in their path.

But Christianity as a religion is not above reproach; there is plenty to criticize.

Interestingly, embedded within Christianity is a vibrant tradition of self-critique.

The Hebrew Scriptures and tradition are a formative foundation for Christianity. Have you ever read the Torah? It’s full of robust self-critique. The Psalms? David is brutal on himself, as he ought to be. The Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Micah and the others evoke powerful lyrics of self-critique regarding the children of Israel, God’s people.

Christianity is ideally built on the commands of Christ Jesus, a religion of cruciform love that includes devastating self-critique. Jesus’ first sermon required self-critique to understand it and accept it: “repent, for the Kingdom of God is come near.”

I could go on, my point being that Christianity is a critiqueable religion, it invites criticism, it requires self-critique, it ought to be critiqued.

Obviously Christ Jesus could handle it without getting defensive or sullen.

If you pay close enough attention to Christianity, you’ll notice most of its literature is either grounded in self-criticism or a response to it.

Almost all of Paul’s epistles include critique of sin in the early churches, and him responding to critics of him and his ministry. Augustine’s Confessions is the longest prayer in recorded history, all of it grounded in a searing self-critique that also soars with redemptive eloquence.

Martin Luther is famous for his 95 critiques of the church; the whole Protestant Christian tradition is founded on the premise of self-criticism!

When it comes to the world criticizing Christianity, whether people of various faith traditions, or political or secular, most of it is probably warranted, and ought to be taken seriously. Whatever the critiques are, they probably already echo the self-criticism that is already being generated.

Christianity gets a triple whammy when it comes to criticism (this is not about garnering sympathy): there is the self-criticism that is foundational to our religion, there is the criticism of the world, and there is the omnipresent Scriptural critique of God. Yikes!

Add to this the perfection we see modeled in our founder, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. According to our traditions, he is 100% human and 100% God, without sin in any way, though fully tempted in every way. That’s the standard set before Christians!

Obviously every single Christan who has ever lived never came close to perfectly following his commands. It’s obvious to fellow Christians, the world, and God.

This then points to the painfully obvious fact that churches are even worse examples, as the sinfulness of the congregants tends to mestatisize over time, despite the best of intentions (the law of entropy is always at work…).

It’s a glum picture, for sure.

So what’s a way forward for Christians in the YMCA who are sensitive to the realities of self-criticism but also yearn to follow Christ Jesus as faithfully as possible in this world?

1. Humility is crucial for moving forward. The willingness to lament where mistakes were made, to listen well, the openness to confession and repentance are essential realities of becoming a Christian in the first place, it’s the narrow way of receiving the Good News, of experiencing Jesus drawing near to the lost and broken-hearted.

2. Mutuality is key to our hearing and receiving critique. The broken relationships are what necessitates criticism, an unmooring of mutuality is both a cause of critique and can also undermine the ability to receive it in love and wisdom. A resilient commitment to seeing diverse and often divisive Christian’s as brothers and sisters in Christ fuels our capacity to immerse ourselves in self-critique for the sake of reconciliation and future fellowship.

3. Obedience is also foundational to our engaging in rigorous and thorough self-criticism. Jesus says this many ways, different versions of: “my new command is this, you must love one another as I have loved you.” This is an impossible standard to meet on any kind of consistent basis. Its an inspiring command that also opens everyone to criticism for all the ways they fall short. Yet this also can reframe our self-criticism as a form of love, rather then vipurative complaints of victimization.

Christian principles in the YMCA, for example, ought to excel at self-criticism – in the way of love, humility, obedience. When the world criticizes us then, we ought to take it in stride, absorbing all that is true within it and lovingly, humbly, faithfully, penitently, and in mutuality, do better. And so on principle the cycle continues…

Unfortunately within Christianity are many different dimensions of diversity that mistrust and misunderstand each other, abuse and abandon one another, disregard and defame, shun and excommunicate.

The prayer of Jesus in John 17 seems less and less likely of ever being answered, “…that they all may be one…”

The world does Christians a favor when they critique us, when they criticize our sins and shortcomings, our self-righteous protesting and prejudicing.

They remind us of our need to repent and abide in Christ Jesus, to confess our sins to one another and make amends as much as we are able.

The prayer of Jesus that we might be one gets resisted by humans; it can only be made real in us through the actual presence of Christ at work through us.

Our humility, mutuality with Christ Jesus and our obedience is our experience of redemption and the ground upon which we stand to do the ministry of reconciliation work we are called to participate in.

How could this play out in the Young Men’s Christian Association? What could be a way forward for Christianity in the YMCA in light of what is wrong with us?

When members and staff criticize, the opportunity is laid before us as Christian’s to hear it in humility, to respond out of mutuality, a sense of urgency and duty as promised in the terms of membership and employment as well as in the realities of being an association. And underneath that for Christians is the command to respond with loving patience and kindness.

When Christians make prejudiced remarks about each other, instead of letting the deragatorive comment go unchallenged, gently find a way to turn a corner with then and open up a space for more gracious humility towards brothers and sisters in Christ that you disagree with politically, economically, socially, racially, ethnically, etc.

When disagreements are emerging between people in a board meeting about the role of religion one must be attentive to the power dynamics in the room, the trauma that’s likely been experienced due to participation in a faith community, and lack of skills in forging ecumenical or interfaith collaborations.

The more pluralist our community becomes, the more investment is needed in mutual understandings, humble respectfulness to what you don’t understand, and patient dialogue that flows from the command to love one another including your “enemies.”

This means having the courage to be present in the moment, the tensions, the misunderstandings but also the hopes for a faith and love that truly heals, that are part of the answer to Jesus’ own prayer, “that they all may be one.”

“My prayer is not for them alone.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.

Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Jesus’ Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Gospel of John‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Defining YMCA Christian Principles: What They Are Not?

In our brand mission statement it’s not only “Christian principles” as a phrase that is taken for granted, but also the part about “spirit” – it’s as if these are too hard to understand, too out of date, or too powerful.

Context matters.

When a phrase doesn’t seem to make sense anymore, or it causes misunderstanding, or it doesn’t inspire like it used to, then it’s time to step back and consider what is going on, what has changed, and what to do about it.

If the phrase “Christian principles” is really as important as many think it is for the YMCA and our brand mission statement, then shouldn’t we invest more time in discussing it, reviewing it, celebrating it?

If it’s not important to keep that phrase, what all does that imply about who we are now and why we are here and what ought we to be doing next?

It’s obvious that meaningful phrases can become so common, so familiar that they get taken for granted, full of assumptions that everyone knows what it means. Of course as we know, what ends up happening is that no one is on the same page about what it means, and it fades to the background as a source of direction or unity.

In our brand mission statement it’s not only “Christian principles” as a phrase that is taken for granted, but also the part about “spirit” – it’s as if these are too hard to understand, too out of date, or too powerful.

There is immediate resonance in our culture regarding the phrases “healthy”, “for all”, “mind and body” – those show up on lots of branding documents in print and on file. Why the disparity?

Is it a matter of culture moving on, and the YMCA has to adapt, and we should read the tea leaves and acknowledge the obvious: the community does not need or want “Christian principles” or “spirit” work from the Y.

Maybe. I suppose it depends on what kind of organization the YMCA wants to be – are we a leader in our community or a follower?

Do we put our finger in the air to catch the direction of the breeze and run to get in front of it? Or do we look around and within and make a decision about what we can offer a community that is both resonant with who we are but also visionary in how we believe the community might become even healthier with us?

The Y has traditionally been a leader and a mirror in our culture; whatever is going on in our country shows up in a YMCA, but also: the Y innovates and problem-solves in unique ways that change the world. For example: basketball and volleyball; group swim lessons and group exercise classes; ESL classes for immigrants and night-school for day-laborers, Mother’s Day and Father’s day all have their roots in the YMCA.

“Christian principles” and “spirit” were powerful combinations for fueling this innovation, all channeled through the desire to be “for all.”

It’s almost unethical to split apart “Christian principles” from “for all” in the YMCA; they are so intertwined to almost be indistinguishable; you could almost say they are two sides of the same coin, inspired by Jesus himself as he prayed “…that they all may be one…” [John 17:21]

But, to help give some definition to what we could mean in the YMCA (based on our trajectory) regarding Christian principles, let’s start with what it is NOT (since that sometimes is an easier place to start):

  • Christian Principles does not mean Christianity (shocking, I know but here me out: no one is just a “Christian” – you’re usually either from the Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant tradition which each has it’s own distinctive and cultural realities for how Christianity is experienced and practiced – even “secularism” can be seen as a form of Protestant Christianity).
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: drawing on the most common and enduring truths and foundations of all the varieties of Christianities across the ages and generations (this is meant to be a unifying direction that draws thoughtfully on the strengths of different Christianities so that as many Christians as possible can participate in the Young Men’s Christian Association as meaningfully as possible.)
  • Christian Principles does not mean Christian Morality (shocking, I know, but again, depending on your culture and context, not all Christians agree on all moral standards, which have now have become very divisive).
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: the teachings and example of Christ Jesus that cross as many cultural barriers as possible that build up as much unity and harmony as possible; it also presumes that Christ Jesus is the foundation and living reality which gives Christian Principles it’s vitality and endurance.
  • Christian Principles does not mean Biblical Proof-Texting (if we had to have a Bible verse to back up every code of conduct or every value or every major decision, we’d have to keep twisting the Scriptures to support whatever is personal to us; the Bible is sacred and of profound value to Christians in the world including the YMCA, but the Y lets the local church teach the Bible and organize around it in particular ways).
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: drawing on the most common and unifying themes of the Holy Scriptures as a way for diverse Christians in the Y to put into practice what they believe and value such that their lives and those they are in proximity with experience transformation in spirit, mind and body.
  • Christian Principles does not mean Church-centric Decisions (how a Y engages a community has a unique dynamic and reality to it compared to a local congregation, and that’s okay – what gets frustrating and disillusioning is when church leaders on a Y board insist the Y act in accordance with how they think their church should participate in the public sphere: the Y is not a church).
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: reflecting on the kingdom of God themes in the New Testament, instructions that transcend the Y and the church, which point back to the larger work of Christ Jesus in the world and how the Y and the church can complement each other, work together in different ways unto flourishing for all (see the Paris Basis, 1855 and Challenge 21 of World YMCA).
  • Christian Principles does not mean religious dogmatics – what a YMCA is putting into practice is not about abstract religious ideals or carefully nuanced dogmatic beliefs – while religion and dogma are of existential importance for humanity, the Y keeps focusing on what we can do together for more healing and harmony as religious and dogmatic people.
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: paying attention to the various truths and wisdom in all religious traditions and honoring all they ways they highlight and enrich what is revealed through Christ Jesus and the Holy Scriptures – by looking for what he hold in common, we are also looking for maximal agreements and cooperation, not lowest common denominator for all varieties of Christianity and religions in the world.
  • Christian Principles does not mean putting our YMCA Core Values into practice – while the brand mission statement and the organizational core values have different centers of gravity for why they were created and their intent for influencing our movement, they are obviously highly compatible and mutually enriching, but they are not the same thing. Our brand mission statement is an evolution of the Paris Basis, Portland Basis, and the YMCA Constitution Preamble and Goals; our Core Values are a creation of a national YMCA leadership team to identify key themes around which our organization can collaborate that are deeply held in common through all religions and faiths. Again, it may seem similar to Christian Principles, but not the same.
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: drawing as many people together who care about and respect to some degree the Christian faith and way of life and together lead and serve in their community such that their labor of love enriches and heals for stronger and more resilient spirits, minds and bodies – and we’ll keep doing this work with anyone who invites us in, we’ll keep expanding the scope of our work, we’ll keep inviting in those who want to add to this calling, our posture is to be for all of those who want us to come alongside them in hope and practical programs.
  • Christian Principles does not mean categories for judging and condemning those we disagree with; while we humbly acknowledge that everyone has faults and everyone has their prejudices that taint their perspectives, we do not want to blindly lash out at those who we consider different or wrong.
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: a way to ground our passion for truth and grace in a strong foundation which goes deeper than the whims of a chaotic cultural; a way to put down deep roots to sustain liberty and justice for all; a way to gauge a healthy spirit, mind and body for a community and individuals such that we don’t have to make everything up as we go along; a way forward for all that taps into the depths of our humanity, believing we are all made in the image of God, that Christ Jesus is working unto the restoration of all things, and the Holy Spirit empowers with tremendous love all who would embrace it.
  • Christian Principles does not mean your personal preferences about religion and faith, it’s not pointing to just your own opinion on how people ought to live and behave based on what you happen to believe.
  • Christian Principles CAN MEAN: drawing on all that Christians have learned through the last twenty centuries across all the continents on how to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God in the Spirit of Christ amidst every kind of political and economic reality, amidst every kind of cultural upheaval and violent revolutions, amidst ordinary times and extraordinary chaos, amidst quiet neighborhoods and bustling cities, amidst seething hatreds and miraculous loves such that we can pour all that learned experience and wisdom into the complexities of our own day that we might create dynamic programs which build up a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

Defining YMCA Christian Principles For All?

Did you know a Christian YMCA member used the phrase “for all” when he crafted the Pledge of Allegiance?

Walking through a YMCA during the busy part of the day includes sounds of clanking metal, thuds and grunts, but also laughing children, chattering adults, maybe announcements on the loudspeaker about child-watch, sneakers squeaking in the gym and depending on if the door is open lots of squealing and splashing from the pool.

It can be easy to take this kind of inclusion for granted: how many other spaces in a community have this variety of services to such a diverse collection of individuals?

How did the Y get to this point where they provide such a wide array of programs to a community?

By being “for all.”

These days “for all” is a volatile word, it’s easy to be uncertain about what it means, trying to put it into practice is complex, and definitions end up being ambiguous.

But it’s a crucial phrase.

Did you know a Christian YMCA member used the phrase “for all” when he crafted the Pledge of Allegiance?

American Pastor Francis Bellamy committed his young life and ministry to “liberty and justice for all” – a calling influenced by his leadership in the Little Falls NY YMCA, and he inadvertently inspired our nation to it as well.

When Bellamy looked around his community and church and saw actions and attitudes that were not right he spoke up and tried to make a difference; that’s a very dynamic interpretation of being “for all.”

The mission of the YMCA is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

The Y doesn’t wait around for things to go downhill before we step up – we try to be for all at the beginning, providing healthy programs for all the little children who come to us, their families and everyone else who wants to join us in spirit, mind and body: it’s a vital triad amidst our national epidemic of loneliness and heart disease, cancer and diabetes, etc.

But why is the Y for all? Why was Bellamy for all?

We state it as “Christian principles” in our mission; our YMCA Constitution phrases it as: “a common loyalty to Jesus Christ”.

The Young Men’s Christian Association we regard as being in its essential genius a worldwide fellowship united by a common loyalty to Jesus Christ for the purpose of developing Christian personality and building a Christian society.

This all flows from the original purpose statement of the YMCA crafted in 1855: “The Young Men’s Christian Associations seek to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour, according to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be his disciples in their faith and in their life and to associate their efforts for the extension of His Kingdom amongst young men.”

Why does this matter?

Does your being “for all” create more freedom and liberty in homes and communities to love care and serve? What can motivate you to do this everyday? Sacrificially?

The obvious tension comes when we get weary of doing good and our liberties clash, hence the crucial commitment to justice for all.

Here’s how Saint Peter put it: “live as free people, but do not use your liberty as a cover up for injustice; live as God’s servants, for all.” [adapted from 1Peter 2:16].

For Christians in the Y and our country we seek to imitate Jesus who called us to walk with him, learn from him, serve with his heart, embodying his liberty and justice for all – here’s how Christ put it to his hometown:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty and justice for all the prisoners,
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor for the broken-hearted.” [adapted from Luke 4:18-19]

We don’t have to make up from scratch a definition of “Christian principles” and “for all” in the YMCA, we have a rich history to draw on, a strong foundation upon which we stand to shape our imagination for our context today.

If you were going to make up your own definition of “Christian principles” and being “for all” in the YMCA, you certainly have the liberty to do so!

But we invite you to use that liberty unto justice for all, not just in the Y but our whole community in spirit, mind and body using Christian principles on the way towards healing for the broken-hearted.

If you were going to try and start defining “Christian principles” and being “for all” it’d be wise to start with the context of our brand mission statement, Constitution preamble and goals, and the original Paris Basis.

A few reflections to empower the defining work:

  • “Christian” indicates someone who’s been observed in faith and life as a “little Christ” – not just through their own confession of Jesus as Lord but that others could vouch for them.
  • “Principles” indicates (via online Oxford Dictionary): a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
  • So: following Jesus Christ in faith and life is a fundamental truth and foundation of the existence and purpose of the YMCA. It creates programs for youth development, healthy living, social responsibility, gyms and swims in order to “put Christian principles into practice” – not the other way around.
  • But: Jesus makes it complicated – just as he attracted “non-followers”, so does the YMCA; just as Jesus welcomed, healed, loved, served anybody who came close, so does the Y; just as Jesus chose proximity with the world in joy and suffering (Christmas & Crucifixion), so too the YMCA.
  • If: the Y was about “holy huddles” or “God Squads” we’d have drifted into irreverence ; but when the Y forgets or rejects our fundamental foundation, we drift into irrelevance. We see in George Williams and Anthony Bowen, John Mott and Fred Hoshiyama beautiful and compelling experiences of the YMCA defining “Christian principles” and being “for all” in their generation: not irreverent nor irrelevant.
  • Defining both “Christian principles” and “for all” include intertwined themes of hospitality and welcome, sacrificial love and generous justice, freedom and responsibility, faithfulness and hope. They are not two separate ideas in our YMCA, they are they mutually inclusive reality, as seen in Jesus and the best of our YMCA leaders.
  • Should we have concrete definitions for “Christian principles” and “for all”? Depends on your context and rationale: is it to infuse them with living dynamic energy to fuel your service or to control the narrative and put them in a box to guarantee compliance?
  • What I’ve learned along the way: keep the conversation going! Keep experimenting in grace and peace regarding Christian principles and for all. Lean in to the dialogue in good faith and a hopeful heart. Be quick to listen, open to healing, empowered to love, serve and care for all whom God brings into your life.