My journey with Orthodox brothers and sisters started with Brighton ’91. With assistance from Monsignor Peter Hocken, I put together this first global conference for Pentecostal scholars. The keynote speaker was Professor Jürgen Moltmann and our presenters were Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and Pentecostal. Since that time, I have never put together a conference without Orthodox participation the most recent being Oxford 2012 that featured Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.

In June 2009, I was granted a Private Audience with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. One immediate result was the launching of informal talks between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Pentecostals for the next three years. The co-chairs for these talks mentioned in the biography were Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima and myself. I wrote the following in an initial letter to His All-Holiness proposing the talks: “I am emboldened in this quest by reading in your book Encountering the Mystery that Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II broke new ground in the 16^th century ‘Augsburg-Constantinople’ encounter. Dr. Paraskevè Tibbs projects that perhaps Melanchthon himself recast the Augsburg Confession in Greek for the benefit of this significant exchange.”

Bartholomew: Apostle and Visionary, by John Chryssavgis
“Surrounded on all sides by Islam, the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew continues to impact the world for Christ from his seat in Constantinople, a city central to Christian history.”
Written in cooperation with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Foreword by Pope Francis. Interspersed reflections by: Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Benedict XVI, Rabbi David Rosen, Rowan Williams, Al Gore, Jr., Jane Goodall, George Stephanopoulos.

This journey with the Orthodox exposed the Western slant of all my theological training. Although I am indebted to what I learned from Augustine, I came to thirst being enriched also by Chrysostom. As a result, I have become increasingly aware how mainstream media in the West is quick to point to the exploits of Pope Francis while paying less attention to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew even when the two were involved in joint ventures like the 2016 refugee outreach in Lesbos. This media inequality, however, has never drawn criticism from His All-Holiness.

This brilliant biography by Archdeacon John Chryssavgis is a clarion call for Christians from around the world to benefit from the apostolic and visionary leadership of 25 years of guiding the Christian East by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The introductory chapter is titled “Just Call Me Bartholomew” taken from the 2009 “60 Minutes” interview of His All-Holiness and so it will be in this article. I was so intrigued by the text that I flew to Boston, MA, for a personal conversation with Archdeacon Chryssavgis. I left that exchange impressed by the scholarly and ecclesiastical acumen of one of the most astute Orthodox theologians that I have come to know personally.

When first picking up the biography, one immediately takes notice of the foreword by Pope Francis. What might not be as obvious is the rarity for a Pope to authorize a foreword. It was also heartwarming to hear Archdeacon Chryssavgis’s firsthand account that not only did Pope Francis agree to write the foreword, but he accepted the two-week publisher’s deadline during the Easter celebration! Pope Francis brings passion to the brotherly love of apostles Peter and Andrew, the respective founders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches according to tradition.

One note of caution about the book cover which announces 300 million Orthodox adherents around the world. As Chryssavgis explained to me, this count includes not only Eastern Orthodox but Oriental Orthodox. It is also the case that their record keeping is not precise. However, Pentecostals are hardly in a position to say much about this having in just 100 years built a platform that their theological significance is linked to their numbers which they reckon to be second only to Roman Catholics. Chryssavgis smiles: “An extra zero for the glory of God!”

An interview with Andrew Schmutzer about The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, and part 1 of his chapter, “A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse: Creation, Evil, and the Relational Ecosystem” as appearing in Pneuma Review Summer 2013.

 
A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 1 A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 2

Interview 2 Interview 3

Note from the Editors: Beginning a conversation about sexual abuse is uncomfortable, but we feel strongly that this topic is something the church needs to address. We believe the testimonies of authentic recovery can help us embrace the pain of the hurting and make openings for God to bring healing.

Pneuma Review: Are seminaries preparing church leaders to deal with sexual abuse?

Andrew Schmutzer:

Andrew J. Schmutzer discussing The Long Journey Home in 2011, by Lulu Hé. Courtesy of Moody Bible Institute.

Historically, no; but some are now trying. Abuse trauma is not simple and trying to train for the complexity of abuse—something that wasn’t even discussed in churches 15 years ago—begins to show the magnitude of this challenge. Seminaries need to start offering (requiring?) courses on a theology of sexuality and its legal and pastoral implications. Academic programs need far more team-teaching from different professionals. Just bringing in a survivor for the class to interact with would make a serious contribution toward pastoral preparation. Issues in sexuality are utterly exploding on so many fronts today: from gender-bending among youth and same-sex “rights” to the ever-present plague of sexual abuse. There are many expectations on our seminaries, and pastors are pulled in so many directions already, I understand that. But sexual abuse is a bleeder that must be tied off immediately. To be ill-equipped and ignorant of sexual abuse today is like living in tornado alley with no alarm system. It’s unacceptable. It’s a disaster itself.

More particularly, we’re going to have to network more between organizations, and frankly, embrace a more holistic anthropology that moves beyond the protracted gender wars and fear of therapy. More aggressive study of relational patterns (e.g., Family Systems Theory) and how power is heard and felt by victims is a practical issue that will have to be woven into standard leadership training and core curriculum—internships may need to become more apprentice-like. There is a complexity to the human-induced trauma of sexual abuse we’re only beginning to face. Unlike some addictions, one doesn’t choose to be a victim of sexual abuse, but the way we process this has not caught up to the complexities we’re now learning about how complex PTSD and mental health affect the entire person. Pastors need to understand: (1) the multi-factorial backdrop of sexual abuse (e.g., beliefs about sex, toxic family traditions, superficial healing rituals, cultural modes of thinking, etc.), (2) and the complex reasons that victims often go on to abuse others (i.e., trans-generational sexual abuse). Specialized training might need to look like continuing education classes or periodic seminars. It should go without saying, but church leaders need to stop avoiding passages in Scripture that address sexual perversion, rape, and standard biblical ethics.

An excerpt from The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, edited by Andrew J. Schmutzer.

Several terms, prompted by an asterisk (*) in the chapters appearing in Pneuma Review, have been defined by pastors, therapists, and theologians that contributed to the book and are included in a select glossary. Please also continue the conversation with Andrew Schmutzer as he answers questions throughout this series.

Chiastic Structure. Derived from the Greek letter chi (X), it is a literary device employing words and poetic lines that are inversely repeated for rhetorical effect. Chiastic structures shape episodes, speeches, or entire stories (e.g., Amos 5:4b–6a).

Community Consultation. The coordinated integration of various community agencies and organizations to help provide for the best level of care and support for targeted individuals and groups. Such usually involves a collaborative relationship among hospitals, mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, as well as other supportive organizations.

Conspiracy of Silence. Having to do with a condition or matter which is known to exist in a family or other social group but which, by implied or unspoken agreement, is not talked about or acknowledged. Such matters are typically considered to be shameful or taboo (e.g., of a family regarding their abusing member). (See also Taboo)

Corrective Rape. A criminal practice where men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of “curing” the woman of her sexual orientation.

Domestic Violence. Any pattern of violence or abuse (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional) that occurs within the context of the home or other intimate relationships. (See also Sexual Abuse)

Dualism. The concept that the world is ruled by opposing realities, whether visible and invisible or forces of good and evil; the concept that humans have two basic natures, the physical and the spiritual, body and soul or mind and matter. Most dualistic philosophies celebrate the soul or spirit while denigrating flesh, bodies, and material creation.

Family Dysfunction. Family dysfunction is any interactive process in the family that limits the effective and healthy development of family members. Such processes may include things like poor communication patterns, enmeshed relationships, poor boundaries between members, unclear roles, spiritual chaos, and poor problem-solving.

Fertility Cult. In general, fertility cults have believed there is a causal connection between the fertility and blessing of the cropland, herds, and other such forms of prosperity to the sexual relations enacted by the “divine couple,” priests and priest­esses, or by cult prostitutes. Such activity is viewed as an act of worship intended to emulate the gods’ creative abilities, or seen as an act of imitative magic by which the gods are then compelled to preserve the earth’s fertility.

Forgiveness. Forgiveness extends grace to the offender for a relationship that has been ruptured due to the violation or sin of one party against the other. Forgiveness does not cancel any legal verdict, nor does it dismiss, minimize, ignore, or forget the pain. In forgiveness, the offended party relinquishes the right to vengeance, thus often called the act of forgiveness.

Hendiadys. A figure of speech using two parts (noun or verb), connected by a conjunction, to express a single idea (e.g., “pain and trembling” = “labor pains” [Gen 3:16a]; “full of grace and truth” = “God’s gracious truth” [John 1:17]).

Imago Dei. Latin, “image of God.” Image of God is a phrase used in theology to describe the uniqueness of humankind among God’s creatures (Gen 1:26–27). Theologians differ on what the “image of God” actually refers to, but there seems to be some combination of internal and external aspects, though reason, will, and relationality have traditionally received greater emphasis. Whether or not the image of God was actually damaged in the Fall is also debated (cf. Gen 9:6; Jam 3:9).

Walter Brueggemann, Journey to the Common Good (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 125 pages, ISBN 9780664235161.

This excellent little book presents three addresses given by the author. This, together with the narrative theology represented, makes this work eminently readable and engaging. Brueggemann, a pre-eminent Old Testament scholar, is deliberately provocative whilst thoroughly rooted in contemporary Old Testament perspectives, bringing to the reader an insight of how the world of Biblical Studies can effectively and usefully address issues facing the church and our witness today.

In three chapters, Brueggemann looks at Scriptural narratives which engage the liberation from captivity in Egypt through to the Sinai visitation and instructions of God; the conflict between the revelation of God and the choices made by Israel in the succeeding years; then the challenges of engaging with God’s vision for reconstruction in the post-exilic period. Brueggemann takes each of these and, having identified the main narrative themes present, applies them to present issues and challenges affecting the North American context.

Two features of this book were of especial interest to the present reviewer. Firstly, Brueggemann expertly brings the narrative themes together and shows how his observations find expression in and through the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ. In this way, he properly shows how the Old Testament narratives lead to their realisation in and through the ministry of our Lord. His skill in doing this is exemplary, and whilst the reader may not agree with all his final observations, the method which he employs in bringing the whole scope of Biblical testimony into play is, in itself, something for all to learn from.

Secondly, Brueggemann holds to an understanding of righteousness which, in the present debates between advocates of imputed righteousness and other forms, brings an important contribution. As Brueggemann puts it, ‘Righteousness concerns active intervention in social affairs, taking an initiative to intervene in order to rehabilitate society, to respond to social grievance, and to correct every humanity-diminishing activity’ (page 63).

This is a manageable piece of scholarship for the working pastor to digest, an informative as well as a challenging resource both for personal study and sermon preparation.

Reviewed by Jim Purves

Preview Journey to the Common Good: books.google.com/books?id=aN0JVqSMIHAC