{"id":23881,"date":"2024-09-26T17:28:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T00:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/?p=23881"},"modified":"2024-09-26T17:28:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T00:28:26","slug":"wear-your-bracelets-and-vote-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/wear-your-bracelets-and-vote-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Wear your bracelets and vote, kids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Rev. Paul Graves<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> This is one of Paul Graves\u2019 occasional letters to his grandchildren.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Katie, Claire and Andy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s getting closer to when all three of you will cast your vote for president of the United States. Katie and Claire voted in 2020, but this is the first time for Andy. I hope you are all determined to vote your voice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve spoken about how essential this election will be in the history of American democracy. So mail in your ballot soon \u2013 but not before you put on your special bracelet! It\u2019s a bracelet you didn\u2019t have as children, because it became a fashion fad in the 1990s and 2000s. Perhaps you wore one later. I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I do know the story of \u201cWWJD?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in this particular election season, maybe it\u2019s time to refresh its history and meaning. The fad was begun by a church youth leader, Janie Tinglenberg in Holland, Michigan. Unintentionally, she and her \u201ckids\u201d began a grassroots movement among teens across the world to simply remind people that the moral example of Jesus was worth following. Their effort actually was inspired by a story written in 1896 by the Rev. Charles Sheldon. He published a bestselling book, \u201cIn His Steps.\u201d The novel popularized the phrase \u201cWhat Would Jesus Do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on his understanding of Jesus\u2019 focus on healing and serving people \u2013 an emphasis of what is still called the \u201cSocial Gospel\u201d \u2013 the Rev. Charles Sheldon\u2019s characters were more pragmatically concerned with imitating Christ than finding redemption in Him. Tinklenberg took Sheldon\u2019s story-question \u2013 \u201cWhat would Jesus do?\u201d \u2013 and created the acronym WWJD. She wanted her young people to remember the phrase, and then think about what Jesus would do in everyday situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this time of extreme political and religious divisions in America, I\u2019m thinking this might be an important question to ask. Social media, TV, and print media are saturated with glimpses and stories of almost countless hypocritical and dangerous people grossly misusing \u201cJesus-Speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They assume Jesus blesses their out-of-control anger and even their threatened violence. Let me say this as clearly as I can, kids: The Jesus described in the Gospels never blessed violence. And he always tempered his anger toward others with an awareness of their innate goodness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see nothing of this Jesus in so-identified Christians who promote fear and violence even while they invoke Jesus\u2019 name. Those fears have certainly infected presidential politics, like with the sheriff of Portage County, Ohio, who identifies as a Christian on his bio page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As sheriff, he\u2019s fueled the disgusting rumors of pet-eating Haitians. He\u2019s encouraged county residents to \u201creport neighbors with Harris-Walz signs\u201d because the nominees would allegedly allow such absurd behavior to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Jesus-like behavior is the sheriff showing? None.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this significant contrast between the sheriff\u2019s fear and the Jesus-love of two couples in 1942. They started a farm in Americus, Georgia, called Koinonia Farms (\u201cfellowship,\u201d as in the first Christian communities). One of the co-founders was Clarence Jordan, a Baptist minister and biblical scholar. He wrote in a folksy, common-sense way about spiritual matters. He often challenged traditional beliefs by reframing their earthy context. Like this embodiment of Matthew 25:35-40: \u201cThe Good News of the resurrection is not that we shall die and go home with him; but that he is risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner (siblings) with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kids, listen to what fear-driven \u201cChristians\u201d say or do. Compare that with what you think Jesus calls us to say or do. Then put on your metaphorical \u201cWWJD?\u201d bracelet \u2013 like when you vote!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Rev. Paul Graves<\/strong> is a retired elder member of the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approaching the election series, Rev. Paul Graves shares the latest in a series of letters he has written grandchildren. Reflecting on the story of the WWJD? acronym, Graves encourages them to compare the actions of some “fear-driven ‘Christians'” with what they have been taught about Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23881","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-opinioneditorial","8":"category-pacific-northwest-conference"},"yoast_head":"\nWear your bracelets and vote, kids - Greater Northwest Area | News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/wear-your-bracelets-and-vote-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wear your bracelets and vote, kids - Greater Northwest Area | News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Approaching the election series, Rev. 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