Pod Bless Us with Bishop Jack Lumanog

Episode 16 (recorded 10 June 2021).  Bishop Jack Lumanog discusses pastors speaking out about politics.  Touched off by what was supposed to be a benign post on social media with a call to prayer for Myanmar and an observation that some Republicans are calling for a similar bloody military coup in America, Bishop Lumanog deals with some fallout about speaking out about politics.  

Even with audio and video evidence of Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and a growing chorus of Trump supporters and this sudden interest in Myanmar by Republicans who seem to be hoping for a similar military style coup to happen in America to restore former President Trump to office, Bishop Lumanog urges pastors to speak out against the false Gospel of QAnon that is permeating our churches and the evangelical movement at an alarming rate.

The Bishop also responds to some 1 star reviews to Pod Bless Us because he spoke out against Eric Metaxas in Episode 14 (recorded 11 December 2020 - "Eric Metaxas and committing his life to dying for President Trump").

And, some commentary on dealing with puritanical Anglican priests on Twitter.  All in this one episode after a 5 month absence!  

Episode 14 (recorded 13 January 2021).  Bishop Jack Lumanog discusses the announcement from the Anglican Church of Kenya on 12 January 2021 that they will be going to be the second Gafcon (Global Anglican Future Conference) province to consecrate a woman as a bishop.  The Rev. Dr. Emily Onyango has been appointed Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Bondo in the Anglican Church of Kenya and affirmed by the Kenyan House of Bishops.  What are the implications for Gafcon and member provinces with this announcement from the Anglican Church of Kenya?  

It seems to me that Gafcon mostly depends on the unity of the primates.  Individual provinces are generally “episcopally led and synodically governed.”  Not sure what Gafcon’s next move as a whole will be since there isn’t a Gafcon synod per se.  Though the conferences look like a synod (with bishops, clergy and lay orders represented) the only “vote” taken at the conferences in Jerusalem (2008), Nairobi (2013) and Jerusalem (2013) is by acclamation to receive the communiqué at the close of the conference.  In reality, Gafcon is “primatially led and primatially governed.”  It will be interesting to see how they thread this governance needle.

As it is, Gafcon wants to be seen as a church at times, especially when consecrating a bishop for New Zealand, for example.  Or by trying to position itself as a parallel to Canterbury.  But, are all the Gafcon primates (especially the new primate of Nigeria) in agreement with this move by the Anglican Church of Kenya?

As one who was highly involved at the highest levels of Gafcon from 2011 to 2018, I’m interested to see how this is spun and how the movement goes on from here.

Episode 14 (recorded 11 December 2020).  Bishop Jack Lumanog shares his perspective on an interview that mild mannered conservative Episcopalian Eric Metaxas had with President Trump.  Metaxas publicly commits his life to Donald Trump and vows that he would die in the fight to keep President Trump in office.  This is a disturbing example of Trumpism not only taking over the Republican Party, but also what used to be sensible wings of the evangelical movement within Christianity.  Metaxas's publicly committing Jesus Christ to the coup against the Constitution and a democratically elected President, encouraging Christians to pray to God for an end to our election processes is scary and sacrilegious in equal measure and must be rebuked publicly.

Additionally, Metaxas claiming that President Trump's obvious re-election defeat "is themes horrible thing that has happened in this nation.  Perhaps Metaxas has forgotten about slavery, The Trail of Tears in 1838, Dred Scott in 1857, The Civil War, The Great Depression in the 1920s, Pearl Harbor, the interment camps of 1942 that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Vietnam War, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and COVID-19 where there are 15,550,786 confirmed cases and 291,754 dead Americans as of 10 December 2020, 6:30pm EST according to Johns Hopkins.  Donald Trump's re-election defeat doesn't come close to any of these horrible events in our nation's history.

Episode 13 (recorded 5 November 2020).  Bishop Jack Lumanog shares unscripted from the heart about his heartbreak about the 2020 presidential election results.  In light of mismanaging a global pandemic, insulting veterans and Gold Star families, undermining the democratic process, cozying up with foreign dictators and domestic white supremacists, he and his children treating The White House as their own personal enterprise, and dismantling the various parts of the governmental infrastructure through his Cabinet secretaries and breaking just about every presidential norm  --  that still quite so many Americans voted for President Trump.  This was NOT a repudiation of Trumpism that our country so desperately needs.  But, the good news is that as people of faith, "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken" (Hebrews 12:28a).  We are a pilgrim people with our eternal citizenship in heaven.  But, there is still a high calling for pastors and Christian leaders to speak out against the lies, falsehoods and dangerous misinformation being spread by President Trump  --  aided and abetted by evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham and Paula White.

According to an October survey from the Public Religion Research Institute, most Americans think religious leaders have a role to play post-election: More than eight in ten say it is important for religious leaders to speak out about a peaceful transition of power regardless of who wins the election.  Bishop Lumanog believes that pastors and Christian leaders have their work cut out for them and re-claim our voices in the public square by telling the truth to our congregants and communities  --  even if it means speaking out against the sitting President.  

Episode 12 (recorded 30 August 2020).  Bishop Jack Lumanog examines the curious case of Kyle Rittenhouse -- a 17 year old Illinois boy who killed two and shot a third person in Kenosha, Wisconsin is peacefully taken into custody.  However, the flashpoint for the unrest that brought Rittenhouse from Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin was Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, being shot by police 7-8 times in the back while trying to break up a fight between two women outside a home.  At issue is the disproportionate violence against Black people by police officers which has come to the fore this year during protests against systemic racism nationwide.