900 vs. One

The November issue of DisciplesWorld is to include an article by California pastor and writer Katherine Willis Pershey. In it she will consider how 30 years ago, Jim Jones managed to lead more than 900 people to their deaths while his congregation, People’s Temple, was still listed in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Yearbook and Directory. I hope you'll read this issue when it comes out (see link under my links on the left of this article).

Promotional copy describes the article this way:

"Pershey explains that what happened in 1978 doesn’t reflect what the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is really about. Yet, the Disciples’ ability to tolerate theological diversity and its commitment to congregational autonomy enabled Jones to lead the Peoples Temple Christian Church to its unfathomable end.”

I haven't seen the article. It's unpublished as I write this. I have confidence the editors will do justice to the fuller topic in a whole collection of articles. However, I respectfully differ with the promotional statement: “Yet the Disciples’ ability to tolerate theological diversity and its commitment to congregational autonomy enabled Jones to lead the Peoples Temple Christian Church to its unfathomable end.”

It was an “unfathomable end,”all right. No one could have imagined that People’s Temple would commit what Jones called “revolutionary suicide” en masse. Even the state and federal authorities, backed by the criminal justice system did not anticipate and prevent this “unfathomable end.” Good choice of words there.

However, I take exception to the choice of the words “tolerate” and “congregational autonomy” to describe Disciples theology and polity. In fact, I would argue that misunderstanding ourselves in this way only contributes to the potential of this kind of tragedy.

First, Disciples do not have “a commitment to congregational autonomy”... While this phrase comes up at times among us, it is not helpful for anyone to imply that "autonomous" accurately reflects the documents, polity or policies of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We are a covenantal community of believers, with accountability and responsibility to and for one another.

Further, Disciples do not “tolerate theological diversity”. We value theological diversity as part of our effort to more clearly understand our transcendent Creator. “Tolerate” implies an uncritical acceptance of everything that calls itself theology. The idea that we would tolerate or embrace Jones’ theology (especially after it shifted radically when the group moved to California) inaccurately portrays reality – then, or now.

Jones charmed political leaders, celebrities, news media and others, into believing he was a force for good. In fact, much of his ministry made a difference in the lives of people, particularly the poor in the San Francisco area. Not surprisingly, Disciples, like much of the public, admired his early ministry as well. But plagued by the human condition of hubris, Jones left not just Disciples behind, but Christianity as well. With 20,000 followers at one time, observers and historians argue that he let power get the best of him.

As his popularity grew, he began to engage in unacceptable activities like drug abuse and sexual misconduct with his members — all of which were outside the bounds of Disciples’ ethical standards for clergy. These abuses are not “tolerated” among Disciples, nor would we call them expressions of “diversity.” Abandoning Christianity would also leave Jones outside the most basic theological connection to Disciples: Faith in Christ. Jones excluded himself from fellowship with Disciples.

Unrevealed to even his followers until they were in South America, sexually transmitted disease ravaged Jones’ his mind, further exacerbated by his use of LSD and other drugs. By then, Jones' standing was under review as allegations surfaced regarding his misconduct. But because Jones was out of the country, the church -- like state and federal authories -- were not empowered to bring him to face his accusers.

But as it turned out Jones didn't really NEED Disciples standing. He needed the cooperation and misplaced faith of his people to trust what was a savagely twisted mind. In the case of a critical mass of his followers (especially those who were armed), sadly, he got both.

Yes, the congregation was listed in the Disciples Yearbook -- apparently, a Disciples congregation in name only.

The Disciples way of being in the world expects believers to think for themselves -- in covenantal conversation with each other and the Gospel. We value diversity, because in the context of “group think” it is important for those who raise questions also to be heard. Jonestown proves that sometimes one can convince the 900 of even mass suicide. But in the midst of the 900, there may still be one, who challenges the status quo and lives to tell about it.

One of the people to resist Jones at the 11th hour — a woman who was less savvy, less educated, less powerful in every way imaginable when compared to Jones – said that she had known for a long time things were not right. But the odds were 900 to one; what could she do? When the call came to attend what would be the final rally, her housemates obeyed. She did not. Instead, praying for protection from the Jesus that Jones had long since abandoned, she hid under her bed. Armed guards searched for her, but did not find her. When she crawled out hours later, she was, in her words: “the onliest one alive.”

The promotion piece for this issue of the magazine asks, “Can it happen again?”Actually, it has -- not among Disciples, but cults that have fallen prey to a charismatic, misguided leader crop up all too frequently. Yes, it can happen again. But maybe it would be less likely among Disciples if every congregation in the Yearbook understood this:

1. The Disciples’ commitment to consider diverse theological views holds us mutually accountable -- constantly testing our human understanding, as we seek to follow a God who defies our narrow definitions. (Tolerance alone is merely an excuse for holding narrow views.)

2. Disciples congregations make a covenantal commitment to each other that binds us in responsible relationship to each other. We are one body, bound by more than a Yearbook listing. (Autonomy is counter-covenant.)

These distinctions, had they been clear, might have helped People’s Temple members who felt there was no way out to understand that against all odds, they were not alone.

Perhaps these distinctions were clear to more than that one frightened woman under the bed. Jones claimed 20,000 followers at the height of his popularity in California. Yet, he only managed to kill 900 of them.

Meanwhile, for that woman under the bed, the odds tipped in her favor when they went from 900 vs. one, to 900 vs. one + One.


Copyright 2008