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BY J. PHILIP WOGAMAN

A month from now (Sept. 22), I will participate in a panel discussion at Boston University with an interesting format.  Each of the four panelists has been asked to speak on what we consider to be "the three greatest challenges facing us in the next decade."  That requires focus.  I can think of considerably more than three!  But the three that leap to my mind are (1) overcoming the growing disparities of wealth and income in our society, (2) ending the church’s policies that stigmatize gay and lesbian people, and (3) fostering greater mutual appreciation among the world’s religions.  (This last one is related to a book I’m currently writing on "What Christians can learn from other religions.")  I could readily think of other important challenges, such as diminishing militarism, terrorism, and violence in the contemporary world and reversing the membership decline of mainline churches.  I hope readers of this will come up with their own list of priorities.

But the format of the BU panel brought to mind a dramatic moment in an ethics class at University of the Pacific where I taught in the early 1960s.  We had Joseph Mathews as a visiting lecturer.  Mathews, brother of Bishop James Mathews, was founder of the Ecumenical Institute, an organization actively engaged in alleviating poverty among destitute people in places like Kenya while helping to foster greater theological insight here and abroad.  Standing at the blackboard, he outlined a complete theory of social ethics.  It was a scintillating performance, leaving the class spellbound.  At the end, he turned to the students, asking if somebody would say what she or he considered the three great problems of our times to be.  Of course, nobody was about to go out on that limb!  He persisted, "Come on, somebody, what are the three greatest problems?"  Still no answer.  So then he pointed to a young sophomore.  "All right, you, what are the three greatest problems?"  The embarrassed young woman made a brave attempt, stammering out three then current issues.  Mathews relaxed, commenting that he might not agree with the three.  But, he said, "When I hear a report of your death, I will expect to find your body at one of those three locations."

What a stunning way to put it!  What a vivid reminder that ethics is not an intellectual parlor sport!  We live in a real world, with real problems.  To be a responsible Christian is to address those problems, not only in words, but in deeds.  None of us can "solve" any of the contemporary problems, much less three or more of them.  But all of us—every one of us—can make a difference at those points where we are willing to act.  Almost everyone can take part in the important political decision-making of a democratic society.  Bearing in mind that politics determines what a society will do, it is the key to collective action.  We can all participate in that, even as we engage in more personal and group-centered ways.  Possibilities and opportunities vary among us, but the one point is clear:  We all must act.

J. Philip Wogaman is former Senior Minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. (1992-2002), and former Professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary (1966-92), serving as dean of that institution from 1972-83.