The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

52 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 position, the traditions they drew on and the interests they reflected. A consensus emerged: their traditions had circulated orally in church com- munities throughout the Roman Empire before being written down, beginning in the latter part of the first century. These groups were largely proletarian and subject to Roman persecution and other intense pressures; for them, the traditions were thus vital. Such insights caused the Gospels to come newly alive for me. In seminary, I was struck by the affinities between modern biblical criticism and Foreign Service disciplines: I found the same probing beneath the surface, the same critical analysis of data obtained. Thus, instead of being a stranger, I felt I was on home ground. My sense of con- nection was enhanced by my previous exposure to non- Western cultures. The biblical peoples, under Rome or in Israel, were also non-Western. The biblical narratives when viewed in terms of, say, Pakistan, took on fresh meaning. As an FSO, I functioned mainly as an economic re- porting officer. In Vietnam and elsewhere, this required finding the coherence in a welter of impressions from seemingly chaotic situations. To do so I had to lay aside my Western preconceptions — not easy — and look at what was actually there, making explicit the local circum- stances in reports back to Washington. Further, I needed to take account of the impact on other developments I was reporting and to think globally, as well as analytically. Otherwise my reports would not be an adequate founda- tion for policy decisions. Just as reporting is central to the Foreign Service, so preaching is central to the Church. Typically, one preach- es on a biblical passage. Without laying aside the pre- conceptions of our culture — again, not easy — one can- not get at what the passage really says. One may know the passage’s historical context from one’s own studies, but it needs to be made explicit for the congregation. Bibli- cal passages have implications for people’s lives; this is an aspect of their being Scripture. And these need to be made evident, too. Otherwise preaching will not be ade- quate for people’s policy/life decisions. These aspects of FS reporting — laying aside precon- ceptions, critically analyzing data, thinking globally — all proved applicable beyond preaching. Post-retirement, I also undertook to trace history, sec- ular as well as ecclesiastical, from a biblical standpoint — not an un- natural pursuit since we in the For- eign Service deal with history in the making. My resulting book, To Re- store the Church: Radical Redemp- tion History to Now (1996) was endorsed by two pre-eminent the- ologians: Alister McGrath of Oxford University, the 2009 Gifford Lecturer, and Stanley Hauerwas of Duke Divin- ity School. So there is, indeed, life after the Foreign Service. My post-retirement career has provided much the same sense of dealing with critical matters, demanding my best ef- forts. To be sure I had advance preparation, having gone to seminary along the way. But I did not plan it that way. On retirement — not of my own volition — I found the materials at hand. Others’ pre-retirement interests may prove a similar resource. As for acquiring disciplines carrying over into other ca- reers, one does not have to attain a high rank to do so. I did not. The key is commitment to our profession as im- portant in itself. Given that responsibility, and its de- mands on us in the service of our country, the disciplines will follow of themselves. Theodore L. Lewis Resident Theologian All Saints Episcopal Church Chevy Chase, Md. T ANDEM V OLUNTEERS After nearly 30 years of serving as a tandem couple (Brian at State; Kay with the Commercial Service), it seems only natural that we would take on tandem assign- ments in the volunteer world upon retirement. While Kay retired out of Ottawa in 2006, Brian took on one more tour, as Diplomat-in-Residence, with home base at the University of Illinois, Chicago. We settled in suburban Oak Park, which has numerous claims to fame, among them the first home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the birthplace of writer Ernest Hemingway. Kay soon learned that the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust was looking for volunteers. With no architectural background other than a fascina- F O C U S Our volunteer world is highly rewarding, enabling us to use both old and new skills.