Reactions...

It's been a while.  There is so much that goes on when pastoring a church.  I love what I do, but there are so many things that pull for your time, especially when for the time being you are the church office staff.  We are working hard and praying hard and doing life with the people we are called to serve.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it does make my writing, for pleasure or commentary drop off.  Having said that there are times when I read something in my quiet time, or when I see something that is happening in the wider church world and I feel a need to get out my thoughts on the subject.

My thoughts regarding the church unitedstatesal...(see how I made up a new word just for my blog...man have I missed that) has lost it's way, especially the evangelical establishment.  Instead of following Jesus, many follow a denomination, an individual, or a political party.  It's hard to admit that Jesus has been taken out of the equation, His teaching reduced to suggestions or antiquated in some respects.  I don't understand some things, and on occasion I find myself shaking my head when I read some of the things that people in the church are doing and how they are interacting with people that need to have a relationship with Jesus, I cringe.

Recently the mayor of Houston decided to subpoena the sermons of several pastors that disagreed with the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.  While I agree that she or the city had no business or right to do so there is a wider principle involved in this thing for me...

Here are two headlines from  Christian publications...

The Pastors Strike Back (CBN),  Houston's Sermon Scandal:Is This Enough For You Ms. Mayor (The Christian Post)

Then Mike Huckabee in what I can only describe as a childish oh yeah moment called for Pastors to Flood the mayors office with Sermons.

I don't get this.  If we are supposed to be more like Christ we should attempt to react like him, and in all my study of the life of Christ, I can't see him doing what is being done in this instance.  Looking at Jesus interaction with people who were lost, or hurting, or in need of an encounter with God was always marked by compassion, grace, mercy and more importantly forgiveness.  Don't get me wrong,  Jesus never once said that sin was okay, it's obvious that it's not, but he never turned a person into their sin, that's a church thing, it was a church thing in Jesus day, it's still a church thing in ours.  It's always been interesting to me that when Jesus reprimands or rebukes people publicly, when he cleans house as it were, it's always attached to religious leaders, and religious people  Jesus harshest words are reserved for the people who claim to have a relationship with God, the ones who claim to speak for God, the ones that were teaching how to have a relationship with God.

What would happen if people who claimed to be Christians would focus more on being like Christ and less on their rights guaranteed under the constitution.  What would happen if instead of waging verbal ideological war against the federal, state, or local government, they decided to be more concerned with the least of these?  What would have happened if the guys that were asked for the sermons simply sent them over?  What kind of testimony could that have been.  I didn't say that the pastors should stop preaching the Gospel, or what they feel God has laid on their heart.  I didn't say that they should roll over and hand the state their pulpit, but think this through.  If instead of reacting in the predictable way that the person who sent the subpoenas  had to know would happen, what if they had just said sure thing, then when the sermons were delivered what if they had requested a meeting with the mayor and her staff, not to argue, not to prove a point, not to point fingers but to ask them if they could pray for them for anything, if they could help out in some way,  if they could be a part of any initiatives that the city had, that didn't go against their principles, morals, or beliefs as Christians?  What if they and countless Christian media outlets had reacted in such a way that would make the people involved take notice of a group that reacted in a completely different way than what they have always done when it comes to dealing with people who are outside the club?

I am becoming increasingly convinced that a better way of dealing with people "out there" is to treat them better than we treat the people "in here."  Instead of complaining all the time about how unfair it is, we were excited about the fact that we have a relationship with the creator of all life, and that that relationship is larger, and the freedom that comes from that relationship is greater than the freedom we so desperately feel we have to fight for?

Missing Out

What we believe is an important part of who we are.  Christians believe in the Republican Ideal, Muslims believe in making everyone like them, atheists believe in themselves, Buddhists believe in enlightenment.  Yes I realize I am stereotyping in these comments.

As a Christ Follower I believe that the Great commission is best fulfilled by working as hard as I possibly can at being more and more like Jesus.  Seeing people with the eyes of Christ, seeing myself and other leaders through the same lens he looked at religious leaders in his day, attempting to not be one of the guys that made relationship with God harder than it has to be.

The Apostles Creed was not something that was used in the worship services that I was a part of growing up.  In fact the liturgy used in the church I grew up in had little if any resemblance to what churches would consider liturgical, still there was a liturgy to our services, even if there were no responsive readings, formal calls to worship, etc.  There were things that could always be counted on in every service, a set number of songs, a certain time for reflection, a chance to respond by coming forward.  All of these things made up the liturgy in our church.  But we missed out on the Apostles Creed. We missed out on what it says, we missed out on the Doxology, some of the communion responses are really beautiful.  We never did a formal call to worship, something that has become one of my favorite parts of the service, especially as I write each call to worship based on the Psalm found in the lectionary for the week.  That's another thing that I really like, I like the Scripture Readings each Sunday.  These passages, sometimes large and at other times not so large are great because it's pure unfiltered Word of God and as we know from scripture God's Word doesn't go out void.  It always will do something.

What has been especially enjoyable has been the new series we are in at the Church.  What are We Saying?  Digging into the different parts of a highly liturgical service and really finding out what is being said.  These passages these, creeds, and prayers are really great because they say so much, the problem is they can become ritual instead of reality.  That's the danger that some churches concern themselves with when they stop using them or question churches that do.  Ritual is not a bad word, but for some reason it's become something that some in the church community have decided is akin to breaking one of the commandments.  It's funny, many in the church talk of the importance of developing a habit of reading the Bible and Praying each day, usually at the same time and for the same duration each day, and yet they will take people who enjoy the ritualistic portions of a highly liturgical service to task for having a form of Godliness.  I'm not writing this to rant though, just to say that when looked at thoroughly these elements of a service are beautiful.

This past week as I was studying for Sundays message we were in the section of the Apostles Creed that has to do with Jesus death, and resurrection, it goes without saying that this one part of the creed means more to Christians as a whole than any other portion.  It is the thing that we point to, the thing that allows us to have a relationship with God that goes beyond a sterile non-interactive acquaintance.  As I was doing the work for the message I really took time to think about the Pontius Pilate part of the creed. Funny how Pilate can paint a picture so plainly of humanity in their attempt to have a relationship with God on their own terms.  We try to let God know exactly how things are going to work, how they are going to be.  We want   to be in charge of a relationship that we broke.  It's sad really.  Ultimately all of his attempts to make things okay between the two of them came to nothing.  His attempt to absolve himself by washing his hands was more condemnation than anything else.  Funny how self-justification is at the root of so many of our problems.  What does it take for us to admit that there is no way we can make ourselves okay with God no matter how hard we try.  Why do we want to try to do it on our own anyway.  Have you read Levitical Law?  Have you seen what it takes for a human to be good enough all on their own for a vibrant relationship with God?  I maintain that one of the main purposes of the Old Testament writings, particularly the ones that lay out the rules that the Hebrews had to follow was to prove to them that no matter what they needed God.  There was no possible way that any of them were going to be able to do it all the right way.  They were going to mess it up.  We will  mess it up if we try.  All this has been in my mind for a while now.  I have talked about it, I have posted thoughts about it, but studying for this series has given it a freshness that I welcome.

I tire of looking at the church as a whole and seeing people who are more concerned with their rights than they are with doing right.  More worried about their standing in the community than they are standing with those that are hurting, frightened, alone and disenfranchised.  Nervous about "those people" coming into their community instead of being nervous that John 3:16 has been relegated to a sign held up in the end zone.  I think there is more than a little bit of value in going back to the roots of what we believe, and really digging in.  I think we would find a very different way to live out our faith, we may find that the way we do life with the world at large is lacking in the what would Jesus do side of things, and more fitting with what would evangelicals, or emergents, or catholics, or fill in the blanks do.  The Apostles creed is a great way to understand our base of operations, and an awesome jumping off point for sharing a vibrant faith with a group of people who need to hear what it really means to be a Christ follower, not what it means to be a christian.

I think the church is missing out on a vibrant relationship with God mainly because somewhere we decided to settle for the visible proof as opposed to the deep truth that goes beyond cool songs, nice sermons and simple quips.  What happens if we can't handle it, what do we do when there is no real reason for the bad things happening, what does it mean when the chills don't come, the bills don't get paid, the tumor grows, the healing that we thought we witnessed turns out to be fake?  The songs fade, the feelings disappear, the questions come and the shallow faith that is based on what we see and feel crumbles.

Imagine though if when those things happened we were still able to say "

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only begotten son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty ; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost, the one holy universal Christian church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting .  Amen. 

A Classic Education

First off, I know that my title seems to be missing an al somewhere.  Trust me it's not.  I meant a Classic education as opposed to a Classical one.

I've been reading some great books lately, not just skimming mind you actually reading them, many come out of Orange.  Nieuwhof, Noble, Joiner among others including Manning, McLaren, Belcher Bierly and OBrien, all great authors, all offer differing insights, which is great and all but while each author and each book that I have read and am in the middle of are bringing great new ideas, and struggles, none compares to a classic that has been digging into my spirit in a very different way.  

Acts 2:44 (NLT) — 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.

All is a pretty encompassing word, at least as far as I can tell.  It means all so when this verse in acts says all the believers I'm going to go on ahead and lump in the leaders of those believers as well.  Meaning the apostles, the elders, the teacher, the preachers.  All means all.  

As a pastor this has different implications,  especially when pastoring a church that needs an influx of people, a mix of returning members and new blood would be very welcome.  That very need makes the lessons that are pushing deep into my heart while reading this little known classic of Christian literature all the more painful.  

The book in question is by Charles M, Sheldon. Most will recognize him as the author of In His Steps, or for those that were around when the bracelet craze of the late 90s and early 00's took hold the guy that wrote WWJD.  Take time to read that one book alone and I can guarantee that no matter what flavor of Christianity you subscribe to, you will be challenged and changed.  It's not an easy concept to master, and is one that I feel is parallel to our walk through this life as a Christ follower, imagine if people would really ask that question... anyway I digress the real issue today is the other book that I am reading by said author.  It's title is The Miracle at Markham, not really easy to find as it's been out of print for a while.  The Nook shop has a poorly rendered microfiche copy, luckily I located a usable pdf file that was a strait up scan from forgotten books.  Great difference and the reading is much easier, oh that the lessons being taught were simple to apply.  

The idea of the book is that there are so many churches in the town of Markham, each supposed to fulfill the great commission, each cloistered away and preaching to the faithful few.  The idea of the churches in the town working toward a common goal, and on a common mission is where this is all going, and it is meeting with resistance.  The introduction of the issue that needs changed is of course brought about by those younger men and women who desperately want their faith to be more than church attendance and brand loyalty.  They want to see the great commission taken seriously again.  They want churches to work toward a common goal.  They are turning traditional methods upside down, challenging everything from inter church cooperation, to appropriate clothing choices for clergy, to letting another pastor preach in the pulpit, not from the approved of supply list, but from another tradition all together.  We would all do well to read this book, written in the late 1800's yet completely relevant to the current church climate.  

People in leadership have forgotten the great commission, so have Christians, in their desire to be right, they have forgotten that we are all wrong.  We all have sinned, we all fall short.  In their need to prove or disprove the importance of the gifts of the Spirit, they are forgetting the one who gave those gifts.  In the need to stand firm in a belief of how God created, they are forgetting the real challenge is faith THAT He created.  Relevance is important, something I strive for, but there are times that in striving for relevance I can overlook people who have always felt God had something to say to them.   With each swipe of the screen I am confronted with a glaring question.  Would I as the Pastor of a small church that needs to grow be willing to work with and help a church in my city grow?  Better yet could I work with that same church to effect change in our neighborhood without either of our congregations seeing any immediate benefit?  

The church world today, Christianity today has become such a polarizing place, but for all the wrong reasons.  We should be beacons of light to a dark world and to dark souls, sometimes I fear we are so worried about what it looks like or feels like to have the world in all it's messy, hurting, disgruntled, and disjointed self really enter our place of worship, our sanctuary.  If true change happens in a persons life when they come into contact with God, and we are the ones that are supposed to show people who God is, it follows that discomfort will be par for the course.  If churches could see beyond their own denominational traditions, if we could all look past what God is supposed to be as prescribed by our own particular interpretation of scripture, and instead focus on his final words, his basic instructions before leaving earth as Burlap to Cashmere so nicely put it.  We wouldn't really have time to argue about non-essentials.  I am on a quest in my personal life, and in my ministry life, I want my faith to be distilled, over and over again, until it is something easily seen, not just heard.  I want to be able to look at the other churches in our neighborhood, not just as partners but as essential to the fabric of faith in Locust Point.  

If we can all see the city through the eyes of Christ, if we can each see the community we work in through the eyes of Christ instead of through the eyes of our denomination we will begin to see the Work of Christ in a new way, an maybe just maybe we will forget about the things that make us different, the things that divide us, and we will be able to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God on this earth.

It's all about rights and lefts.

Two posts in one week, I know what ever will you all do?  I just had to post this thought though because it's really been bugging me over the last few days.  

I am pretty sure everyone already has it figured out, especially if you've been reading the blog for any length of time.  I mean my title makes it obvious what I'm about to give my comment about, especially given the geo-political climate today.  So much to talk about, so many ways to look at current situations across the globe in in our own back yard, so many people and nationalities to be frustrated with.

Matthew 6:2-4 (NLT)
²  When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.
³  But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
⁴  Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

TRICKED YA

You all think you know me so well.   A few things have happened in the last few days that have brought this issue to the front of my mind and heart.  We will take them in turn. 

It goes without saying that the idea of a tithe, of giving is a Biblical principle, one that as a pastor is important to discuss, important to teach, and impossible to bring up without hurting feelings, angering, or being met with eye rolls.  The struggle is to get people to understand the idea of giving because it's what we should do because doing so is what Jesus says to do.  More than once,  but I digress.  

A few days ago traveling on the toll road and listening to the local Christian station I heard something that made my teeth grind.  The local personality was talking about a sponsored run that was going to benefit a local camp.  Great idea, simple in it's goal.  Get sponsors so that when you run under-privileged, under-served kids could attend camp next Summer, average cost to send a child to this particular camp is $500.00 for the week.  I think it's great that the station and the camp area working together to benefit those that are less fortunate.  Camp is one of those things that makes a big impact in a kids life.  The disconnect came with two separate statements that were made.

Statement 1:  Give you're best gift...  This statement bothers me.  It actually brings to  mind the observation Jesus made to his disciples when they were commenting about how much people were putting into the collection box.  The idea behind having to make this statement is frustrating. Do we really have to be reminded to give our best?  Is it really that hard for us to keep in mind that giving is not a show, or a way for a pat on the back. That giving out of our abundance is easy?  Why would I give any less than my best?  Wouldn't giving less than our best be a slap in the face to the one who died for us?  We should not need to be reminded to give our best.  It should be second nature as a Christ Follower.

Statement 2: Giving to send a kid to camp gets you a tax deduction at the end of the year.   Really so we give to get?  We give not out of a deep need to follow Biblical principles, to honor God, or because it's the right thing to do.  We give the money to send a kid to camp because if we do at the end of the year we can get a tax deduction, the cost of giving doesn't have to hurt that much.  You give and then you get.  What a great system, everybody wins.  Except that's not how it should work.  When I give to send a kid to camp, or to help with the churches Kids Crusade, or to a person taking a missions trip, or to bring clean water and health care to people who need it, there shouldn't be a calculation of how much I'm going to get in return.  I shouldn't look at giving as a way to better my own life.  

Don't get me wrong,  I don't have an issue with tax deductions for charitable giving.  We take the giving receipts we get at the end of the year and apply them to our taxes, but it's not the reason to give, it's good stewardship to do so and in doing so we are able to give more.  We don't use it as a carrot in church.  Hey everyone, when you give a donation to the church we give you a tax receipt.  Jesus gave because he loved, not for what he would get, I\in striving to be more like Christ we are to do the same.  

The scripture that I started with speaks to this.  Give in such a way that recognition, and gain are not readily available. Give because it's a part of our calling as Christ followers, not because it's a great way to prove to others that you are one.  There are other ways that people should be able to see Jesus in our lives, our giving is not one of them, at least it shouldn't be.

.

 

Moving on.

It's no real secret if you read with any regularity where I stand with regards to my faith.  Anyone that has been around the blog for a while can see a common thread.  If you go back a bit you may even be able to see where things started to change.  I have given disclaimers on several occasions so that everyone would understand that I am not running from God, or forgetting my faith.  I am sure there are some that would question my motives, my understanding of being a Christ follower, and even the depth of my faith and if I even have the same relationship with God that I had back when they knew me.  

Time to answer that one.   Nope I sure don't .  My faith has changed.  My understanding of scripture has been and continues to evolve, the deeper I dig, the more I study, the time spent doing word study and really thinking about and taking context and history into account the more my idea of being a Christ follower morphs.  My understanding of what matters to Christ, and what matters to denominations or movements has changed.  

In 1517 Luther published his 95 Theses challenging the then current religious absolutes.  Questioning  doctrines, calling to account abuse by those in power in the church.  Raising a voice against a form of Christianity that had strayed from the purpose of the Gospel.

I am convinced that the following statement could be applied to many leaders in the church today...

33. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's (George Wood, The Counsel of Bishops of the Methodist Church, Rev. Ronnie Floyd,  Rev. Matthew Harrison, the list could go on and include any number of religious leaders who are in the public eye.) pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.  

I fear this is where may Christians are today.  They have forgotten that we are not supposed to look to a man or woman or denomination for absolution.  Humanity as a whole is flawed, we are broken and don't really have the answers that we like to claim we have.  On any given Sunday you can find a pastor in a church somewhere that will validate whatever world view you have.  It's easy to find a church that wants to play the martyr, claiming that they are persecuted that they alone stand in the gap and that they alone understand what it means to suffer for Christ.  It's equally easy to find a church that has given up on the idea of salvation through faith in Christ because it's not really popular to tell people that they are incomplete without a relationship with the one who created humanity in the first place.  These churches tend to soft peddle on the idea of the fall of man because it may offend some people.  

Paul talked about being all things to all people, a concept that is abused on a daily basis by some who use it as an excuse to indulge in things that they would normally question.  Still others talk about the importance of taking a hard stance on sin, of course the sins covered under that stance very depending on the person in charge, and I would argue the sins that they may or my not have to deal with in their own life.  It's easy to come out against murder when you don't deal with that particular issue, harder to take a stand against gluttony when the point of Sunday morning service is to  find out who you're going to over eat lunch with.  Apply this concept to any of the lists of iniquity found in scripture.  Laziness is intolerable, gossip is okay as long as it happens in the context of sharing for the purpose of helping or remembering the individual in prayer... You catch my drift. 

My faith is not the same, because if it were then I would not be working on my own salvation with awe and reverence.  I instead would be happy to revel in my own ideas of what Salvation, love and service to others and God meant.  The problem that I see with that is that I have done the same thing that the Pope did back in Luther's day.  I have become the one that dishes out forgiveness, or discipline both to myself and the people I pastor.  Sure I can couch it in the right rhetoric, I can talk about how important it is to not compromise my faith, but is attempting to be more like Christ, to walk  in his steps, to love the way he did, and even at times look at myself and other church leaders with the same eye he did and in loving anger call them and myself on it, because hopefully when that happens eyes are opened compromising the faith that God calls me to or is it compromising human expectations of what true faith is?  

Being a Christ follower is more important to me than being a Christian.  Becoming more like the man that died for me, that rose for me, and that has promised to return for me, is the goal, not fitting the picture of what a good christian is supposed to be.  

Safe to say I have moved on in my faith, and I hope and pray I keep moving on, going further up and further in to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite authors.  As far as I can figure that's what we are all supposed to be doing.  Luther called the leaders of his day to account, hundreds of years later the vast majority of Christian leaders look at this as a good thing, but at the time his actions touched off controversy, and some even say war.  I fear that we are at a crossroads, actually I fear that we have long passed the crossroads, I see the spirit of Luther in some today, be it Brian McLaren, Donald Miller, Jeff Hood, Andy Stanley, Carey Nieuwhof, or Perry Noble.  These men are pushing at the edges of what it means to be a Christ Follower, I find myself doing the same thing. I'm okay with that...I hope and pray that you my readers are as well.  It's time for all of us to move on when it comes to our faith.  And then when we learn what He is trying to teach us. move on again.  

 

Is it just a form?

People have been bothering me a lot lately.  I suppose I should qualify that statement.  People who don't like that the establishment clause, and the free exercise clause of the first amendment cut's both ways.  Many of my old friends, and the religious right, and tea party members, (for some reason those three things seem synonymous when it comes to the friends I grew up around went to college with and even worked with fresh out of school and in the ministry for the first time), want a figurative interpretation of our countries most important document, preferring to interpret it through the language, ideas, beliefs, and customs of the day it was written.  The issue is many of them want a literal interpretation of another historical work, that I would maintain is infinitely more important that the constitution of the United States, but also needs to be studied and applied with the same type of scrutiny.  

I do not feel that Christianity is under attack in our country any more than any other religion.  But all religions are subject to attack in our country, a function of a society that allows free speech.    I am happy with the fact that churches can be built, sermons can be preached, outreach can be made, by the church that I pastor, I don't think the government should compel a Church to provide birth control for it's employees if doing so violates their conscious or interpretation of scripture.  I think that churches and pastors should have the freedom to choose who they are willing to marry and not, and as much as I hate to say it churches just like any other private organization have a right to exclusive membership if that's what they want to have.  I will say that any church that bars someone from entering, and worshiping with them based on age, race,sex, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation is stupid.  If we have the truth that we say we have, and if we believe that that truth is able to make a difference in peoples lives, why keep people away?

All of these things I am glad for.  A few things we need to realize,  

1.  We are not persecuted, not by a long shot.

2.  No one is going to tell you you can't worship on Sunday or Saturday or whatever day you choose.

3.  Christians are supposed to pray for their leaders. 

4.  The final mandate given by Christ upon leaving this earth was not go into the center of town, and get involved in politics.  It was not lobby for your rights, it was not champion the cause of capitalism.  

When we point to things like the Hobby Lobby verdict as Godly, we miss the point.  Scratch the surface of Hobby Lobby's financial records and you find things that contradict their stand.  Most of the stuff that they purchase comes from China where abortion runs rampant, they invest in companies that manufacture the drugs they refuse to provide because doing so violates their religious beliefs.  What bothers me is they are not a church, they are not even a hospital or school affiliated with a church, they are a for profit company, attempting to leverage their religion as a way to help the bottom line.  

If christians really believe that without a relationship with Jesus people will die and go to hell, how can they take the time to worry about these things.  Why is it so important to win the right to refuse contraception coverage, or strike a blow for sanctity of marriage in the courts, or voice their opinion on the minimum wage, or stand up with the NRA because we have the right to bear arms.  Why are American christians so concerned about their rights.  How do they have the time to devote to all of these political causes? 

In 1 Corinthians 9  Paul lays out all the reasons he has rights, and then gives them up.  If that's not enough in Matthew 5:39 - 42 Jesus shows us clearly that what's fair, that our rights really don't matter when it comes to people who are lost.  

As best as I can figure out 2 Timothy 3:5 is at play here, at least when it comes to some of the more prominent religious and political leaders of our day standing up for the rights of christians.  It makes them look good, it makes them seem holy, but in the end...

 

 

The Evolution of Faith...

I think it's important that I put a disclaimer at the beginning of this particular post.  I know that the things I'm going to be adding to it in the coming days are going to make many people question my faith...here's the disclaimer...

1.  Humanity as a whole is broken, mainly because they have lost the thing they were created for, relationship with God.  This loss was a choice, and remains one.

2.  We don't know...I think this is one of the hardest things for us to realize and to accept I know it is hard for me to know and accept.  I don't know answers to some of the questions, the funny thing is I used to think I did, now not so much.

3.   Balance is not a bad word.

4.  History is written by the victors, distorted by future adherents, rewritten by the skeptics, and used to further personal agendas.

5.  Jesus was real, he really died, and I believe really rose from the dead.

6.  No one is always right, and no one is always wrong...

I'm sure there are other disclaimers I should make but that will get things rolling.

I think it's safe to say that I really never saw this coming.  Being the senior pastor of a church was such a stretch for my brain to reach too.  I'm excited about it, in fact really love what I am doing now.  I love the people that God has placed in our lives. As I have begun the process of leading a church I have also begun the process of a deeper examination of my faith, a deeper study of scripture, and a need to wrestle more with where I am as a Christ Follower and as a Church leader.

On balance I think the church as a whole is afraid. Afraid of a faith that must evolve, afraid of the changing culture, afraid to reach because in doing so it may mean a very real need to examine the things that they hold as true. When the church world realizes that what they are comfortable with no longer works, when they are faced with multiple generations who start almost all interactions with skepticism not just religious ones the tendency is to become defensive and angry. That is unfortunately what most people see when they look at the majority of christians today, an angry bunch of people who are more concerned with the rules of engagement given to every good Christian soldier than they are with the people who need someone to see them as more than their issue or struggle or sin.

When we become more concerned with the laws of the land, the leaders of our nation, our rights as citizens than we are with the person sitting in Starbucks full of questions and hurts and pain there's a problem. When it becomes more important to be right, both meanings of the word, than it does to be relational there's an issue. When we put our personal comfort ahead of the way Jesus sees people and would treat them we drive a wedge between ourselves and the world, all in the name of holiness.

Be holy as I am holy is frequently used as an excuse for elitist Christian behavior , yet I (Jesus) hung out with sinners in places the good religious people wouldn't set foot...

If we are to have the type of impact that we must have in the world, we can't make it so difficult for the world to interact with us. We can't sequester ourselves away as the chosen ones and hope to fulfill the mandate the commission we as Christ Followers were given. Christianity and church should be messy because people are messy.