I have been wrestling with a very serious problem of how to address faith for a lot of years.
See, in the time I have been a Christian, there has been a very interesting dynamic. Yes, I will at times say or do things I regret in relation to other people, We all do from time to time.
But what I don't understand is that if I truly drop the ball, I feel an overwhelming, overpowering sense of conviction; a need to make it right.
Problem one in what I am seeing around me is that I don't see that in my fellow Christians. And it's reached the point where I have to ask, have they become that calloused, or were they really Christians in the first place?
Many will argue that they have been persecuted. And certainly I wouldn't call academia or the public square particularly welcoming places for Christians, but we're far from any level of genuine persecution. Instead, we (collectively, this is something I try not to be) have been the persecutors. We have attacked the LGBT community, for instance, with hatred and anger that does not resemble anything Christ admonished us to do. It is certainly not the love manifested in I Cor. 13, or in the Fruit of the Spirit outlined in Galatians. And the battle we're trying to wage over the definition of marriage is a hypocritical one; we're not asking for God to bless our marriages; we're asking for state protection of our marriages, and then demanding the state deny that protection to those who don't think as we do.
There is no war on traditional marriage. Nobody from the state is going to throw you in jail because of your heterosexual relationship. Nobody is going to remove you from the room of your dying spouse and deny you the final minutes. Nobody will take your kids away from you and deem you unfit because you married someone of the opposite gender.
All of those things have happened to LGBT families. And to say that is action born out of love is to show a complete misunderstanding of what love is.
Meanwhile, while we've focused on the lifestyles of others, we've ignored the fact that workers' wages are continually falling, that more and more families are finding it impossible to get ahead, while at the same time business owners are making record profits and dodging taxes.
Read James 5:1-6 and tell me there is not an obligation to pay a fair wage.
We allow the racist culture within our society to slander immigrant children looking for an opportunity, while we worry about who is or isn't allowing prayer in school. We turn a blind eye to an epidemic of police brutality that strongly (although not exclusively) targets minorities, and when they dare march for justice, we quickly grasp at any straw to claim that individual deserved it. The ghost of Jim Crow is living larger than ever.
We have a RESPONSIBILITY to be SALT AND LIGHT, yet we're too wrapped upn in the Kardashians or the "Real Housewives of (insert favorite rich parasite city here)" to pay attention to the very real, very pressing problems our Savior charged us with. We watch a kid from Africa with a distended belly cry, we write a check to the organization on the screen, and we walk away, believing we've done our part.
A real Christianity, a Christianity of ACTION, has been traded for a Christianity of Duck Dynasty memorabilia and movies based on urban legends and feelgood Christianity. Meanwhile, we're ignoring real, genuine, life or death matters.
The church desperately needs a revival. That should be self evident to anyone within the church. The problem is, many within the church do not WANT a revival.
And if any of us who claim to be part of the body of Christ do not want a revival, we know what that means. And it is NOT a good thing.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Saturday, August 23, 2014
To Eliminate Racism, We Must First Acknowledge It!
There are a multitude of reasons for my recent disavowal of evangelicalism. It has been a long time in coming, and I could spend hours discussing it.
But one of the driving reasons is my own coming to grips with the racism that still exists in this country. The right refuses to acknowledge it, the evangelical church refuses to acknowledge it, but the income inequality numbers across racial lines make it painfully clear.
To be honest, it has taken me a long time to acknowledge it as well. But I have read far beyond the articles on the death of Michael Brown; I have read the comments below. And the comments show a glaringly ugly side of the racist attitudes in America.
One cannot help but wonder if the children housed at Ft. Sill Oklahoma had been refugees from Eastern Europe, would the response have been the same? Somehow, when I hear words like "wetback" used, and hear the children accused of being MS13 gang members, I don't think so. And yet, five of the kids we sent back (at LEAST five) are now dead. I cannot help but think a God who charged us to care for the "least of these" WILL hold us responsible for those deaths.
And I am CERTAIN that He will hold us responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown, Kajieme Powell, or the others who die in officer involved shootings every year. I am equally certain that He will hold us responsible for pushing the socioeconomic problems of income inequality that we push off into the inner city and poverty pockets. And He will absolutely, without question hold us accountable for the racist words that spew out of our mouths. Matthew 5:22 should certainly not be construed to be an all inclusive list of things that we can say that count us guilty of murder:
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
The conservative "response", of course, is blame. We create a system of inequality, then we blame those who struggle under the thumb of that inequality for their plight. We justify the murder of minorities in the inner city for minor offenses because we inherently accept that it is somehow deserved because they are "different".
And by claiming they are different than us, we are proving our own racism.
I could throw up numbers, but ultimately, the right is and remains in denial.
Whites who lived in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era didn't believe they were racist either. In fact, slave owners thought they were being benificent. And that hasn't gone away; Tea Party darling Michelle Bachmann even stated that blacks were better off as slaves:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/07/bachmann_black_families_better_under_slavery_obama.php
But let's not stop at Bachmann; here is a list of TEN conservatives who have praised slavery:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/07/bachmann_black_families_better_under_slavery_obama.php
But the same people who support these conservatives insist that racism doesn't exist.
Historically, in times of unrest, the mainstream church has been on the wrong side of history. Slavery, the genocide of the indigenous peoples in this and other nations, labor reform, Nazism in Germany, the list goes on. And I believe this era is no different.
We cannot continue to ignore racism; it is very real, and it's effects are literally killing people as we speak. While the conservative community demands we "withhold judgment" on Officer Wilson, they continue to blast every news piece that they feel indicts Michael Brown. They've ignored the Powell killing as cideo evidence is not in their favor. And even as they peddle their survival wares under the fear that the US will fall under martial law, they seem quite content with that martial law in the inner city.
My voice, unfortunately, does not have a very broad reach. But I will do the few things I can, starting with pulling any and all support for those who insist on remaining in denial.
But one of the driving reasons is my own coming to grips with the racism that still exists in this country. The right refuses to acknowledge it, the evangelical church refuses to acknowledge it, but the income inequality numbers across racial lines make it painfully clear.
To be honest, it has taken me a long time to acknowledge it as well. But I have read far beyond the articles on the death of Michael Brown; I have read the comments below. And the comments show a glaringly ugly side of the racist attitudes in America.
One cannot help but wonder if the children housed at Ft. Sill Oklahoma had been refugees from Eastern Europe, would the response have been the same? Somehow, when I hear words like "wetback" used, and hear the children accused of being MS13 gang members, I don't think so. And yet, five of the kids we sent back (at LEAST five) are now dead. I cannot help but think a God who charged us to care for the "least of these" WILL hold us responsible for those deaths.
And I am CERTAIN that He will hold us responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown, Kajieme Powell, or the others who die in officer involved shootings every year. I am equally certain that He will hold us responsible for pushing the socioeconomic problems of income inequality that we push off into the inner city and poverty pockets. And He will absolutely, without question hold us accountable for the racist words that spew out of our mouths. Matthew 5:22 should certainly not be construed to be an all inclusive list of things that we can say that count us guilty of murder:
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
The conservative "response", of course, is blame. We create a system of inequality, then we blame those who struggle under the thumb of that inequality for their plight. We justify the murder of minorities in the inner city for minor offenses because we inherently accept that it is somehow deserved because they are "different".
And by claiming they are different than us, we are proving our own racism.
I could throw up numbers, but ultimately, the right is and remains in denial.
Whites who lived in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era didn't believe they were racist either. In fact, slave owners thought they were being benificent. And that hasn't gone away; Tea Party darling Michelle Bachmann even stated that blacks were better off as slaves:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/07/bachmann_black_families_better_under_slavery_obama.php
But let's not stop at Bachmann; here is a list of TEN conservatives who have praised slavery:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/07/bachmann_black_families_better_under_slavery_obama.php
But the same people who support these conservatives insist that racism doesn't exist.
Historically, in times of unrest, the mainstream church has been on the wrong side of history. Slavery, the genocide of the indigenous peoples in this and other nations, labor reform, Nazism in Germany, the list goes on. And I believe this era is no different.
We cannot continue to ignore racism; it is very real, and it's effects are literally killing people as we speak. While the conservative community demands we "withhold judgment" on Officer Wilson, they continue to blast every news piece that they feel indicts Michael Brown. They've ignored the Powell killing as cideo evidence is not in their favor. And even as they peddle their survival wares under the fear that the US will fall under martial law, they seem quite content with that martial law in the inner city.
My voice, unfortunately, does not have a very broad reach. But I will do the few things I can, starting with pulling any and all support for those who insist on remaining in denial.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Renouncing Evangelicalism
I have spent 26 years of my life as an evangelical Christian. To be abundantly clear at the outset of this article, I want to state that none of my doctrine has changed. What has changed is the reality of the church around me.
The church has the tools to be a powerful agent of change in our society, and indeed are commanded multiple times by Christ, notably in Matthew 25: 31-46:|
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I have witnessed countless times when evangelical churches have turned the needy away from their doorsteps. It would be easy to accept a plea of poverty, but the same churches have no shortage of funds for the things they want (in some instances, multimedia presentations, in some instances building projects, in some instances minimalls within their megachurches). The cold, hard fact is that the moneychangers are not only IN the temple, they are in many instances running it.
As racial tensions come to a head in this country, I have seen and cannot accept the evangelical church's response of denying the existence of racism in this country. They blame minorities for higher unemployment rates, while denying access to quality education to many of the people in the inner city through a funding system that basically allows the wealth of a neighborhood to fund schools, leaving minority dominated poverty pockets with less of a funding base.
To list the injustices faced by minorities in this country would take far more time than I am able to take, but the truth is, not only are evangelicals failing to respond as Christians, they are castigating those who choose to respond, accusing us of "reverse racism" and other charges.
As Americans become a nation of great income inequality, where more die of obesity than starvation, they have turned their backs on the words of Ezekial 16:49:
"'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
While workers are further impoverished and wages stagnate while corporate CEOs are making more than at any time in history, they refute the words of James 5:1-6
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Although there are many within the church who have done things to address injustice, support for that has not come from the pulpit. Through the years that I have attended the evangelical church, I have witnessed and heard countless racist statements, which have gone unchallenged, and I do not feel that is the appropriate place for a Christian.
I have personally endured being called many things because of my stance for injustice, and this has made it clear that my place is not within the evangelical church.
I will worship with those who will welcome me to worship, but on this day, August 19, 2014, I renounce evangelicalism and all that it entails. I believe that my call is to serve, and to serve passionately; and I cannot do that in a climate that does not nurture and encourage that.
I beg all of my friends who still consider themselves to be evangelicals to search your hearts and truly examine whether God's call is for you to follow the world and ignore injustice all around you, or whether you are instead called to serve those who suffer injustice and speak truth to power.
I cannot speak to the course you must take, but I MUST speak to mine. As Joshua stated many years ago, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
God bless each and every one of you.
The church has the tools to be a powerful agent of change in our society, and indeed are commanded multiple times by Christ, notably in Matthew 25: 31-46:|
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I have witnessed countless times when evangelical churches have turned the needy away from their doorsteps. It would be easy to accept a plea of poverty, but the same churches have no shortage of funds for the things they want (in some instances, multimedia presentations, in some instances building projects, in some instances minimalls within their megachurches). The cold, hard fact is that the moneychangers are not only IN the temple, they are in many instances running it.
As racial tensions come to a head in this country, I have seen and cannot accept the evangelical church's response of denying the existence of racism in this country. They blame minorities for higher unemployment rates, while denying access to quality education to many of the people in the inner city through a funding system that basically allows the wealth of a neighborhood to fund schools, leaving minority dominated poverty pockets with less of a funding base.
To list the injustices faced by minorities in this country would take far more time than I am able to take, but the truth is, not only are evangelicals failing to respond as Christians, they are castigating those who choose to respond, accusing us of "reverse racism" and other charges.
As Americans become a nation of great income inequality, where more die of obesity than starvation, they have turned their backs on the words of Ezekial 16:49:
"'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
While workers are further impoverished and wages stagnate while corporate CEOs are making more than at any time in history, they refute the words of James 5:1-6
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Although there are many within the church who have done things to address injustice, support for that has not come from the pulpit. Through the years that I have attended the evangelical church, I have witnessed and heard countless racist statements, which have gone unchallenged, and I do not feel that is the appropriate place for a Christian.
I have personally endured being called many things because of my stance for injustice, and this has made it clear that my place is not within the evangelical church.
I will worship with those who will welcome me to worship, but on this day, August 19, 2014, I renounce evangelicalism and all that it entails. I believe that my call is to serve, and to serve passionately; and I cannot do that in a climate that does not nurture and encourage that.
I beg all of my friends who still consider themselves to be evangelicals to search your hearts and truly examine whether God's call is for you to follow the world and ignore injustice all around you, or whether you are instead called to serve those who suffer injustice and speak truth to power.
I cannot speak to the course you must take, but I MUST speak to mine. As Joshua stated many years ago, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
God bless each and every one of you.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Where has the Church Gone?
I am honestly going to say I am very upset. What follows WILL offend some people, so I am going to be upfront:
Understand that the words I am typing are not meant for everyone. Specifically, they are addressed to a mindset. If you are offended and this doesn't fit you, I am truly sorry. If you are offended, however, and the words DO fit you, I am not. Someone has to speak the truth.
I was having a discussion about the church's response to depression, and a comment that I have heard many, many times over the years surfaced: "your problem is, you put too much trust in the church. Trust in God; He will deliver".
The second part of that statement is not wrong. The first is woefully, wickedly wrong, and is a heresy that is destroying the church: the heresy of noninvolvement.
This false teaching says, essentially, that I am not my brother's keeper. That people can literally die on my doorstep, and when they do, it is their failure to trust God, not my own nonaction, that caused their death. That I have appointments to get to, and, dammit, I'm a soccer dad (or mom), and that I really can't be inconvenienced by these things because there's a ref down at the city fields that needs shouting out because he actually carded MY KID!
It is a lie, and it is a lie that is destroying the church. It is also a lie I am finding to represent the overwhelming majority of self styled evangelists, who walk down the dirty streets with one arm full of Lee Stroebel books and another armful of pocket New Testaments, and walk away and call their work for the kingdom done.
As I've shared in previous articles, I have wrestled with depression to the point where I can truly say that it is only by God's grace that I am here today. I have (metaphorically) fought the devil to death's door, and can truly say that it was not a lack of faith that brought me there, and it was not the reduced to man sized cosmic vending machine God that brought me out. Yes, it was through the strength of God, but because depression is not simply "the devil's watchdog", that strength has been required again and again.
Job suffered relentless persecution; was he a man who lacked faith? Paul wrote of the thorn in the flesh; was Paul a man who just needed to trust in God a little more? Nope, and nope.
The hard, inescapable, UGLY truth is that the problems with the world are OURS as Christians to deal with. That that hideous, drunken stranger that He deposited on our doorstep was left there because God knew that when He was doing so, He was leaving that stranger in good hands. That the homeless man is reaching out to us not because we are passersby, but because he knows we are children of the King. And that we can do much to rescue him from his current state.
As a long time self described evangelical, I admit, I am questioning the term. I have fought hard and fast against the "liberal" church, but may soon be heading that route, because that "liberal" church is the only one I see that places compassion and care for the "least of these" as its highest priority. The evangelical church has not only failed to join me to that end, but many have even condemned me for that struggle.
I am tired of seeing the church abandon the call for Mammon. I cannot see the "first world problems" that predominate the church discussions as taking precedence over the very real problems that surround us daily. And I cannot see putting money to repair the church's computer to maintain the weekly slideshow over putting it into the storehouse as being wise stewardship.
I really want to hear back: where is the heresy in expecting Christians to follow the call, and calling them out when they not only fail, but outright REFUSE to do so? Why is the call to give up ALL to follow Christ NOT louder than the call to pursue Mammon? And why emphasize fellowship if its very purpose is not to bear up one another's burdens. I seriously want answers to these questions; I fail to see where the heresy lies!
I will continue to attend evangelical church services because, for the moment, I have no choice. But I will not join them. I will not tithe to them. Not until they show me consistently that they are not only dedicated to the call, but dedicated to teaching every member of their congregation to follow that call with fervent dedication, even if it means the loss of everything they hold dear.
Because in the end, nothing but the cross matters. And any church that teaches otherwise is teaching a false gospel.
Understand that the words I am typing are not meant for everyone. Specifically, they are addressed to a mindset. If you are offended and this doesn't fit you, I am truly sorry. If you are offended, however, and the words DO fit you, I am not. Someone has to speak the truth.
I was having a discussion about the church's response to depression, and a comment that I have heard many, many times over the years surfaced: "your problem is, you put too much trust in the church. Trust in God; He will deliver".
The second part of that statement is not wrong. The first is woefully, wickedly wrong, and is a heresy that is destroying the church: the heresy of noninvolvement.
This false teaching says, essentially, that I am not my brother's keeper. That people can literally die on my doorstep, and when they do, it is their failure to trust God, not my own nonaction, that caused their death. That I have appointments to get to, and, dammit, I'm a soccer dad (or mom), and that I really can't be inconvenienced by these things because there's a ref down at the city fields that needs shouting out because he actually carded MY KID!
It is a lie, and it is a lie that is destroying the church. It is also a lie I am finding to represent the overwhelming majority of self styled evangelists, who walk down the dirty streets with one arm full of Lee Stroebel books and another armful of pocket New Testaments, and walk away and call their work for the kingdom done.
As I've shared in previous articles, I have wrestled with depression to the point where I can truly say that it is only by God's grace that I am here today. I have (metaphorically) fought the devil to death's door, and can truly say that it was not a lack of faith that brought me there, and it was not the reduced to man sized cosmic vending machine God that brought me out. Yes, it was through the strength of God, but because depression is not simply "the devil's watchdog", that strength has been required again and again.
Job suffered relentless persecution; was he a man who lacked faith? Paul wrote of the thorn in the flesh; was Paul a man who just needed to trust in God a little more? Nope, and nope.
The hard, inescapable, UGLY truth is that the problems with the world are OURS as Christians to deal with. That that hideous, drunken stranger that He deposited on our doorstep was left there because God knew that when He was doing so, He was leaving that stranger in good hands. That the homeless man is reaching out to us not because we are passersby, but because he knows we are children of the King. And that we can do much to rescue him from his current state.
As a long time self described evangelical, I admit, I am questioning the term. I have fought hard and fast against the "liberal" church, but may soon be heading that route, because that "liberal" church is the only one I see that places compassion and care for the "least of these" as its highest priority. The evangelical church has not only failed to join me to that end, but many have even condemned me for that struggle.
I am tired of seeing the church abandon the call for Mammon. I cannot see the "first world problems" that predominate the church discussions as taking precedence over the very real problems that surround us daily. And I cannot see putting money to repair the church's computer to maintain the weekly slideshow over putting it into the storehouse as being wise stewardship.
I really want to hear back: where is the heresy in expecting Christians to follow the call, and calling them out when they not only fail, but outright REFUSE to do so? Why is the call to give up ALL to follow Christ NOT louder than the call to pursue Mammon? And why emphasize fellowship if its very purpose is not to bear up one another's burdens. I seriously want answers to these questions; I fail to see where the heresy lies!
I will continue to attend evangelical church services because, for the moment, I have no choice. But I will not join them. I will not tithe to them. Not until they show me consistently that they are not only dedicated to the call, but dedicated to teaching every member of their congregation to follow that call with fervent dedication, even if it means the loss of everything they hold dear.
Because in the end, nothing but the cross matters. And any church that teaches otherwise is teaching a false gospel.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Can You Take One More Blog Piece on Robin Williams?
I debated writing this piece, one because thoughts about Robin Williams have been horribly overdone since his premature passing, and two because I believe that the perceived familiarity with celebrities in our culture is actually a mild form of mental illness; but through several debates with people with a sorely misguided notion of what mental illness is and is not, I felt a final word on my part was appropriate.
I wasn't a huge "Mork and Mindy" fan; it was just kind of there. My acquaintance with Robin Williams really began with a movie called "The Survivors", a completely underrated movie and the first rated "R" movie I saw, which was enough to give my LDS mother conniptions, even though the rating was for language. But I remember HBO shows of his standup and my father (who, like many of us in the family, has struggled with the reality of mental illness) commenting that he felt Robin Williams had symptoms of being bipolar. Being too young to be familiar with the monsters that were my birthright, and will probably follow me to my grave, I didn't understand how he could understand that, but I do now.
The word "hyperkinetic" is overused in describing Williams, but it is one of the few words that can even begin to describe Williams' rapid fire, ad libbed delivery style. His routines were a verbal tickle; alone the jokes would be at best enough to give you a decent chuckle, but he gave you no recovery time, and within five minutes you would find yourself out of oxygen, literally rolling on the floor because you were totally taken in by the magic that was Robin Williams.
But in the midst of it, you could see the dark side, always looming under the surface. The dark side showed in some of his more dramatic works, such as Good Will Hunting, and especially the Fisher King. As the Red Knight chases Parry after he begins to find happiness with Lydia, there is a glimmer of reality in Williams' heart breaking performance.
What Williams did was not "selfish" in the traditional sense. Sure, to those of us outside, suicide seems a selfish act. But it is a final, desperate act of someone who sees no other release from their pain, and the ultimate tragic reality is that you never know who is contemplating suicide at this very moment. Most will not be celebrities; most will simply disappear with only a handful of people remarking on their passing. And most could be prevented.
We need to understand and treat mental illness with greater empathy, and I hope that Williams' death sparks that discussion. But more than that, we need to look in the eyes of those around us and reach out to those who are hurting with a real and tender love. There's no guarantee it will help every one, but I can tell you with absolute certainty it will help some..
In my minds eye, I have this image. I am Jack, Williams is Parry, from the Fisher King. And I have brought him the grail, and in his final, weakened moment, he hands it back to me. It is in that vision that I realize something:
Robin Williams didn't create comedy to make us laugh, or to make him feel better. Robin Williams gave everything he had as a sincere, loving gift to help those who suffered from the Hell that haunted him his entire life a glimmer of hope and happiness. In the end, though, he poured out the entire cup and had nothing left for himself.
And that is the least selfish act I have ever seen.
RIP, Robin Williams. I never knew you, but you did know me. And you gave me much.
I wasn't a huge "Mork and Mindy" fan; it was just kind of there. My acquaintance with Robin Williams really began with a movie called "The Survivors", a completely underrated movie and the first rated "R" movie I saw, which was enough to give my LDS mother conniptions, even though the rating was for language. But I remember HBO shows of his standup and my father (who, like many of us in the family, has struggled with the reality of mental illness) commenting that he felt Robin Williams had symptoms of being bipolar. Being too young to be familiar with the monsters that were my birthright, and will probably follow me to my grave, I didn't understand how he could understand that, but I do now.
The word "hyperkinetic" is overused in describing Williams, but it is one of the few words that can even begin to describe Williams' rapid fire, ad libbed delivery style. His routines were a verbal tickle; alone the jokes would be at best enough to give you a decent chuckle, but he gave you no recovery time, and within five minutes you would find yourself out of oxygen, literally rolling on the floor because you were totally taken in by the magic that was Robin Williams.
But in the midst of it, you could see the dark side, always looming under the surface. The dark side showed in some of his more dramatic works, such as Good Will Hunting, and especially the Fisher King. As the Red Knight chases Parry after he begins to find happiness with Lydia, there is a glimmer of reality in Williams' heart breaking performance.
What Williams did was not "selfish" in the traditional sense. Sure, to those of us outside, suicide seems a selfish act. But it is a final, desperate act of someone who sees no other release from their pain, and the ultimate tragic reality is that you never know who is contemplating suicide at this very moment. Most will not be celebrities; most will simply disappear with only a handful of people remarking on their passing. And most could be prevented.
We need to understand and treat mental illness with greater empathy, and I hope that Williams' death sparks that discussion. But more than that, we need to look in the eyes of those around us and reach out to those who are hurting with a real and tender love. There's no guarantee it will help every one, but I can tell you with absolute certainty it will help some..
In my minds eye, I have this image. I am Jack, Williams is Parry, from the Fisher King. And I have brought him the grail, and in his final, weakened moment, he hands it back to me. It is in that vision that I realize something:
Robin Williams didn't create comedy to make us laugh, or to make him feel better. Robin Williams gave everything he had as a sincere, loving gift to help those who suffered from the Hell that haunted him his entire life a glimmer of hope and happiness. In the end, though, he poured out the entire cup and had nothing left for himself.
And that is the least selfish act I have ever seen.
RIP, Robin Williams. I never knew you, but you did know me. And you gave me much.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Mental Illness Has Taken, Given Much
I've debated writing this. It's far too personal a piece, and not something I'd normally choose to write. But I have always liked the well known Ecclesiastes passage, "To everything, there is a season".
And I believe the season is now, as we mourn the passage of a great comedian we thought we knew.
Mental illness has been a reality in my family for longer than I know. I didn't really know my grandparents, but I've seen the scars firsthand, in the pain and bitterness that creeps just below the surface at family reunions and events. And I've wrestled with it myself.
I've seen it in my mother, a woman who, in her gentler moments, took us out to dig selenite crystals at the Salt Plains in northwestern Oklahoma, and through Dinosaur National Monument, and places like Clifty Falls in my (nominally) native state of Indiana. Yet I've seen her demons, too, the fits of uncontrollable rage, the utter depression that rendered her unable to function for many days at a time.
And I've seen it in my father, who likewise took us on wonderful family trips, yet gradually let the paranoia creep until it controlled him. I'd like to remember both parents as beautiful people, yet the dark moments always hung like a shadow over the lighter moments. An outing could turn from a peaceful, fun family event into a sinister argument in just a few moments' time. Nobody knew what the trigger would be, and we always carefully measured our words and our tone for fear of awakening the beast.
I always knew in some ways my family was different, and it created a sort of awkwardness that led to my own isolation. We didn't talk about the dysfunction, we didn't dare invoke its name for fear that it would somehow creep to the surface, like an old forgotten ghost.
My teenage years were filled with runaway attempts as I tried to escape my mother to go to my father's house. I didn't say it at the time, but it was the beginning of a wanderlust that I believe is common in people who deal with the demons of mental illness. You know something is not right, but you don't know what. And you flee to the furthest corners of the globe to find it.
The wanderlust isn't bad, it's the running that's harmful. Because you can never escape.
At 18, I left home, with nothing but an imagination and a half full tank of gas in an extremely fuel inefficient vehicle to guide me. Predictably, the gas ran out halfway to Colorado Springs, and I hitchhiked the rest of the way, not knowing what to find, just knowing I wanted to find it.
Through the years I became increasingly self aware, and realized that relationships with people who were struggling through mental illness was harming my own mental health. I separated from them, which I've gradually come to realize is just another form of "dry drunk": it helps, for a little bit, but the problem is ever lingering.
I miss my family. I miss the kinds of close relationships that I see others around me enjoying. And I've lived most of my life in a psychological bubble, meant to isolate me from those around me. It's painful, and yet, in the lack of other options, it's necessary.
I've so long feared to tell my story for fear of judgment. For fear that the people that are dearest to me will be taken away by a society that doesn't understand, doesn't WANT to stand that what I wrestle with is not my creation. It's not my FAULT, or anyone's fault, for that matter. It just is, and it is the consequence of the world we live in.
But the truth is, not to be overly dramatic or anything, but it IS killing me. My health has long suffered because the one thing I can't quit doing is eating improperly, and the one thing I can't start doing is exercise properly. I know what would help immensely, and that's simply a truly close friend, one I could sit down with and play guitar, and create, and who could get up with me and help give me the drive to exercise. To remove me as far as possible from the demons that haunt me, because they will always be there.
And yet, I can't hate this beast, because it's given me much. It's given me an endless compassion, a drive to help others, and a flow of creativity in the lighter moments that is amazing. We all saw it in Robin Williams; he created such an uplifting, creative flow of characters, and yet through them, you could see the darkness, lingering. But what it has given me has come at an incredible, heart rending sacrifice, as it has made it very difficult to effectively communicate with those I love. And it has made me a pretty harsh cynic.
I stated in an abbreviated form that I pray that William's death sparks the debate. In our culture, we punish mental illness, we don't treat it. Those who DO seek treatment are stigmatized, and often suffer the loss of jobs, of family, of property as a consequence. We owe ourselves better.
If you are reading this, and have any measure of sympathy, I beg you to work to destigmatize mental illness. You wouldn't incarcerate someone with a brain tumor; you shouldn't incarcerate someone with a lingering, lasting depression. In addition, we need to fund treatment options, and realize that treatment for mental illness is not a one size fits all solution.
I've wrestled with my demons, and won. But I've done so at an incredible cost. Isolation and introversion only help you cope, they don't treat the underlying problem.
Lastly, understand that someone who has dealt with, and survived, substantial depression and suicidal thoughts is not weak; they are amazingly, incomprehensibly strong. Because it takes a powerful person to stare down that beast and win.
And I believe the season is now, as we mourn the passage of a great comedian we thought we knew.
Mental illness has been a reality in my family for longer than I know. I didn't really know my grandparents, but I've seen the scars firsthand, in the pain and bitterness that creeps just below the surface at family reunions and events. And I've wrestled with it myself.
I've seen it in my mother, a woman who, in her gentler moments, took us out to dig selenite crystals at the Salt Plains in northwestern Oklahoma, and through Dinosaur National Monument, and places like Clifty Falls in my (nominally) native state of Indiana. Yet I've seen her demons, too, the fits of uncontrollable rage, the utter depression that rendered her unable to function for many days at a time.
And I've seen it in my father, who likewise took us on wonderful family trips, yet gradually let the paranoia creep until it controlled him. I'd like to remember both parents as beautiful people, yet the dark moments always hung like a shadow over the lighter moments. An outing could turn from a peaceful, fun family event into a sinister argument in just a few moments' time. Nobody knew what the trigger would be, and we always carefully measured our words and our tone for fear of awakening the beast.
I always knew in some ways my family was different, and it created a sort of awkwardness that led to my own isolation. We didn't talk about the dysfunction, we didn't dare invoke its name for fear that it would somehow creep to the surface, like an old forgotten ghost.
My teenage years were filled with runaway attempts as I tried to escape my mother to go to my father's house. I didn't say it at the time, but it was the beginning of a wanderlust that I believe is common in people who deal with the demons of mental illness. You know something is not right, but you don't know what. And you flee to the furthest corners of the globe to find it.
The wanderlust isn't bad, it's the running that's harmful. Because you can never escape.
At 18, I left home, with nothing but an imagination and a half full tank of gas in an extremely fuel inefficient vehicle to guide me. Predictably, the gas ran out halfway to Colorado Springs, and I hitchhiked the rest of the way, not knowing what to find, just knowing I wanted to find it.
Through the years I became increasingly self aware, and realized that relationships with people who were struggling through mental illness was harming my own mental health. I separated from them, which I've gradually come to realize is just another form of "dry drunk": it helps, for a little bit, but the problem is ever lingering.
I miss my family. I miss the kinds of close relationships that I see others around me enjoying. And I've lived most of my life in a psychological bubble, meant to isolate me from those around me. It's painful, and yet, in the lack of other options, it's necessary.
I've so long feared to tell my story for fear of judgment. For fear that the people that are dearest to me will be taken away by a society that doesn't understand, doesn't WANT to stand that what I wrestle with is not my creation. It's not my FAULT, or anyone's fault, for that matter. It just is, and it is the consequence of the world we live in.
But the truth is, not to be overly dramatic or anything, but it IS killing me. My health has long suffered because the one thing I can't quit doing is eating improperly, and the one thing I can't start doing is exercise properly. I know what would help immensely, and that's simply a truly close friend, one I could sit down with and play guitar, and create, and who could get up with me and help give me the drive to exercise. To remove me as far as possible from the demons that haunt me, because they will always be there.
And yet, I can't hate this beast, because it's given me much. It's given me an endless compassion, a drive to help others, and a flow of creativity in the lighter moments that is amazing. We all saw it in Robin Williams; he created such an uplifting, creative flow of characters, and yet through them, you could see the darkness, lingering. But what it has given me has come at an incredible, heart rending sacrifice, as it has made it very difficult to effectively communicate with those I love. And it has made me a pretty harsh cynic.
I stated in an abbreviated form that I pray that William's death sparks the debate. In our culture, we punish mental illness, we don't treat it. Those who DO seek treatment are stigmatized, and often suffer the loss of jobs, of family, of property as a consequence. We owe ourselves better.
If you are reading this, and have any measure of sympathy, I beg you to work to destigmatize mental illness. You wouldn't incarcerate someone with a brain tumor; you shouldn't incarcerate someone with a lingering, lasting depression. In addition, we need to fund treatment options, and realize that treatment for mental illness is not a one size fits all solution.
I've wrestled with my demons, and won. But I've done so at an incredible cost. Isolation and introversion only help you cope, they don't treat the underlying problem.
Lastly, understand that someone who has dealt with, and survived, substantial depression and suicidal thoughts is not weak; they are amazingly, incomprehensibly strong. Because it takes a powerful person to stare down that beast and win.
Monday, August 11, 2014
What You Don't Know About Suicidal Thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Please don't take the following words the wrong way. While I have wrestled with suicidal thoughts, that is long in the past, and I know myself well enough to know when the problem is too big for me. I am writing this in the hopes that it can help someone else who sees themself in this. Also understand a large part of this is metaphor.
If you've never thought demons were real, you've never dealt with depression or extreme despair. I've dealt with both at various times in my life.
Every time I hear or read about someone committing suicide, a fear comes up that only some of us know. To use a metaphor, it's like a beast that's stalking, haunting me. And when I see someone else give in to the beast, I see the beast standing there, taunting. I see his fangs, He looks at me, hungrily, as if to say, you're next.
And there was a time, not so long ago it seems, but over a decade ago in real time, when I thought the beast would win. I remember standing at the edge of the railroad tracks for over an hour, waiting to hear the whistle of an approaching train, with the intent of throwing myself on the tracks before the conductor could respond. That beast would be there, smiling, beckoning.
I had a fear of heights, not from the heights themselves, but from what the beast might do to me.
I begged everyone I was close to. I spoke with my pastor; he dismissed my claims of depression with the simple response, "well, I think all men have depression". He didn't know how urgently, how desperately I needed to understand.
I feared alcohol for the same reason I feared heights. I feared drugs for the same reason as well. Thankfully, in that sense, the beast probably saved me from an addictive nightmare.
The beast is also why I believe in God. See, I've never had a "bright light" experience, and while God apparently talks audibly to other Christians, He never has to me. But He HAS kept me from surrendering to the beast when literally not a single person on the planet would.
If you know someone, anyone, who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts, please, don't judge them. They've judged themselves more than you ever could, and don't need you to validate. Love them with everything you have. Love them, and listen.
But don't ignore them. All it takes sometimes is a little bit of light.
I cannot tell you how passionately I feel about this. All I can tell you is that I am here solely and completely because of the grace of God. But the beast still frightens me. But it also gives me confidence.
Because I have wrestled with it, and won. And knowing that, I fear nothing else.
If you've never thought demons were real, you've never dealt with depression or extreme despair. I've dealt with both at various times in my life.
Every time I hear or read about someone committing suicide, a fear comes up that only some of us know. To use a metaphor, it's like a beast that's stalking, haunting me. And when I see someone else give in to the beast, I see the beast standing there, taunting. I see his fangs, He looks at me, hungrily, as if to say, you're next.
And there was a time, not so long ago it seems, but over a decade ago in real time, when I thought the beast would win. I remember standing at the edge of the railroad tracks for over an hour, waiting to hear the whistle of an approaching train, with the intent of throwing myself on the tracks before the conductor could respond. That beast would be there, smiling, beckoning.
I had a fear of heights, not from the heights themselves, but from what the beast might do to me.
I begged everyone I was close to. I spoke with my pastor; he dismissed my claims of depression with the simple response, "well, I think all men have depression". He didn't know how urgently, how desperately I needed to understand.
I feared alcohol for the same reason I feared heights. I feared drugs for the same reason as well. Thankfully, in that sense, the beast probably saved me from an addictive nightmare.
The beast is also why I believe in God. See, I've never had a "bright light" experience, and while God apparently talks audibly to other Christians, He never has to me. But He HAS kept me from surrendering to the beast when literally not a single person on the planet would.
If you know someone, anyone, who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts, please, don't judge them. They've judged themselves more than you ever could, and don't need you to validate. Love them with everything you have. Love them, and listen.
But don't ignore them. All it takes sometimes is a little bit of light.
I cannot tell you how passionately I feel about this. All I can tell you is that I am here solely and completely because of the grace of God. But the beast still frightens me. But it also gives me confidence.
Because I have wrestled with it, and won. And knowing that, I fear nothing else.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
I live in a very small community that is economically dying. A conversation online reminded me of an exchange I had a couple of months ago.
I made a decision in business to stop focusing my efforts in town. Instead, I was going to travel to work, because there was money on the road, and the local community didn't provide a reliable enough income stream. In fact, during a stretch of nearly a month, AFTER all of our savings had been depleted, I made the princely sum of $50 for the stretch. And selling off our belongings wasn't netting us enough to ride the storm out.
And so I stated that I was shutting down the local side of the business almost in its entirely. The time and money I was spending to advertise, promote, and pay insurance premiums was not justified by the almost nonexistent business it was netting me.
The result of my statement was blowback from some of the community. One person went so far as to tell me that I did not belong in this town, and that I should move out for the betterment of the town.
It took a bit, but I slowly began to realize that is the exact same problem I've had in the church through the years. As people beat their brains out to figure out why folks are leaving their congregations, I have actually taken the time to talk with some of the families who have left. And I've found that their concerns are very similar to mine. Yet instead of listening to the people who have left, pastors tend to only hear the voices of the church growth professionals, who tend to write off the exiting congregants as collateral damage.
In the meantime, they've allowed people to come in who look the way they want, talk the way they want, say "amen" in the right places, and most of all, never EVER criticize the leaders. Because divine inspiration, it seems, can only come from those who are ordained by men.
The net result is that, not only are there wolves in the flock, they are in many cases LEADING the flock. The allure of building more building than you need and judging your success by how many people you can pack into that building is far too strong. Bring programs, they say. Entice the kids and the parents follow. All of these are gimmicks that never ever focus on the heart of the community.
But they are also indicators of poor leadership. Ask most of the pastors (or, getting back to the community issues, community leaders) to produce a strategic plan and you will seldom find one. Ask them to perform a SWOT analysis, and you're likely to find blank stares meeting you in the boardroom. Because a SWOT analysis requires talking to those people who left. And listening.
Instead, like the fine person who offered to run me out of town, the church is doing the same thing. The people who leave are written off, discarded, and no real change is ever made because the only people left in the seats are yes men and women, who grossly misinterpret what it means for a pastor to be "above reproach".
I've given up hope that any of my articles will ever be read in their entirety. Yet I keep them, and I keep writing them, in the hopes that one day someone will actually read them and GET them. Until that time, expect nothing to change.
I made a decision in business to stop focusing my efforts in town. Instead, I was going to travel to work, because there was money on the road, and the local community didn't provide a reliable enough income stream. In fact, during a stretch of nearly a month, AFTER all of our savings had been depleted, I made the princely sum of $50 for the stretch. And selling off our belongings wasn't netting us enough to ride the storm out.
And so I stated that I was shutting down the local side of the business almost in its entirely. The time and money I was spending to advertise, promote, and pay insurance premiums was not justified by the almost nonexistent business it was netting me.
The result of my statement was blowback from some of the community. One person went so far as to tell me that I did not belong in this town, and that I should move out for the betterment of the town.
It took a bit, but I slowly began to realize that is the exact same problem I've had in the church through the years. As people beat their brains out to figure out why folks are leaving their congregations, I have actually taken the time to talk with some of the families who have left. And I've found that their concerns are very similar to mine. Yet instead of listening to the people who have left, pastors tend to only hear the voices of the church growth professionals, who tend to write off the exiting congregants as collateral damage.
In the meantime, they've allowed people to come in who look the way they want, talk the way they want, say "amen" in the right places, and most of all, never EVER criticize the leaders. Because divine inspiration, it seems, can only come from those who are ordained by men.
The net result is that, not only are there wolves in the flock, they are in many cases LEADING the flock. The allure of building more building than you need and judging your success by how many people you can pack into that building is far too strong. Bring programs, they say. Entice the kids and the parents follow. All of these are gimmicks that never ever focus on the heart of the community.
But they are also indicators of poor leadership. Ask most of the pastors (or, getting back to the community issues, community leaders) to produce a strategic plan and you will seldom find one. Ask them to perform a SWOT analysis, and you're likely to find blank stares meeting you in the boardroom. Because a SWOT analysis requires talking to those people who left. And listening.
Instead, like the fine person who offered to run me out of town, the church is doing the same thing. The people who leave are written off, discarded, and no real change is ever made because the only people left in the seats are yes men and women, who grossly misinterpret what it means for a pastor to be "above reproach".
I've given up hope that any of my articles will ever be read in their entirety. Yet I keep them, and I keep writing them, in the hopes that one day someone will actually read them and GET them. Until that time, expect nothing to change.
Friday, August 8, 2014
John Hagee: A Liar for God
John Hagee is an icon of the evangelist. He is a hero. He is also a liar and an apologist for the wealthy. And I believe it is time for Christians to stand up against religious "leaders" like Hagee.
He continues to compare the poor to parasites, failing to call out the employers who continue to underpay their employees. He calls for "justice" by starving the poor, in direct contradiction to the Biblical mandate to CARE for the poor!
Where will you stand, Hagee, when God separates out the sheep and the goats? Where will you stand?
If the rich insist on perpetuating class warfare, I'm more than up for the fight!
He continues to compare the poor to parasites, failing to call out the employers who continue to underpay their employees. He calls for "justice" by starving the poor, in direct contradiction to the Biblical mandate to CARE for the poor!
Where will you stand, Hagee, when God separates out the sheep and the goats? Where will you stand?
If the rich insist on perpetuating class warfare, I'm more than up for the fight!
Why Simplicity?
I admit to being an extremist in one respect: I don't like waste. I don't like when I see it in the church; I don't like when I see it in my own life.
And I believe that a consistent part of being a Christian is to live simply. While it's true that God makes both rich and poor, it is a mistake to believe that money is your own. You are at best a steward, and you WILL be held accountable for how you handle God's investments.
The evangelical church is moving closer and closer to being like the pre-Reformation Catholic church in reality, if not in name. People of power and position are given preference in the church, and, rather than raise up ministers to meet the needs of the flock, we exalt ministers with a charismatic bent to a lofty position and build up their churches. And we turn away from ministry anyone who has the ability but doesn't have the salesmanship. Church has become a business, and it costs a good deal of money to support those ministries.
The truth is, this is NOT what was intended. Yes, we can look at Jewish tradition as far as buildings are concerned, but if you are comparing ANY modern church building to the temple, you are not well versed in theology. The truth is, the very simple yet profound act of the curtain being torn in two upon the death of Christ illustrates why that analogy is inaccurate: because the Temple simply is NOT part of the New Covenant. This is because the Temple was a type of Christ.
When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them out with nothing (Luke 9:3). There was no fancy dress, and if we're acting in accordance with Jesus' teachings, there wouldn't be an emphasis on sound, lights, and essentially trying to replicate a rock concert on a Sunday morning service. Now, I've had the debate on projectors, and I can reluctantly agree that IF the purchase of a computer and a projector does not impede the ministry, it's not an outrageous choice, because, as a pastor friend of mine has pointed out, it does urge the congregation to look up, and actually SING. It would be better if they knew all the words in the hymnal, as used to be the norm, but we can't lament the cultural relics of the past.
Today's church often consists of simulcasts and video teaching. Contrast this with Jesus' teaching methods, which encouraged questions, encouraged interaction. Any teacher will tell you that you can only accomplish so much. Simplicity allows the ministers to interact with their congregation, and through the questions that the congregants ask, it can be much easier to identify the needs.
But the main reason simplicity is important is because many churches have made the gospel secondary. Positions in the church are often given to the wealthiest, using the rationale that they are better stewards of their money (that's often not the case, but it is the perception in our culture). The truth is, if a major contributor to the church's finances was caught in a major scandal, it would be difficult for the church to confront them, because a good number of pastors would be unwilling to risk the financial stability of their church by offending the contributor.
To be fair, most pastors that I know personally would not hesitate to speak out, but I have also known a few personally who HAVE failed to speak out -- and watched as the actions of those individuals ultimately affected and destroyed their congregations. It's not pretty.
The truth is, for a Christian, the GOSPEL is what is important. Not programs, not multimedia, not a worship team. If those are an impedance to proper worship, they should be removed. And if the cost to maintain them causes the church to neglect serious needs in the community, they should be done away with. Our call is primarily to those outside the church, after all, NOT those inside of it.
I know there are those who will argue my point, and they will do so with elegance. But as Christians, we must face the fact that our slavish devotion to the things of this world is a compromise that is seriously destroying the church. The majority of Christians I know (and I've been guilty of this myself from time to time) can quote more lines from their favorite movie than they can from Scripture. That is a tragedy.
Let's try to stop serving mammon so much, and focus on what's important. That's where true religion begins!
And I believe that a consistent part of being a Christian is to live simply. While it's true that God makes both rich and poor, it is a mistake to believe that money is your own. You are at best a steward, and you WILL be held accountable for how you handle God's investments.
The evangelical church is moving closer and closer to being like the pre-Reformation Catholic church in reality, if not in name. People of power and position are given preference in the church, and, rather than raise up ministers to meet the needs of the flock, we exalt ministers with a charismatic bent to a lofty position and build up their churches. And we turn away from ministry anyone who has the ability but doesn't have the salesmanship. Church has become a business, and it costs a good deal of money to support those ministries.
The truth is, this is NOT what was intended. Yes, we can look at Jewish tradition as far as buildings are concerned, but if you are comparing ANY modern church building to the temple, you are not well versed in theology. The truth is, the very simple yet profound act of the curtain being torn in two upon the death of Christ illustrates why that analogy is inaccurate: because the Temple simply is NOT part of the New Covenant. This is because the Temple was a type of Christ.
When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them out with nothing (Luke 9:3). There was no fancy dress, and if we're acting in accordance with Jesus' teachings, there wouldn't be an emphasis on sound, lights, and essentially trying to replicate a rock concert on a Sunday morning service. Now, I've had the debate on projectors, and I can reluctantly agree that IF the purchase of a computer and a projector does not impede the ministry, it's not an outrageous choice, because, as a pastor friend of mine has pointed out, it does urge the congregation to look up, and actually SING. It would be better if they knew all the words in the hymnal, as used to be the norm, but we can't lament the cultural relics of the past.
Today's church often consists of simulcasts and video teaching. Contrast this with Jesus' teaching methods, which encouraged questions, encouraged interaction. Any teacher will tell you that you can only accomplish so much. Simplicity allows the ministers to interact with their congregation, and through the questions that the congregants ask, it can be much easier to identify the needs.
But the main reason simplicity is important is because many churches have made the gospel secondary. Positions in the church are often given to the wealthiest, using the rationale that they are better stewards of their money (that's often not the case, but it is the perception in our culture). The truth is, if a major contributor to the church's finances was caught in a major scandal, it would be difficult for the church to confront them, because a good number of pastors would be unwilling to risk the financial stability of their church by offending the contributor.
To be fair, most pastors that I know personally would not hesitate to speak out, but I have also known a few personally who HAVE failed to speak out -- and watched as the actions of those individuals ultimately affected and destroyed their congregations. It's not pretty.
The truth is, for a Christian, the GOSPEL is what is important. Not programs, not multimedia, not a worship team. If those are an impedance to proper worship, they should be removed. And if the cost to maintain them causes the church to neglect serious needs in the community, they should be done away with. Our call is primarily to those outside the church, after all, NOT those inside of it.
I know there are those who will argue my point, and they will do so with elegance. But as Christians, we must face the fact that our slavish devotion to the things of this world is a compromise that is seriously destroying the church. The majority of Christians I know (and I've been guilty of this myself from time to time) can quote more lines from their favorite movie than they can from Scripture. That is a tragedy.
Let's try to stop serving mammon so much, and focus on what's important. That's where true religion begins!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
It's Not About Guilt; It's About Humanity
4,743 faces. 4,743 names.
Between 1888 and 1968, 4,743 people faced the hangman's noose in a massive bloodbath orchestrated by people who claimed to be Christian. Although not all were black, 73% were, and most were in the South. Two were hanged in the very town where I was born.
150 were women, and at least three of those (Mary Turner, Josefa Segovia and Laura Nelson) were either pregnant or had given birth. And the faces of those who hanged them would sit proudly in the churches not long after.
As I am doing the research for a specific project, I am discovering a lot of ugly truths about the history of lynching in America. It is a history on which the church has been remarkably silent, preferring to leave in our past, believing that we've become more civilized (the blood of Trayvon Martin would, I am sure, argue against our being more civilized, but that's another matter).
I cannot reconcile with THIS church, cannot consider myself a part of THIS body. I know it doesn't recognize the face of the church today, but I cannot help but think that even though we did not perform these vile actions, we can be among those to help heal in the descendants of these victims who sit among us.
It's time for us to own the actions of our forbearers. And atone.
Between 1888 and 1968, 4,743 people faced the hangman's noose in a massive bloodbath orchestrated by people who claimed to be Christian. Although not all were black, 73% were, and most were in the South. Two were hanged in the very town where I was born.
150 were women, and at least three of those (Mary Turner, Josefa Segovia and Laura Nelson) were either pregnant or had given birth. And the faces of those who hanged them would sit proudly in the churches not long after.
As I am doing the research for a specific project, I am discovering a lot of ugly truths about the history of lynching in America. It is a history on which the church has been remarkably silent, preferring to leave in our past, believing that we've become more civilized (the blood of Trayvon Martin would, I am sure, argue against our being more civilized, but that's another matter).
I cannot reconcile with THIS church, cannot consider myself a part of THIS body. I know it doesn't recognize the face of the church today, but I cannot help but think that even though we did not perform these vile actions, we can be among those to help heal in the descendants of these victims who sit among us.
It's time for us to own the actions of our forbearers. And atone.
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