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Category Archives: Humanity

Faith or politics informs our decisions?

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Organizational theory, Politics, Theology

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

faith, ideology, Jesus, politics, theology

Beliefs and ideas about politics are often really no more than theological statements dressed up in secular terms.

Maybe you disagree with that statement.  But consider this, often politics offers something that theology has been about for a long time – a vision of salvation.  In theology we have terms for this – soteriology and eschatology.

Bad theology is often deadly and destructive.  It focuses on wrath, compliance, anger, and makes people suffer as a result.  Bad theology allows for abuse and violence.  Often these bad theologies find willing partners in political ideologies – a partnership of convenience.

When we hear politicians and others talk about salvation and a savior, it’s politics using theology.  Now, you may not think that politicians talk in theological terms but let me point out a couple of recent examples.  Remember when Obama was described as being like a savior?  Or how about people saying that Trump was put here by God.  How about every president invoking God’s blessing on the nation.  Or that we are a special nation ordained by God.  Those are theological terms that are hijacked for political purposes.  When we hear about being a great nation (or great again), it’s no different from what the crowds were expecting from Jesus when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  People were thinking politics, but were really doing theology.  They had an expectation of what a savior was.  But Jesus had a different definition.

Don’t tell me to have theology stop at the border of politics especially when politics tramples all over theology all the time and has for centuries.  As if theology shouldn’t have any effect on the public sphere.  It does, which is why politics is often trying to use it for its own advantages.

Which is the foundation of the other?  Is politics and ideology the foundation of life or is theology the thing that guides our decisions in both public and private life? Does politics and ideology inform our theology or does our theology inform our politics?

I would argue that most people place politics as the foundation of their lives.  We seem to invest a great deal of time on politics, ideology, party loyalties, and politicians.  Do we invest the same time, energy, emotion, and resources in to our theology?  How many times do we hear about a political leader being like a savior who is going to save the nation or make it great again?  Democrats and Republicans are both guilty of this.

How much time do we devote to opening the sacred scriptures of politics (news sites), listen to the religious authorities of politics (spin doctors on TV who tell us what to believe), give our tithes and offerins to the religion of politics (campaign contributions), listen sermons of politicians (speeches, tweets, etc)., and partake in apologetics of the faith of politics (defending the ideology from all attacks on social media, in person, or anywhere)?  Do we give that kind of investment of ourselves into our faith?  When is the last time you opened Scripture outside of church to read God’s word?  Want me to go on?

If you believe that theology and faith are only a personal matter and they have no impact on the social or community, the polity, then I have some questions for you?

How do you square that belief with the Great Commission of Jesus?  Matthew 28:18-20 states:

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Jesus says “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  As in all.  Not a separation between personal and the political.  “Make disciples of all nations.”  Do you think that might have an impact on policies that are implemented?

How do you square the belief of theology and politics being in separate realms, not impacting each other, with the whole idea of the kingdom/reign of God?  How do you square it away with the image of Revelation 21.  How do you square it away with the prophets of old telling kings what God’s words were?  How do you square it away with the time before kings in Israel where God was the head and they had no need of a king?

How do you square it with Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey at one end of the city in contrast to Pilot entering at the other end on his horse with his soldiers?  How do you square it away with the titles given to Jesus that had been reserved for Caesar, the Roman emperor – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the World, Prince of Peace?

How do you hold onto the belief that theology and faith have no impact on politics and living in community when the bible shows that the idea is false through out it?

If our theology and faith don’t guide our whole life, including our politics, then what good is it?

How is that faith and theology going to bring about the kingdom of God?  And do we really want the kingdom of God to come at all?  The kingdom of God is all-encompassing, not just affecting your personal life.  Throughout the Hebrew Bible we hear about God restoring the entire world, not just individuals.  We hear about the salvation of Israel, not just individuals.  In the Gospel of John, we hear that God so loved the cosmos, that he gave his Son.  Not God so loved individuals – no, the entire cosmos, all of creation.

Which god do we lay our lives out in front of to determine how we will live – both personally and communally?  Which god invites us to participate in the unfolding of a kingdom?  God or some earthly kingdom and ideology and politician?

The book of Daniel is full of examples of politics stepping all over theology and faith. And there are consequences of this because God doesn’t care about these human made imaginary boundaries that we construct.  They are human inventions.

Jonah is sent by God with a message for the a secular city and it’s rulers to change.  Elijah flees for his life from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel because theology and faith are foundational for personal and public life and the politicians don’t like being put in their place as servants of God rather than gods over people.

The Apostle Paul, over and over again, suffers at the hand of politics and politicians, eventually being killed by politicians.  John the Baptist is jailed and beheaded by politicians because he dares to speak faith and theology into the life of politics.  Jesus suffers at the hand of politics, eventually being crucified by politicians because he is offering an alternative kingdom in contrast to the empire.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 states:

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Hebrews 13:1-5 states:

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’

When we read Ephesians 4:25-5:2 and Hebrews 13:1-5, do we only see these as personal suggestions on how to live life?  Do we put up walls to prevent them from being carried out publicly?  Or at least have higher expectations for our elected leaders?  Why?  What is it about these passages that is so dangerous to our political system that we make excuses for behaviors, rhetoric, and policies that are in opposition to what is in Scripture?

Before you level the charge that I am suggesting or advocating a theocracy, I am not.  Theocracies often end up being abusive, dangerous, full of violence, focused on compliance of action and thought.  Theocracies are all about using absolute power over people.  That’s not what the kingdom of God is about at all.

The questions I am raising are this – What does it mean to claim to be a follower of Jesus?  Does it only affect our personal life?  Is it acceptable to put Jesus on the side when it comes to our politics?  Why is that acceptable?  Why doesn’t our theology inform our politics, our policies, and our rhetoric?  That doesn’t mean we need a theocracy.  Far from it.  It means we need to live out what we claim to believe in into all aspect of our life, whatever our political structure is.

Lisa and Phoenix

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Society, Theology

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Christianity, family, God, Kingdom of God

I met Lisa a few months ago.  She, her husband Wes, their son Phoenix, and their dog bear were passing through the area and stopped at the church to seek some assistance for one night – a place to sleep.

They told me the story of how they were from Maine and had traveled to West Virginia so that Wes could start a job there.  They packed up all their stuff into their van and headed down.  They had a place to stay waiting for them.  Turns out the job fell through when they got there.  So they turned around and started to head home, stopping in Carlisle for the night.  They happened to find out church and sought out some help.  We put them up for the night in one of the local hotels and offered one of our handmade blankets to the family.  They were grateful and had expressed a good deal of their faith during my time with them telling me at one point that God provides for them always.

Fast forward to last week – I received an e-mail from Lisa telling me that she and Phoenix would be traveling through the area again.  Turns out that Wes had to finish out a parole sentence in a distant state from years ago and so it was just her and their son.  They were heading back to West Virginia to be with family who could help them out.  They would get housing in exchange for doing child care.

She still had Bear, their small dog who was friendly as ever.  I met up with them when they arrived and got them taken care of for the night.

I learned a few things from my encounters with Lisa.  First, no matter the situation, Lisa was always joy-filled.  She always has a smile on her face.  She doesn’t have much, but what she has she is grateful for.  Second, Lisa has great trust in God.  God always provides is what I heard Wes say.  And here was God providing for this family again – this time through the church.

I couldn’t help but think of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus traveling when I encountered Lisa, Wes, and Phoenix.  This time it felt more like Mary going to visit Elizabeth.  Different circumstances of course, but the idea was there.

God shows us in mysterious ways.  God invites us to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom too.  God had invited me to participate in the unfolding through Lisa and Phoenix and Bear.

We have no idea how many people there are who are in similar situations.  It’s easy to turn a blind eye to things like this.  But that’s not what we are called to.  Instead, we are called to answer the e-mail that is sent to us, to answer the door when the bell is run, to answer the phone when there is a call, to answer.

My prayers remain with Lisa, Phoenix, and Bear – as well as with Wes.  I pray that they are reunited sooner rather than later and are able to get back on their feet.

Sometimes I wonder if we have this preconceived idea of what participating in the unfolding of the kingdom of God is like – what it looks like.  I wonder if we think it’s all nice and neat and organized.  But then I get an invitation to participate in the unfolding of God’s kingdom.  And it comes at the door right when I’m getting ready to leave for the day.  Or in a text.  Or at the Flying J truck stop.  Or at Dinner with Friends community meal.  Or in the elevator of the hospital.  Or in the parking lot as I’m getting into my car.  The invitation comes at random times – usually when I least expect it.  And that’s probably a good thing.  When it happens, I have moments to either accept the invitation or reject it.  It seems that in the spur of the moment, I’m more likely to accept the invitation.  God has different plans than what I’ve come up with.

And sometimes those plans come in multiple parts, with the knock on a door and an e-mail follow-up separated by several months.

Be ready.  You don’t know when God will send your invitation.

The Psalm of John

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Church, faith, grace, Psalm, Psalm 23

The doorbell of the church rang while I was on the phone with a colleague.  I was told that a man came in and needed prayers.  When I finished the call, I went out to the man.  His name is John.  John proceeded to tell me that his mother was dying and is at the local hospital.  He was trying to get there.  He had traveled down from Scranton, a couple of hours away.  His car broke down in Harrisburg and so he started walking his way towards the hospital.

Along the way, he stopped and asked directions, had enough money to get something to drink, and rest his feet for a few minutes.

When he came to New Kingstown, something nudged him to stop at the church for prayers.  And he listened to that nudge.

We were able to get him some food and I spent time with him, listening to his story, and praying with him.  He wanted directions to the hospital.  He said that the prayer was all he really wanted.

I know that the hospital is a good 20 minutes drive, which includes highway.  There was no way that I was letting him walk.  So I offered him a ride, which he gladly accepted and reassured me that he wasn’t looking for a handout.

As we drove along, I heard more of John’s story.  I heard about the loss of many family members over the last 10 years.  I heard about challenges in the family with health issues.  I heard about his own blessings with health.

I asked John how long he had walked.  He thought for a moment and then told me that his car broke down in Harrisburg, he got a tow truck, gave the mechanic $1400 to fix his car – all his money – and then he started walking.  It was 5 am when he started.  He had been walking five hours by the time he had gotten to us at the church. I’ve run marathons, a couple of which have taken five hours before.  I know what being on your feet for five hours is like.  It’s not fun.  It’s painful.  But John said that he just kept going.  He didn’t know if his mother would survive the day and he had to go see her.

He didn’t know where he was going to stay that night.  He would have more money in 24-48 hours, so he was hoping that some motel or hotel would be compassionate enough to work with him.

On the way to the hospital we stopped at a hotel, about a mile from the hospital.  I went in with him.  The hotel requires payment upfront.  So the church helped him out with a room for a couple of days until his car was repaired.

John was about ready to break down, I could see it in his face.  He told me that he wanted to repay the church for the rooms and the gas.  I told him that all he needed to do was to say thank you and that he needed his money more than we did.  I told him that if he really wanted to repay us, then to do something good for someone else.

He didn’t know what to say.  I told him – this is what grace is.  I can’t preach grace if I don’t live it.

The woman behind the counter heard this exchange and said “God is so good, isn’t he?”  Yes God is.

After getting the room taken care of, I drove John down the road the hospital.  We said our goodbyes and I gave him well wishes for him and his mother.  And off he went into the hospital to be with his mother for what is probably the last time.

I don’t know why God nudged him to our door.  But I’m glad John came to us.  And I’m glad we were able to give him just a little help.  More importantly, we were able to share Good News with him and with others.  Good News isn’t all about words.  Good News is how we live.  Our entire lives are an expression of Good News – or they should be for those of us to claim to follow Jesus.

Hang in there John.  You are not alone.

As I think about this encounter, I’m drawn to Psalm 23.  In one sense because the Psalm is used for so many funerals, and here was an instance in which death was right on the horizon.  But this was a bit different.  It’s not about the person who was dying.  It’s about the person who is seeing death of another.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.


Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.


You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

When I think about this passage of Scripture, I see John.  He’s walking through the darkest valley.  And God is the one who provides for him.  God makes sure John is not in want.  God restores his soul and leads him along right paths.  It is God who is with John in the darkest valley and comforts him.  It is God who prepares a table and blesses John.  It is God who gives a future.

Psalm 23 is the Psalm for John – and all Johns out there.

My encounter with April

02 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bondage, Christianity, faith, Jesus, motel, stories

April reached out to me by e-mail.  I was recommended to her as someone she should reach out to as someone who could help her out.  She wasn’t looking for help with paying the fee to live in the hotel, but help to get out.  She told me that she had to leave – that she needed to set free of the bondage of the place she was living in.  She was being reunited with her ex-husband who was living in Colorado.

I came and visited with her in her room just a couple of days ago.  I didn’t know what to expect.  She spent the first hour telling me her story, but with a twist.  It was a story of God’s timing and God’s plans and how they are different from ours.  She has been separated from her husband for 14 months, but that separation allowed healing to happen.  That separation gave room for April to see how God is Lord, and not anything or anyone else.

We talked and shared our faith stories, moments in our lives when we have experienced God nudging us and tapping us on the shoulder, and sometimes shouting directly at us to get our attention.

She shared with me what it has been like living in the motel – like a trap.  Things deteriorate, service is terrible, there is no kitchen or way to make food, except for a microwave, and things generally don’t work consistently.  But there aren’t a whole lot of options for people in her situation.  She described it as being in bondage – a term that is not used lightly.  And a term that seems very fitting.  It’s not just physical bondage, but bondage of the spirit, of the human will to live.  Every week, the bill comes due to cover the shelter of the room – an expense that is way beyond normal.  An expense that often times takes advantage of the poor who are sheltered there.  But then again, where else are these folks going to go?

In this country, there is a creed that we live by – individualism.  It’s the belief that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, that everyone is able to get themselves out of trouble, and that only the lazy suffer the consequences.

And in this country, we like to claim that we are a Christian nation.  Many churches proclaim the creeds of the church that were established centuries ago in far off lands.  And we claim to follow Jesus who favored the poor and proclaimed Good News to the poor.

How do these two creeds and belief systems compliment each other though?  Christianity isn’t so much about our personal salvation devoid of public implications, but as something far more greater.  Revelation 21 paints a picture of the entirety of creation being renewed and restored.  Jesus doesn’t proclaim that only the strong will survive and only those with material wealth are the ones who are blessed by God.

When I keep encountering more and more people who are struggling with the basic necessities of life, I have to compare our national operating creeds and beliefs with those of Jesus.  And frankly, I find our nation’s operating beliefs to be lacking – failing in the promise of an American Dream.  But Jesus has yet to fail to come through on his promises.  If we are a great nation, then why do so many struggle to survive?  If you think there is an easy answer for this, then you are dismissing the struggles that exist because you think they don’t affect you.  And you are wrong.

Homelessness does affect you.  When a homeless person without insurance gets sick, they go the hospital to receive treatment.  Going to a hospital for routine care is expensive.  Someone has to pay for that.  It ends up showing up in your insurance premiums and taxes.  When the poor don’t have enough food because they are being gorged with weekly payments, they become sicker and have health problems.  Guess who pays for that?  When the homeless sneak over to an abandoned hotel to find shelter and every day the local police department are sent over to kick people out – someone has to pay for the police to do this, as opposed to doing something else.  Guess who pays?  That’s right, everyone does, including the people who think that homelessness has no impact on their lives.  Apparently, we like to lie to ourselves and think that we are like islands.  Yet Christ calls us into community, to proclamation, and to service of others.

1 Peter 2:9-10 states:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

This isn’t only about individuals.  It’s much bigger than the American ideal of catering to each individual.  In the side commentary of the Lutheran Study Bible related to this passage of Scripture, it states:

What is the priesthood of all believers?  This is a key concept for Martin Luther, who insists that all Christians are priests or God’s messengers.  Proclaiming God’s mighty acts is not a job reserved for only a few people.  God calls all believers – no matter what their vocation or standing – to share the Gospel and serve their neighbors to that others come to know Christ.

(Source – Lutheran Study Bible, pg. 2002)

Did you catch the end of that – All believers are to share the Gospel and serve their neighbor.  Not make excuses.  Not judge.  Not put blinders on and ignore those around us.  The Gospel is Good News to the Poor.

At the end of my conversation with April, I got her set up with transportation.  And we spent time in prayer.

April was having a true Jesus moment that had nothing to do with me.  Her old life, the life she was living here – a life in bondage – was dying.  Today her old life will die as she gets on the bus.  Following Jesus is about dying.  It’s about trusting what Jesus tells us – that following him will lead to death – death daily, death to self, death of life, death of bondage.

But it doesn’t end there.  Death doesn’t get the final say.  Jesus does.  In order to experience resurrection, we have to go through death.  When April steps on the bus, she will also begin to experience resurrection, new life.  A life of hope.  A life where bondage has ended and there is a future. A transformed life.  This is what Jesus promises.  And it’s not just for some time in the distant future.  It’s here and now.

Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we are stop fighting with God and allow God to take over.  Sometimes we have to get to a point of complete loss of hope in order to let go of the chains that bind us, that hold us bound.

April is a reminder that death and resurrection are real and are what Jesus calls us to – right here and now.  April left the bondage of a motel room with a life that was hopeless and she is getting on a bus filled with hope, looking forward to the embrace of love and family, and experiencing Jesus’ mercy and grace.  This is the Good News of Jesus in our midst.

The Sheltered Homeless

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Society, Theology

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Church, homelessness

I met Lynn by accident.  She is a housekeeper at a motel just off the interstate about 20 minutes from the church I serve.  I was there to assist a homeless person get emergency housing for a couple of days for herself and her dogs as she made plans to move in with her sister in Maryland.  She told me her sister couldn’t come to get her for a couple of days and she had no money and nowhere to stay.  Lynn overheard this and as I was leaving, she approached me to seek assistance for herself.

Lynn shared with me that she lives in the motel.  She is paid just enough to cover the weekly cost of living there, with a little left over for her other expenses.  Not a great life for her and her two children.  But it’s what she had to do after her husband walked out on her.  She was trying to save up some money to move out to an apartment, but just couldn’t get any savings going.  And she isn’t alone.  Somewhere between 50-75% of the rooms of this particular motel are occupied by people who live there and pay their bill weekly.

Jeff lives in a motel just a few miles from the church I serve, along the Miracle Mile, just outside of Carlisle, PA.  Jeff’s been there for several months, along with his two cats, which keeps him company.  During his time, he’s racked up a debt and owes the motel owner enough that eviction proceedings have gone forward.  Jeff will be evicted by the eighth of the month – becoming homeless in the more traditional sense of the word.

But really, Lynn and Jeff are homeless.  They are what I call sheltered homeless – living in a motel, but not secure in their housing.  They have shelter, but it’s hardly home.

In recent months I have spoken with several motel managers and front desk employees about people who live in these motels and pay weekly.  Depending on the motel, anywhere from 25%-75% of the occupants of these motels are weekly residents, meaning that they pay an ongoing weekly rate to stay in a motel room.  And that doesn’t count the more traditional homeless who will “splurge” for a night or two by getting a room at one of these motels in order to get out from the heat or cold, get a shower, and a free continental breakfast.

Along the Miracle Mile there are well over a dozen hotels and motels.  At least half a dozen of these have weekly paying residents.  Add this up and it’s easy to estimate that there are hundreds who live like this in just this area alone.  At one motel, of the 64 rooms available, 16 had weekly residents.  Other motels had higher percentages of weekly residents.

Homelessness is a growing challenge in the US, especially in the region of the country I live in – South Central PA.  Our congregation comes in contact with the homeless regularly: doing ministry twice a month at the local Flying J truck stop where we make sure the homeless who live in their vehicles in the parking lot there are able to get their laundry done, can take showers, and get a meal.  We also come in contact with the homeless and poor through our monthly Dinner with Friends community meal held in our fellowship hall and we do what we can to help these folks with emergency food and connecting them to other agencies that can help them.  Sometimes the homeless will call or stop by the church during the week, seeking food, shelter, or references to agencies that can help.

Homelessness is on the radar for many people.  But it’s also something that remains an abstract issue for many, especially if a person doesn’t know a homeless person by name or know their story.  If you don’t know someone personally who is homeless, you probably never think about homelessness at the end of the day when you go to your own comfortable home that is warm in the winter or cool in the summer.  It’s just another issue that can be debated by politicians, or it’s something that we can be against generally, as long as it doesn’t directly impact us, make us uncomfortable or inconvenienced.  But when you know the homeless by name and know their stories, going home at the end of the day becomes another day in which you see how broken our world is.

People like Lynn and Jeff are a different variation of homeless – the sheltered homeless.  Or rather, the trapped.  They are caught in a vicious cycle that keeps them on the edge.  While they are paying anywhere from $250-$300 a week for their small motel room, they are often going without other necessities like food, upkeep for vehicles, medication, and more – things they need to survive.

Often times, these sheltered homeless are working, but are not being paid enough to meet their living expenses.  These are not lazy people.  And they aren’t blowing money on frivolous things, unlike the false stereotypes that persist around homeless people.  Those exist because someone, somewhere, worked the system and so the popular thought is that this must be true of all poor or homeless people.  Except it isn’t.

They are spending anywhere from $1000 a month for their housing up to $1200 a month.  That’s almost a mortgage payment for most Americans.  All for a motel room.  Not a house or an apartment.

The challenge arises because many of these people don’t have enough savings to pay for a security deposit and first month’s rent for an apartment that would in the long run make more financial sense, costing almost half as much as they are paying for a motel room.  But they make enough money to pay for the weekly expense of a motel room.  They end up getting trapped in this cycle – not enough for a long-term solution, but enough to stay off the streets or their vehicles.  And the government assistance offices don’t help pay for motel and hotel rooms, considering these as not a long-term housing solution.  Considering how much a motel room costs over the course of the month, I agree.

And then the trap really takes hold – an unexpected expense comes.  Maybe it’s their vehicle that needs a repair.  Maybe it’s a medication.  Maybe it’s a death in the family.  Maybe it’s all of those things.  A bill comes due for several hundred dollars.  Where does the money come from? And that’s how people get behind so easily.  When there is no room for error or accident, errors or accidents are bound to happen and suck a person down.

Often a challenge in talking about homelessness is getting an understanding of a different sense of time.  For many middle-class people, their focus is on the future.  They have a bright future ahead of them.  Middle class people are concerned about things in the future too – saving for a vacation, education for their children, retirement, etc.  But they are always looking ahead.

But someone who is in poverty, either poor or homeless, doesn’t have that luxury.  The only time that really exists for them is the present.  There are immediate needs that need to be met and met now.  And when someone is poor or homeless, there isn’t a lot of hope for the future.  The future becomes daunting and unbearable.  When you don’t really have a future to look forward to, why would you plan for it?  No wonder Jesus kept saying that he was bringing Good News to the poor.  He was bringing hope for a future for people who lacked any sense of future.

Crossing this bridge of understanding difference in time is important.  It’s what allows us to connect with the poor and homeless.  It’s what allows us to be where they are and also hopefully assist them in getting out of their situation if they so desire.  Often that starts with a simple question – what are your goals?  Not our goals – your goals.  This isn’t a silver bullet, it’s only a start – a baby step.

When I asked Jeff what it was like to live in a motel, he said that there are benefits – you get everything you need: a bed and TV and Linen and towels.  You don’t have to worry about utilities.  Most places give coffee and juice and bread in the morning (his breakfast).  And the most striking statement of all – You can move fast to a cheaper place if needed.  People who live in what they consider home don’t try to move fast to a cheaper place.

Jeff, Lynn, and many others are the sheltered homeless among us.  When we think that homelessness is just about making sure someone has a roof over their head, we are missing several things.  Homelessness goes beyond just material needs.  It involves people, relationships, and being trapped in an endless cycle that feels like a black hole.  Just when you think you get a step away from it, it sucks you back in and keeps you down.

If we are ever going to eradicate homelessness in our midst, then we need to acknowledge the extent to which it exists in its many forms.  From there, we learn people’s stories, we walk alongside them as best we can, and we celebrate with them when they finally do get a step away from the black hole that grips them.  Overcoming homelessness, whether sheltered or not, is about relationships and community.  It’s about value and worth of each person.

When we minister to and with a homeless person or family, we make a great deal of effort to ensure that they are reminded of their humanity, we hear their stories and get to know them, we invest ourselves and our time into their lives, we remind them that they are loved and that someone cares about them and their wellbeing.  We empower them and tap into their value.  We tell them that they are not alone – and we try to live that out.  We proclaim Good News to them.  We pray with them.  We do what we can with them.  We be with them.

And a big part of this ministry is about not being satisfied – not being satisfied that people have shelter even though it is keeping them poor and trapped.  There is a different way – a much better way.  We can do better.  We are called to be better.  Let’s eradicate homelessness here.

Same thing, different name vs. something special

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Politics, Theology

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

God, Goering, ideology, Nazis, Revelation 21, theology

Nazi Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering was interviewed in a Nuremberg prison during his trial after the war for crimes against humanity and other such atrocities.

He spoke about ways to get common people to war – to leave their lives to fight.  He acknowledged that most people don’t want to do it – they have nothing to gain and are lucky to come back alive.

Here’s the quote that caught my attention:

Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.

(Source:  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/war-games/)

This isn’t new.  And it didn’t start with the Nazis.  Nor are they the last ideological group to use this line of reasoning.  As I’ve been saying recently, there is nothing special about this way of thinking.  Nothing at all.  There never has been and there never will be.  There’s nothing special about the leaders who espouse this way of thinking either – regardless what ideology they label themselves with.  Nothing unique, nothing special.  They do the same things, speak the same ways, dehumanize people the same way, divide people the same way, create fear the same way, use anger the same way, get the same results, bring about the same destruction, and have the same followers.  The only thing that is unique is the name of the person holding the ideology.

The same is true of theology that is not life-giving.  There have been plenty of theologies that believe in a vindictive and small god who is full of wrath and only wrath.  Let’s call these theologies what they really are – pathetic.  They become about the personalities of the followers and how they live, rather than about any deity.  The deity and their way becomes justification for the followers doing violence to others.  There’s nothing special about these gods and theologies.  They are pathetic at best, destructive at worst.  They are just like the ideologies – same thing, just a different name.

Fear comes in relation to these things because people buy into the lie that these people, their beliefs, and their gods are unique and unlike anything or anyone before them – so that people don’t know how to deal with them.  When we realize that they are not special, not the first of their kind, and are in fact a flawed repeat that ended in death, then they lose their power to enthrall people.  They lose conformity.  They lose respect.  They only have threats of and acts of violence against those who will not comply with them.

These ideologies and theologies do not deserve fear as a response.  They deserve to be treated for what they actually are – predictable, unspecial in every way, irrational, destructive.

They deserve to be spoken out against so we don’t repeat the same mistakes and suffer the same destruction.

More importantly, people deserve to have an alternative way proclaimed in contrast to what they offer – which is nothing special at all.  People deserve an alternative vision for what the world can be like, rather than a tired, old, unspecial way that leads to death.

What would that alternative way be?  New life, thriving life for all.  For Christians it is the image of God’s kingdom unfolding before us.  It is Revelation 21 being lived out.  What God has to offer is special because it is far different from anything all of these ideologies and theologies can never offer – thriving and transformed life.  Only God can offer that.

 

Safety

28 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Politics, Society, Theology

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Christianity, immigration, patriotism, politics, veterans

There are anchor people on certain networks complaining about and blaming protestors for disrupting the private lives of Administration officials – as if this is disconnected from actions the Administration is taking.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Administration’s travel ban was legal.  Children, who seek asylum and are trying to escape from violence, are housed in cages with little hope of ever being reunited with their families.  There are reports of increased violence against Muslims, African-Americans, and those with foreign ancestry – harassment for being who they are.  The Administration admitting that there are planned detention centers.  ICE raids in businesses.  The President stating that people don’t deserve a hearing and should be deported immediately – regardless of whether they are a citizen or not.

Is this what it means to make America great again?

Is this what you believe it means to be a follower of Christ?

Do these facts and questions make you uncomfortable?  Are you angry that I bring them up?  Are you coming up with excuses and rationalizing these activities?  Are you telling yourself that these things will make you safer?

Were you unsafe before these things?  How so?  How exactly are they making you safer?  I want you to actually voice it so that we can all hear the reasoning.  So that you can hear your own words and what thy really mean.  Be really clear.

How many more of these things are needed until you reach this mythical state of safety?

At what point do these actions actually make us less safe?  If you don’t realize it, we have already moved to that point.

What is it with this idol-like worship of safety anyway?  Jesus certainly doesn’t call us to safety.  He calls us to be risky – to be vulnerable. To take up our cross.  There is no safety in following Christ.

Who is safer as a result of these actions?  Not even the people who they are designed for.  Because when our government can impose such actions on a group or groups of people, then where does it end?  When will you be the threat and need to be removed?

Is this really about trying to keep us safe?  Then where is the concern about safety for the asylum seeker?  Where is the concern for the safety of African-Americans who are just living their lives but are having the police called on them by white people?  Where is the concern for the safety of those who wish to carry out their freedom of speech in opposition to these actions?

Why do we seem more concerned with patriotic displays of nationalism, rather than the safety of our military personnel when we start insulting our allies.  Are we not putting them in harm’s way unnecessarily?

Why are we not concerned with the safety of our veterans – many who find themselves homeless, hopeless, addicted, and many completing suicide?  Granted, this has been going on for many years.  But it certainly hasn’t improved in the last two years.  It continues as it did before.  We are really good at taking a civilian and making them into a soldier to do things that most people would never want to do, nor should have to do.  We are terrible about taking that soldier and making them into a civilian again and giving them the support they need.  Too often we toss them aside once our leaders are done using them for their dirty work.  We don’t honor them, we scapegoat them.  What does it say about a country and it’s concern for safety when we have private organizations that are dedicated to helping homeless veterans.  Homeless veterans – let those two words sink in.  Why are any veterans homeless at all?  Is this how we treat those who are most loyal to the country – who gave up years of their lives and risked their lives, for the country and what it supposedly stands for?  This is how they are repaid.  Lost, hopeless, forgotten, and in the way.  And we are supposed enjoy the pomp and circumstance of flag waving?

And we claim to be concerned about safety and civility?  What part of any of these actions is civilized or safe?  Or patriotic?  Or following Christ?

Why are we more concerned with the safety of some privileged people who don’t want to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced, rather than the safety of all – including those considered to be “others” by those same privileged people?

We have a serious problem in our nation.  A sickness that is getting worse.  A disease that is spreading.  But it is not new.  It has been operating under the surface for a while, but now is full-blown – no shame.  And we aren’t taking any medication for it.  Instead we are feeding it.  We are lying to ourselves and saying that we feel great again.

In reality, we are advancing towards our own death and cheering loudly for it.  If we continue, we will reach a point that we become terminal. And I’m not even sure we’ll have the benefit of hospice care at that point.  We’ll get what we deserve – to be thrown out with the trash.  That’s where we are headed if we continue on this course.

Prophecy isn’t about having some kind of special knowledge from God.  It’s looking at where we have been, where we are, and seeing what’s next if the course does not change.

Prophecy is not set in stone though.

This doesn’t have to be the course we continue on.  Realize that not everyone will be onboard with a course correction.  Many will resist.  Some will become violent.  So be it.

I for one am not interested in continuing on this path.

Here are some vital questions we need to ask ourselves – do we really believe in the ideals of this nation that we claim to believe?  Or are they just nice things that sound good when the times are alright?

Or were those ideals made for a time such as this?

Christians, do you really believe Jesus?  Do you believe his call to serve the poor, to welcome the stranger, to love your neighbors and enemies?  Do you believe in the Sermon on the Mount?  Or is Jesus full of it?  Are they just nice things that sound good when the times are alright?

Or are Jesus’ teachings made for a time such as this?

Is your faith from God?  And do you believe that God is love and that Love is God’s way?  Then love is the only way to proceed.  Love all people and God’s creation.  There is no other option.  There are no valid excuses for dehumanizing people, for caging children, for causing anxiety among entire groups of people, for creating fear.  These are not things of God.  Anger and fear are not the way of Christ.

God is love.  Love is the only way.  Let us live that love.  If your top priority is safety and by that it means devaluing, dehumanizing, restricting freedom, and fearing, then you are way off the path of love.  You are invited to come back to the path.  The way is narrow, but it is worth it.  You will not be alone.  There is forgiveness, mercy, grace, peace, and joy on this path.  It isn’t safe, but it is thriving life.  When our primary focus is safety, we are only looking to survive.  When our primary focus is love, then we will thrive.

 

Love is the only way

23 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Christ, immigration, love

It is easy to get distracted.  It’s easy to get pulled away.  Oh so often have I fallen away, being drug back to a way of politics and partisanship – a way that doesn’t lead to life.  Rather it leads to competition, compliance, demand, division, separation, anger, fear, and so much more.  All of these things pull at me time and time again.  Oh so often have I succumbed to them.  They are a hard task master – a way that demands things from its followers.  A way that is heavy.  A way that beats down all who are not strong.

But this is not the way of Christ.  Love is the only way.

As I have struggled through this week over everything surrounding immigration, the separation of children from parents, the comments in response, the rhetoric, the stories, and more, I have wandered in what feels like a haze.  I have felt the grasp of fear and anger all around.  Anxiety has made its home in the pit of my stomach.

My heart has broken over and over again.  I have gone through a range of emotions – not all of them healthy.  I have been angry at those who seem blinded to the plight of the refugee seeking asylum.  I have wondered why people can’t see their plight.

Why do Christians, those who claim to follow Christ and all he taught, seem blind to the plight of other human beings?  To turn our backs on those who suffer?  To block out the humanity of the most vulnerable?  To turn our backs on the least of these – our brothers and sisters.

My anger is gone now.  My sorrow flows freely though.  I am sad for the refugees.  But my heart breaks even more for this nation and the people who are gripped by fear and anger.  My heart rips open for those who live by fear and anger.  Fear and anger consume so many and consume our nation.  And when words fail to settle our differences, when words fail to bring calm, then fear and anger will lead to violence.  And my heart breaks more.

My heart breaks over and over.  And I am reminded that love is the only way.  Fear leads to death.  Anger leads to death.  Love is the only way to life.

We are called to love.  Not cheap love – very costly love.  Love isn’t about being right and convincing others to follow along.  Love sees no enemies – only fellow children of God.  We are called to love our neighbors.   We are called to love our enemies.  We are called to love refugees and strangers.   We are called to love the most vulnerable.  We are called to love those that we fear the most.

Love is vulnerable.  Love is risky.  Love is uncontrollable.  Love is costly.

Jesus asks the disciples in Mark 4 “Why are you afraid?” He asks us this same question at this moment in history.  He asks us why we are afraid of refugees.  Jesus asks us, not to gain political points.  Not to get voters in a political party.  Jesus asks us why we are afraid because we have lost sight of him and his way – love.  Love is the only way.  Nothing else matters.  Nothing else will survive.  Nothing else will change the world.

Do we believe Jesus?  Do we believe Jesus’ way?  Or do think that it is just a bunch of nice ideas that can never really work?  Now is the time to show what we truly believe.  The old hymn tells us that “they will know we are Christians by our love.”  Now is the time Christian.  Now is the time to live by love.  Because love is the only way.

Force, strength, control, walls, violence, separation, rhetoric – none of these can ever conquer the world.  None of these can change the world.  None of these are the way of Christ.  None of these will last.  Love is the only way.

And so I love the refugees and my heart breaks for them.  I love the border guards who are doing their duty and my heart breaks for them.  I love the vocal defenders and those who willingly dehumanize children sent to cages and my heart breaks for them.  I love Jeff Sessions and my heart breaks for him.  I love Donald Trump and my heart breaks for him.  This is a painful love.  But it is the only way that I know to go forward.  It is the only way that has not been tried.  It is the only way to really follow Christ.

Love is the only way.

Simple answers

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Politics, Theology

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christianity, immigration, politics

I have struggled with our national immigration system all week – or rather the implementation of it.  I’ve seen the pictures, heard the audio, from refugee seekers and those in detention facilities.  I’ve heard supporters carrying out the law.  I’ve heard the president shift from saying that his hands were tied to signing an executive order changing the situation.  I’ve read numerous accounts about what the law and policy is and is not – none really agreeing with each other – the same goes for the executive order.

I’ve found the policy to be immoral at its core, but at the same time, I think that’s simplistic.

It’s easy to complain and point fingers and to scapegoat.  I’ve seen plenty of that on social media. Heck, I’m willing to admit that I’m just as guilty.  Being right feels good after all.  Being able to point a finger and blame someone and label them as wrong, evil, or immoral feels really good.  And we as a nation are really good at that.

And it’s exhausting.  And it doesn’t end.  And we’ll be exactly where we are next week, only on some other divisive issue that will cause the nation to be divided, to point fingers, and to throw labels around.

I’m tired of it.  But I’m not quitting.  I will speak up – but hopefully in a different way.  Will I fail – most likely, I’m a broken and sinful person.  I have my opinions and ideas.  I have my biases and worldviews.

And like the disciples in the boat this Sunday, I’m sure I’ll be distracted by the storms of life, rather than focused on Jesus who is in the boat with me.  I’ll keep asking “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And Jesus won’t answer.  He won’t answer because that’s the wrong question.  The better question comes from Jesus – “Why are you afraid?”  Ouch.

Good question Jesus?  I don’t have a good answer to that question.  But maybe I can start to ask that question to myself and others.  To really hear people where they are – what they fear.  To hear what they place as their identities.  To voice my own fears.  To really connect with people in a vulnerable way.

We want simple answers to these challenges that we face.  I heard plenty simple answers: “Just follow the law” “The Republicans can change the law anytime” The Democrats passed it – it’s their fault” “The Administration decided to carry this out six weeks ago” “Democrats didn’t care about this before six weeks ago.”  And back and forth it goes.  Until we get to the next issue that where the arguments are not really any different and people are forced to choose sides in the battle of partisanship.

And like the disciples in the boat, we are missing the more important question – Why are we afraid?

Are we afraid because we know that our memes, and tweets, and one-liners, and insults, are as empty as they sound?  Are we afraid because we know that our simple solutions aren’t solutions at all – but rather blunt objects meant to cause damage to our opponents and enemies?  Are we afraid because we don’t know the answers and we don’t like not knowing? Are we afraid because deep down we know we are not in control?  Are we afraid because the answers might require us to change?  Are we afraid because if we became vulnerable with each other, we might actually learn that we are more alike than we thought – not just political opponents, but refugees, law enforcement, people with different skin colors, people who speak a different language, Democrats, Republicans, Hillary, Trump.  Whoa!

It’s easy to offer simple solutions.  It’s easy to attack and divide.  It’s easy to dehumanize and devalue people.  It’s easy to do this either as an attack on someone or a group and it’s easy to fall into this for defense.  It’s so easy that often we don’t realize we are doing it and then what?

Right now I’m reading a book called “Living without Enemies” by Samuel Wells and Marcia Owen.  Yes, living without enemies.  The premise is that we don’t get to choose who is our enemy – we aren’t God.  And God sees everyone as a Child of God.  Because we claim to follow God, then we are to see the world the way God sees the world – God empowers us to do that.  And to God, there are no enemies.

One of the key ideas in this book is Being With.  It’s the theology of presence.   Not coming up with answers, because sometimes there are no answers.  When I sit with a family who’s 28-year-old son is dying, there are no answers.  There is nothing I can say that will change the situation.  All I can do is be present, to sit with them in their sorrow, their grief, their questions, their anger, their doubts, their fears.  That’s it.

There are no simple answers to our immigration system.  That doesn’t mean we sit idly by and do nothing.  I think the only way we will ever be effective is to start by being present with each other.

In silence there are no answers, only companionship.  There are no explanations, only humility.  There is no blame, only common humanity.  But that silence takes discipline, self-knowledge and many years of practice, because it runs counter to a great many instincts and social conventions.  Often we want to speak because we don’t want to feel.  And sometimes we speak to try to stop people from feeling.

(Living without Enemies, pg. 78)

Let’s start with Jesus and his question for the disciples – “Why are you afraid?”  We may not have an answer, just like the disciples.  So let’s sit with that for a while.  Let’s sit together and admit we are afraid and we don’t know why.  Let’s just sit together and be afraid.  It’s as good as any starting point that I know of.  It’s not a simple answer to the challenges we face.  But it’s the start of something different.  I want something different.  Don’t you?  Or would you rather wait until the next outrage happens and revert back to the same thing of seeking simple answers that don’t exist?

I don’t want to write about these things

21 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Politics, Theology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Christianity, politics

I don’t want to write about these things.  Nor do I want to preach about them.  The smart ass response to that is “Well, you should have known what you were getting into when you signed up to be a pastor.”  Yeah, because everybody knows what the future holds.  Thanks for the compassion.

I really don’t enjoy writing about all of the things that are happening every day.  I don’t enjoy preparing a sermon that talks about all the things that are going on either.

I don’t want to, but yet I can’t avoid it.  I guess I could actually.  I could just stay quiet.  I could not speak about any of it.  I could not rock the boat and be vulnerable to the arrows that come my way in response.  I could allow the fear of criticism and negative comments to win the day.  I could allow the potential anger in response to have sway over what I say or write.  I could create a false sense of peace to make sure that no one walks out on the sermon or protests what I have to say.  I could interpret render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s to mean that as a pastor I have no say in politics or what happens in the world.  Jesus didn’t interpret it that way – he ended up being killed by the Romans.  Talk about meddling in politics.  And to anyone who interprets that passage that way, I have a question – what belongs to God?  And why do you get to determine where God gets to speak?

I don’t want to write about any of this.  Who in their right mind would?  Who wants to write or preach about children being separated from families at the border as they seek asylum?  Or trying to make sense of an executive order that allows for indefinitely holding onto asylum seekers?   Do you think it’s fun or enjoyable to point out the uncomfortableness of this, the messiness of this?  The sin of this?  Who wants to write or preach about how we treat our neighbors, our enemies, and refugees?  Who wants to write or preach about dehumanizing other people?  Who wants to write or preach about how they see a nation tearing itself apart because of fear and anger?  Who wants to write or preach about any of this?

Instead we want quick answers that make nice sound bites.  We want to make issues seem easy.  Things like, it’s the law, so we obey it.  Or it was passed by a previous administration, so they are to blame.  Or we should ignore the law here, but not deal with a broken immigration system.  Or so much more.  This isn’t easy.  There are no simple answers.

Most people would rather hear a sermon about mushy love and being nice and tell the pastor how nice the sermon was. Why?  Because that type of sermon or writing isn’t costly.  They require nothing of you.  They don’t require you to do self-examination.  They don’t require you to look at yourself in the mirror and question important things about yourself, what you believe, and what you stand for, and what Jesus is calling you to.  They don’t require a cost or a response or a radical reorientation.  They don’t require a sort of death of the self.  Those are cheap grace sermons that remain silent about the reality of evil in our midst.  Those are sermons that would rather close our eyes because the big bad world is just too scary to deal with.  You can hear many of those sermons in churches each Sunday.

And I don’t fault the pastors that preach these sermons either.  Preaching the Gospel is costly.  It’s disruptive.  It points out the unpleasant truth.  It’s scary.  I know I have failed in this regard plenty of times.  This Sunday we hear the disciples ask Jesus in the midst of the storm – “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  Many a pastor asks Jesus the same question each week.  Just as Jesus didn’t answer the disciples, he doesn’t make it easy for us either.

I was going to write about where I saw things going – the path we are on, but really, what the heck do I know?

Instead, I’m going to tell you something else.  There is much to worry about in the world – let’s not kid ourselves.  We have an unhealthy society right now.  We are in the midst of a great storm of life.  We are calling out to Jesus – “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  And like in the boat, Jesus doesn’t answer.  Why doesn’t he answer?  We want Jesus to say comforting things.  But he’s quiet.

Often, I think we get confused. That’s not a radical statement.  The disciples spent actual physical time with Jesus and they screwed up all the time.  Why would we think we are any better.  And after Jesus calms the storm, he asks them a question – “Why are you afraid?”  They completely miss the question.  They marvel about Jesus calming the storm, but miss what Jesus is really saying.

Did they really think that God would allow the storm to harm Jesus?  They were in the boat with Jesus, the incarnate Word.  Did they think that the storm was more powerful than God?  They were letting something else define them and who and whose they were.  They let fear define them and their existence.  And Jesus asks a simple question – “Why are you afraid?”  It’s as if Jesus is asking – did you forget whose you are?  Did you forget that your identity is as a Child of God?  Why are you letting fear define you?

As we hurtle through this immigration mess, I think Jesus’ question is so very important.  Why are we afraid?  What is our identity?  Is politics our primary identity?  Are we Republicans and Democrats first and then Children of God?  Are we Americans first and then Children of God?  Are we legal first and then Children of God?  Are we identified by fear first and then Children of God?  What are we?

If Christ is not the lens that we look through, the foundation of our identity, first and foremost, then there is no hope.  We will end up killing each other.  Nothing but Christ offers us any hope.  History shows that to be true.

Let us remember who and whose we are.  That Christ gives us a different identity.  That this identity doesn’t mean conformity of thought.  Rather, it allows us to have differences, even on important issues, and still see one another as Children of God.  We don’t have to agree, but can we find something, anything, that we overlap on?  Can we start with that?  Please.

Let’s start by acknowledging that we are afraid, and that we are having a difficult time voicing our fears honestly – with being vulnerable with one another.  Let’s start with the fact that Jesus’ question makes us uncomfortable because it touches us deeply and shows our own weakness and brokeness.  Let’s start with the fact that we don’t trust one another – actually voicing it out loud so that the reality is acknowledged.  It is only from there that we can move forward.

It starts with Jesus asking an uncomfortable question that gives us room to respond.

Why are you afraid?

I don’t want to write about any of this.  I don’t want to preach on this.  Yet, here I am.  Yet, there I will be on Sunday.  Silence is not an option.  Anger isn’t either.  The only thing that overcomes fear is love.  Let us speak in love.  Not mushy fake love.  Deep love that shows that there are no enemies.  There are only children of God.  It’s not easy.  We can’t do it on our own.  We follow Jesus who empowers us.  And we risk it all.

Why are you afraid?

 

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I believe that God, church, and theology are approachable, enjoyable, and relevant for everyone. I write about this a lot because people need to hear it. So many people feel lost, hopeless, alone, and are searching for identity and meaning. I'm an ELCA Pastor (Lutheran) who has a background in politics, business, and the non-profit worlds. I take churchy theological ideas and words and communicate them in everyday language that people can understand, in ways that relate, and show that God, church, and theology matter a great deal. Oh, and it doesn't have to be boring either - mostly because it's the best news ever!

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