I'm sitting in church...

Jun 21, 2015 10:23 AM 

It's been a crazy week.  Not just for my family but for our nation and our world.

A madman walked into a church and killed nine of Gods children just four days ago.  I wish as I was writing this I could say this was a unique occurrence but we live in a world where this has happened before, and unfortunately it will probably happen again.  The only thing that made this different was that instead of just walking in and opening fire this young man sat with them, was given a place of honor as a visitor at the Pastor's right hand during the Bible study they shared, and then shot them in cold blood.

As I write this I am sitting in my own church surrounded by members and visitors of my church, friends and family.  Sitting here the real tragedy of Charleston occurs to me:  how many of the people who walked in these doors for the first time are going to be welcomed less warmly because of what that madman did?  Are the greeters at our doors going to be wary of them?  If I'm asking these questions all the way in Oregon, how are the members of "Mother Emmanuel" dealing with these questions this morning as they gather in the sanctuary to tell the world they will not be shaken or moved from that holiest of places?

Our churches are supposed to be safe.  Our culture uses the term "Sanctuary" to mean not just the place where the faithful meet, but also to refer to a state of safe passage free from attack.  For centuries holy ground has been a place of safety for people to meet and find peace.  For many of our children that assurance of safety has now been lost, and with it a part of their innocence we all would have preferred to have there forever.  Emmanuel AME is a proud church with a proud and storied past though.  This may be the first time you or I have had to think about these things but the history of the American South during the Civil War and even during the Civil Rights movement not only features Charleston, SC....it prominently featured this very church.  Look it up, you will be amazed at the history of this church you likely had never heard of before Wednesday night.  They walked on then, they'll walk on in faith now.  They'll pray hard.  We'll pray with them and for them, and just as he always has God will use all things according to his purpose.

 

My thoughts on "A Letter To Christians In Indiana, From Jesus"

This is a great take on the way Christianity has become politically and radically motivated in recent years, posed as a letter from Christ to his church.  As we begin what the Christian Church calls "Holy Week" I thought this would be a great article to share with you along with my thoughts, especially given recent court rulings and laws passed in Indiana and proposed in Arkansas and Massachusetts regarding religious beliefs and civil law.

Regardless of your faith, the mixture of religion and politics is dangerous to our system of government.  We can't make laws based on Christian values and then yell about communities imposing elements of Shariah law. Separation of Church and State is an all or nothing proposition, and our constitution clearly calls for total separation.

Those of you that know me well are very aware of how my faith influences my life, my family, and our view of the world.  While that also influences my political views and how I vote on various issues, I have never been one to try and force my beliefs on anyone.  To me it is something personal, a relationship as important to me as my marriage to Carrie, and one I work just as hard to maintain.  

Just like my marriage, if people come to me asking how my relationship with Jesus is still so alive and vital I have no problem talking about it.  I talk about my Dad's theory of "Personal Theology" that helped me shape my faith and find peace and comfort in churches of all denominations.  I talk about being asked to leave the first bible college I attended and how theological differences caused that conflict.  Above everything else though I talk about the peace and joy I feel in those quiet moments with Jesus....from worship on Sunday morning at church, to quiet talks with him at 2am when I just don't know how to deal with my teenage daughter, and from laying in a quiet forest staring up at the tree tops to receiving communion.

Our faith was intended to be something intensely personal, yet so transformative that those around us couldn't help but ask about it.  It shouldn't ever be something we feel a need to force on anyone.  If it is, we are doing it wrong.

Can Beauty change the world?

I've spent the last couple of days at this years Global Legacy conference at New Horizons Church in McMinnville, OR.  Among other topics the main subject last night and today sparked some interesting discussion.  "What makes rivers flow from the Temple in scripture, as in Ezekiel 47?".  Paul Manwaring's argument is that perfect beauty was the key, and will be the key for the modern church to bring about change in our world. 

It raises an interesting idea, and one that I think will work at the minds of the church leaders at the conference for quite a while.  The biggest challenge is who or what defines beauty in a world corrupted by the fall of man?  To some it is limited to the physical but obviously it was intended to be much farther reaching than just human physical presence.

For too long the church has seemed to wait for permission from somewhere or someone to allow modern technology or art into our churches, never taking time to wonder why it ever left?  In the renascence art was central to every place of worship, and the church sponsored more art than any king or queen yet today we are afraid to have a picture on the background of our overhead. 

We need to first redefine beautiful, and then acknowledge that it needs to come back to our community and our churches in godly ways for the Kingdom to move forward.