Bob's Blog

God and Politics: How flawed theology ruins political ideology

I think I finally figured it out!  As I sat in my living room the other night, watching what I sarcastically referred to as “The Last Comic Standing” (otherwise known as the first-tier Republican Presidential Debate) I realized the source of my incredulity and frustration.  And it is not a group of aging and ambitious white guys, who simply have a different political persuasion that I do.  I can deal with that.  I can deal with people who have alternative views on America’s support for Israel, the health care needs of women, or the rights of the LGBT community.  Bright people who love this country always have and always will disagree on how such affections are translated into public and foreign policy.  I quickly and easily write off egotistical media mongers, who call our national leaders ‘stupid’ and women ‘fat pigs’; but fortunately they are rare.  Articulate and informed candidates, who can reasonably and rationally defend views that are different from my own – they are people I learn from and people who bring balance to our nation and our world.

But what I find so offensive in the Grand ‘Ol Party of 2015, is the number of people who are so calculatingly quick to invoke the God of their religion as the source of their political ideology.  This is always harmful to the American process, where we acknowledge a difference, and at times even a separation, between the laws of a nation and the laws of a religion.  But it is particularly harmful when that religion is Biblically simplistic and theologically flawed.  And that is what we are seeing among far too many of the Republican candidates preparing for the 2016 election.

For the past 20 plus years, the ‘religious right’ has had a stranglehold on the GOP, a stranglehold that has allowed Christian fundamentalists, pandering to Christian legalists, to pursue a ‘Christian’ agenda, that is in the view of vast numbers of people, anything but!   And the result is the polarization and extremism that has become far too common, way too acceptable, and in some instances even sought, by far too many.  These modern day Pharisees, regarded by the far right as ‘faithful and committed’, are not offering an accurate example of the One they claim to be following; and that is what made Thursday’s debate so painful to watch.

Now you can disagree with the characterizations I have offered thus far, and I will accept your perspective and respect your critique.  But here’s the problem.  Let’s say I were to proclaim that my God, and my religious faith, were the source of these characterizations.  Then, when you disagree with me, the people who follow me, (stay with me – let’s just pretend there are a few!) just might be inclined to see you as disagreeing with God.  You see, they just happen to believe that there is only one way to God, and one way of honoring God.  So when you challenge me, you are in a sense challenging God: and no one dare challenge the God of my minions!

Christian politicians love this, particularly when they are, dare I say . . .  radical Christian extremists.  Their theology was cut from the same cloth as the always right Reverend Jerry Falwell, back in the 1980s; and as President Obama accurately pointed out at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier this year, it has many similarities to that of today’s Radical Islamic Terrorists.   Oh, today’s Christian extremists have held onto the lessons learned hundreds of years ago; they know that you can’t burn people at the stake, or fly planes into buildings, simply because some people may not agree with your take on God.  But their theology is the same.  There is one God – their God.  And one way to worship that God – their way!   And the prominence of this way of thinking, among some on the campaign trail today, is alarmingly frightening.

Unfortunately, and as is so often the case, Fox entertainment played right into the hands of these crazy American Christians in Thursday’s debate.  The final ‘God’ question, in case you were fortunate enough to have missed it, was as follows: In our final moments together, we want to ask an interesting closing question . . . have any of you received a word from God on what you should do and take care of first, if you are elected president?

What?  Are you kidding me?  Is this really a question being asked in 2015; and in a debate for the presidency of the United States of America?

First off, no matter how someone like Senator Cruz responds to that question, if I disagree with him, his followers will see me as disagreeing with God.  I will be regarded as a heretic, worthy of a rebuke and correction at best, excommunication and shunning at worst.  Discussion and conversation will be completely shut down, because I am not just at odds with the son of a Baptist preacher, I am at odds with the God of the universe!  And when I go further with Senator Cruz, and try to tell him that his subtle attempt to link his conservative values with the fruits of the Spirit, I will be further cast out into that place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  For I am apostate; so there is no need to listen to me, or to try and work with me.  And seeking to find common ground, and compromise with me?  Well that is regarded as being wishy-washy.  That would be caving in to political correctness, which, as we all know, is the unforgivable sin in the eyes of many of the GOP candidates on parade the other night.

The second reason such a question is so inappropriate is because it gives credence to this naive assertion of Marco Rubio: “God has not just blessed our country”, but God has done so “extraordinarily”!  And, because America has “honored” that blessing (whatever that means!) “God has continued to bless us!  And” . . . (no, sadly, it doesn’t stop there!) . . . “God has blessed us with young men and women willing to risk their lives and sometimes die in uniform for the safety and security of our people!”

What?  That comment may have just won you the vote of a few people “in uniform” Marco, but tell me what Scripture you are reading?  It is precisely that assertion, that God has blessed America EXTRAORDINARILY, that contributed to horrific events of 9/11.  Yours is one of the attitudes that has led to our being looked down upon by the rest of the world for the past 15 years.  And that kind of religious arrogance, guised in the patriotic garb we call “American exceptionalism”, is one of the ways we continue to feed the evils of the Islamic State today.

Marco, God does not bless nations!  Nations can behave in ways that honor God, and may then give thanks when such behavior leads to justice, goodness, and peace.  But God doesn’t bless one country over and above another.   Further, since rain falls on the just and the unjust, sometimes bad things happen to good nations and good things happen to bad nations.  So America’s standing in the world today really has no more to do with God’s blessings, than North Korea’s standing in the world today has to do with God’s curses!  We Americans are not God’s chosen people – and you Zionists should know that better than anyone.

The flawed theology of people like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike ‘Bubbaville’ Huckabee, and Rick Santorum, do not speak for everyone in the GOP, nor do they speak for everyone in the Body of Christ.  I know that.  But right now, their voices are some of the loudest.  And when put alongside the nonsense being spouted by “The Donald’, even we Democrats feel bad for the party.  You see most of us really DO want to govern WITH you.  We know that the success of our democracy and the effectiveness of our actions at home and abroad, are directly related to the strength of our two-party system.  BOTH parties need to be healthy.  And right now . . . if the events in Cleveland on Thursday night are indication of your party’s health . . . well let me just say it: it’s time the call a doctor!

Please, give us a Jeb, or a John, or a Carly.  But Ted, Mike, and Rick S. need to take their flawed theologies, and their resulting political ideologies, and go home.  Put them in a pulpit somewhere . . . far away from me . . . and let them preach their venomous nonsense there.  It is simply not appropriate for the national stage.  And it is certainly not worthy of the White House.

Clearly, Broadway gets it!  Writers, actors, dancers and singers appear to have all come to the realization that it’s all about the metaphor!  They apparently know that the truth does not lie in sacred mountains, angelic visitors, or golden tablets, but rather with the transformation such tales give rise to in the human heart.  The myths and the stories, in and of themselves, are not the point.  Rather, it is their call to kindness, compassion, and courage that lead to salvation.  It is their rousing motivation to stand up to injustice and be true to the human heart, that leads humanity and all creation to the things of God.

They get it!  And while it may be communicated in ways that raise an eyebrow, or that cause this 54 year old pastor to cringe at times, they appear to know what so many of us religious types have yet to grasp.  And that is that it’s all about the metaphor!

So how come?  How come they get it, and so many of us don’t?  Why is it taking the Church, and so many other faith communities, so long to grasp what the bright lights of Broadway have been illuminating since “The Book of Mormon” premiered in 2011?

While we continue to fight about whether or not homosexuals will be permitted to marry in our sanctuaries, they are getting their college roommates ‘certified to perform marriages’ and heading to nearby wineries.  While we debate the veiling and education of women, they are going to college, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and changing the world.  While we continue to kill one another over laws and land, they are saying “F*#& you!” (literally!) to our irrationally conceived gods and rewriting their own stories of redemption and new life.

And why?  Well perhaps because one is about persevering, while the other is more interested in preserving.  And you can probably guess which is which!

Both terms are used frequently in Scripture, however for some odd reason, the Church today tends to see itself as the vanguard of preservation; and this is painfully evident as we listen to the voice and see the work of so many faith communities.  The act of hanging on to what was, not allowing change or movement and thus restricting growth, seems to have become our mission . . . our god!  Rather than embracing the new things that the Spirit is doing in, to and with our world, the Church has become distracted by hanging onto the past, falsely believing that like antiques, if something is more than 100 years old, it is worthy of hanging onto!  We cling to stories and beliefs composed in the days of nascent scientific knowledge, and we refuse to allow our myths to grow and develop so that they might continue to speak to a 21st century world.

While catchy, and entertaining, “The Book of Mormon” is not a musical I’d like to take my parents to see.  Certain scenes are just downright offensive and embarrassing.  But an even sadder fact is that there are many churches I would never take my children to . . . and for the very same reasons.  Their stories offend our intelligence, and their methods are embarrassing naive!

But here’s the thing – this is NOT true of ALL churches.  In fact many are not at all offensive, OR embarrassing!  You just need to look around.  They are in every part of this country, and in most every town and city.  You just need to look! Search for congregations that have Sunday morning worship gatherings that are uplifting, creative, and in a language we can understand.  Look around for worship spaces that are visually stimulating, overflowing with music and messages that are relevant and engaging, and full of people who embrace their traditions but are not being strangled by them! And get online, and go to church websites, digging for words that yes, are politically correct (in spite of the fear that strikes in so many hearts!):  words like inclusive, accepting, emergent, open, and progressive.  And then seek those places out, and discover the adventure of following Jesus!

And one more thing — don’t be afraid of the small, old, mainline church!  Because sometimes, it is the fastest growing religions (and churches) that are the most . . . well, let me simply say ‘messed’ up!

At the end of “The Book of Mormon” (spoiler alert: stop reading if you don’t want to know the ending!)  the young, 19 year old missionaries wind up leaving the church of their youth because it becomes an obstacle to their persevering in the real mission to which they believe they have been called – ministering to the people of Uganda!  They decide that if they have to choose between their ‘religion’ and caring for others, they are going to choose caring for others.

But maybe we don’t need to make that choice!  Maybe, we can choose both.  Perhaps, if we begin to grasp the power of metaphor, and stop trying to preserve the past, we will be able to move into the bright and beautiful future God has waiting for us.  And if you don’t have a church telling you this, then keep looking.  Because they are out there, and you will find them.

In the meantime, check out Broadway.  Because it looks like they get it!

I am the way, the truth, and the life – no one comes to the Father but through me!

John 3:16 is one of the most often quoted verses from Christian Scripture! Even people who do not embrace Christianity are familiar with it; and if they do not know it by heart, they have at the very least heard it on more than one occasion. It’s held up on placards at football games and spray painted on bridges over country roads and major highways. It is used by some segments of the Church to support a theology of exclusivism, wherein only Christians are able to enter into a saving relationship with God; and by other segments of the Church in arguments against any acceptance of or accommodations toward the growing Muslim community in America.

But what if none of this was the concern of Jesus? What if Jesus wasn’t concerned with people memorizing his words or sayings? What if Jesus was not arrogant enough to presume that he was the only one who knew his Father; and was instead inclusive of everyone, only interested in challenging those who thought they had exclusive rights to the holy? What if Jesus would have never been so lacking in humility as to presume that he alone was the only person in history to know the way to God? What if, dare I say, Jesus never even really uttered these words at all? What would such ideas and possibilities do to our faith?

I don’t know how you would answer that question; but I would answer by saying ‘Nothing’! None of these possibilities destroys my faith; nor do they lead me to cling any less passionately or enthusiastically, to the One who came that I might have life, and life more abundant than I have ever known. And this is because such interpretations of this verse are not the only ones worthy of our consideration!

When I read John 3:16, what I hear John saying is that in the person of Jesus, John discovered one whose way of living, whose teachings, and whose very being, brought John into the presence of God! Jesus’ WAY – his compassion and kindness, his mercy and grace, his forgiveness and love – they allowed people to experience the transforming power of God in ways that they had never experienced before. In fact, John realized that this way of living in the world was the ONLY way to truly know God.

In the same way, John was also proclaiming that the TRUTH of Jesus’ teachings was the vehicle whereby people encountered the transforming power of the Spirit. The point of the stories he told was to bring wholeness to our lives, healing to our relationships, and justice to our world; and John knew first hand that the source of these truths could ONLY be the One we have chosen to name . . . God.

And finally, John had discovered that the very LIFE of Jesus – a life lived for others – a life freely given away without in any way compromising his principles or contradicting his life’s message – this kind of life was as close as one could get to Godliness! In fact he knew that this kind of life was the ONLY way one might encounter divinity, and attempt to move toward holiness.

You see, John 3:16 need not be a verse that divides the world into two groups of people – people who know God the way we know God, and people who are lost and eternally separated from God. In fact such teachings deny and betray the one many believe to have uttered these powerful words in the first place! Which is why we all need to consider another way of understanding this passage – a way that is more in line way of the Christ.

Jesus is our way, our truth, and our life; and that means that His ways, the truths he taught, and the life he lived – they are the ONLY ways we can ever hope to discover, experience, and live into the kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim. The verse is about nothing more, and nothing less.

So let’s keep it before the world, for sure. But let’s not misuse it, because we do not understand it.

For the past dozen or so  years, I have been praying for my LGBT brothers and sisters in the church and around our nation.  Many others have been praying for far longer than that; but for me, my reading and interpretation of Scripture, as well as my understanding of the sciences behind sexual orientation and gender identification, were slow to develop.  As a result my support for gay ordination and marriage, and my prayers for those most hurt and offended by the discrimination of church and society, were not realized until the mid 2000s.

But this morning, June 27th, 2015, the morning after the history-making decision of SCOTUS, a decision making gay marriage legal in every state in our union: my prayers have changed!  The rainbow colored lights on the White House mark a great shift in the rainbow prayers that I am lifting up to the Light of God this morning.  Today, my petitions are no longer for the gay community.  Rather, they are for the portion of my Church, and for every religious community in our nation, that continues to lag behind at best, or resist at worst, the work and movement of God’s Holy Spirit.

Speaking on behalf of people of faith, what religious zealot Franklin Graham, media hound Ann Coulter, and political extremist Ted Cruz, regard as a great travesty, many of us in the Church of Jesus Christ regard as a great triumph.  And so such people need our prayers.  Because they no longer get to be the only ones defining what it means to be Christian, nor what is or is not a movement of God’s Spirit in our nation today, they need our prayers.  Because they no longer get to be the only ones determining what it means to be God’s people, called from our wicked ways, nor what God’s healing upon our land might look like, they need our prayers.  Because they no longer get to be the ones, whose white, American, upper middle class, heterosexual, Cristian privilege, is determining the rules by which the rest of us must live, they need our prayers.

This day, many in our land are praying for our nation because they believe that we’ve gone astray.  Well friends, this day, these are the people for whom we need to start praying!  We need to be praying that their hearts might be softened to recognize the variety of ways peoples’ lives might be lived to the honor and glory to God.  We need to be praying for the Holy Spirit to remove the fear that governs so much of their lives — fear of the unknown, fear of those who are different, fear of anything that is new. And we need to be praying that the way of Jesus — the way of love and grace, might replace the way of law and vengeance.  Living with such rigidity, such fear, such resentment, is not easy.  Having been there, I know!

So today, rather than continuing to argue, or gloat — let’s pray!  Let’s continue to offer to God the rainbow prayers of the LGBT movement, what I believe to have been the rainbow prayers of Noah — that never again, will our world, our nation, or our Church, be so blinded by ours sin, that we fail to grasp the perfect, unconditional, and inclusive love of God.  And may the knowledge that we will no doubt continue to fall short of this prayer, give us all a great deal of humility in the lives that we live.

God’s way truly is the only ways worth living.  And that way, the way of Jesus, the way of truth and life, have brought new justice to our land.  Our fervent prayers have availed much, allowing love to reign, and reigniting our commitment to the bonds of marriage.  For this, and for the countless new ways in which our country is living into the Kingdom of God, we must all give thanks, and pray!

I’m usually very deliberate and methodical about my blogs! I spend a great deal of time carefully considering what’s on my heart, and making sure that my words are carefully thought through. Accurate information, appropriately placed passion, and the right spirit, are all important factors in what I have to say and when I say it.

But this morning I’m sad — so sad that I want to . . . I need to . . . write! That’s what I do when I’m sad; and frankly, it’s one of the only things I do well when I’m sad. And I’m writing here, without all the considerations that are normally part of my writing, in the hopes that the Spirit might have something to say . . . both to me, and to you.

Now I’ve been sad before. I remember gathering on the campus of The College of William and Mary the evening after Treyvon Martin was killed, for a vigil that both honored his life, while at the same time challenging a ‘stand your ground’ law that appeared to have been unjustly used to excuse the murder. But then, in the days that followed, I heard countless people claim that while Treyvon did happen to be Black, his death was not about race. It wasn’t about a teenager in a hoodie, taking a short cut home from a convenient store where he purchased a bag of Skittles, being in a neighborhood full of people who didn’t look like him, where he was assumed to be a thug looking for trouble. Rather, it was about someone looking out for his community, protecting his home and the neighborhood he cared about, from a smart-mouthed punk who needed to be put in his place . . . oh, and that ‘punk’ just happened to be Black.

I was also sad last year when Michael Brown was shot on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Many others were sad this time around too . . . that is until we all learned that he was a trouble-maker. The NYTimes let us all know that Michael was ‘no angel’, and he was only shot after shop-lifting from a local small business, and pushing the store’s clerk on his way out. Besides, he also liked to smoke a little pot! So once again, the story was rewritten and retold. Because after all, if you’re going to reach into a police car and try to take a cop’s gun, what do you think is going to happen? Michael didn’t just steal a few cigars. He was a big, intimidating 18 year old; and while it’s sad that he was shot six times, twice in the head . . . his death had nothing to do with his race.

Perhaps like you, I was sad a couple of months ago as I sat in horror and watched the streets of Baltimore erupt in violence over the tragic death of Freddie Gray. He was arrested, not for being a Black man who dared to look into the eyes of a white police officer, but because he had an illegal switch-blade. And when he tried to run away from the cops, force was only used to subdue him so he could be cuffed and put into the police van. It was completely justifiable, and his accidental death which resulted was just that . . . accidental. His being Black was simply not an issue.

So I’ve been sad before; but that sadness went away, and relatively quickly. This morning . . . this time around, my sadness makes me want to weep. It is so deep and so painful that it makes me wonder if it will ever going to go away. It makes we want to weep . . . and to scream . . . and to get up from my desk and go do something. Today’s sadness over the shootings at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina is simply too much. I need someone to come along and put my mind at ease. I need someone to come and explain what happened, someone to . . . rewrite . . . to . . . retell, the story.

Surely this is not about race! Not again! I mean why would a young white man, from a state where the confederate flag flies proudly over the state capital every day, want to kill a bunch of Black people? After all, that flag is all about Southern pride, acknowledging a time in American history when people were not so much in favor of slavery, but simply supporters of states’ rights! Surely this could not be a race thing . . . not in South Carolina! I don’t care what the guy said as he was shooting people, he must be mentally ill! That’s why this happened – mental illness. And how did he get a gun in the first place. If this doesn’t convince us that we need stricter gun laws, nothing will.

Actually, if you really think about it, the murders took place in a Christian Church. So maybe this wasn’t really an attack on Black people at all. Maybe this was an attack on Christianity! After all, this country has been out to get Christians for years; beginning in 1962 when the government took prayer out of our schools. And now this country has all these damn Muslims moving in . . . is it any wonder things are such a mess. Store clerks are not even allowed to wish people a Merry Christmas anymore. All they can say is “Happy Holidays!”

Speaking of Christmas — did you know it’s only six months away? Now there’s a story I love telling . . . in fact it’s one of the few stories I like to tell again, and again, again. And when I do . . . well, it just makes me feel better. It takes away my sadness.

Good stories do that, don’t they? They take away our sadness . . . whether they’re true . . . or not!

It seems like they’re everywhere! In fact in some communities, you can find one on every corner.

No, I’m not talking about Starbucks. I’m talking about churches! Baptist, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches exists in abundance, in just about every town and city in America. Some are large. Some are small. Some are full of life. Some are dying. Some are great reflections of the body of Christ in the world today. And, well, some are not.

Sadly, not every congregation of Christ followers in America is a dynamic, joyful, transformational, inclusive, inspiring, or missional part of the Church. Some are stuck in another era, irrelevant and out of touch with the world. Some are arrogantly exclusive, welcoming only to people who look and act like those who are already there. Some are so concerned about those who are already there, they don’t have the time or the energy to think about those outside their doors, those who desperately need to hear the Gospel and who are longing for a community where they might love, and be loved. And some, even have really bad pastors. Their elders may not be all that great either; but as a pastor, I will be the first to admit that some of us should never have gone into ministry in the first place.

But worse than all of this, is what is coming out of so many churches today. Some are preaching supposed “good news”, that is anything but! Their messages take shape in an environment wrought with fear and anger — fear of the big, bad world; and anger over the fact that everyone appears to be out to get them. Their approach to faith is born in a literal reading of the Bible, built upon a God who is more like an angry cosmic cop than a unconditionally loving parent, and nurtured by a Spirit who appears to have stopped working centuries ago. The Jesus who is at the center of these churches’ lives is more interested in taking people to heaven when they die, than making them into transformational change agents in the world today.

Some are so bogged down in tradition that they appear to think it sinful to sing anything written after 1600; and others are so contemporary that they wouldn’t know a sacrament if it hit them over the head. Some are so ‘mainline’ that their Sunday gatherings look like scenes from the “Stepford Wives”; and others are so caught up in political correctness that it is ok to believe anything you want, as long as you just believe something. And some are more concerned with what kind of coffee is being served during the fellowship hour than with the homeless person down the road; while others are serving coffee so bad that even the homeless person down the road doesn’t want to drink it.

No, not every Christian church in America reflects it’s namesake. We’re messed up. All of us. And in all kinds of ways.

But ya’ know what? We all know that. Those of us inside the church know that. Those who have walked away from the church know that. And many of those who have never even darkened our doorsteps know that. Further, anyone reading this who is currently looking for a church home, they — you — know that as well. There is no perfect church out there. Period.

So rather than just bemoaning the fact that you “just can’t find the right one,” one that “meets the needs of you and your family,” that “inspires” you, that preaches a Gospel you’re “comfortable” with, or that gives you some “meat” on Sunday mornings that will keep you going throughout the week — instead of allowing any of those reasons, to in any way justify your lack of involvement in a local Body, can I challenge you a little bit here? Because what you really need to do, is to just find the congregation nearest to your home, and jump in! Pick one . . . any one . . . the one with the best landscaping . . . the one that has cleanest restrooms . . . the one that has the best communion bread . . . choose one and just jump in and get involved. Find a church somewhere, anywhere; even it it’s not what you think the church should be. Then, begin working to change it! Get involved, and do what you can to make Christ’s body in the world today what you think Christ body in the world today should be! It really is that simple.

You see, finding a church is not like buying a new pair of shoes. It’s not about shopping around for a product that has already been mass produced, that you can purchase, consume, or wear on your sleeve like a new watch. Not at all. Finding a church is more like that little shell that you discovered on the beach last summer . . . the one you brushed all the sand off of . . . and then took home to wash because didn’t smell too good . . . and that you’re still carrying around in your pocket to remind you of the beauty of God’s creation.

The church is what we make it. And as someone who’s given his life to the broken body of Christ in the world today, I’m tired of hearing people complain about us. If you don’t like us, change us! Join us! Come and be part of us, and MAKE US WHAT YOU THINK THE CHURCH SHOULD BE. I’m interested in what you might have to say. And I think there are many others who feel the same way.

It seems to be the latest trend in the church today – bashing congregations attempting to be hipper or edgier, and attacking pastors shunning their clerical robes for Hawaiian shirts or skinny jeans. Books, articles, and blogs are all jumping on the bandwagon of those criticizing the use of chairs instead of pews, music composed less than 200 years ago, and 21st century technology.

Many of these churches (perhaps most!) warrant a great deal of criticism, for they are the very same churches that continue to perpetuate an arrogant and intolerant faith; one that is unabashedly anti-gay, anti-science, and anti-intellectual. Their Scripture is so watered down that it is only read literally, and grace is nothing even close to amazing because it has to be earned by believing all the right things. In so many of these churches faith has been reduced to 4 simple laws, which when embraced in this life, only appear to prepare people to sit back and enjoy a supposed life to come.

But HOW they do this does not deserve our criticism! Yes, WHAT they do is cause for concern; but HOW they do it – that is commendable. Their methodology can and should teach us all a great deal.

Now having said that, let me be clear. I’m not an advocate for raffling off iPads on Easter Sunday, nor do I think Church Music Directors should begin teaching us songs that make Jesus our boyfriend and God our buddy! I don’t think all tradition needs to be jettisoned, or that church sanctuaries should be turned into gyms.

However, we need to be careful not to pit a method, against a message. Contrary to what so many seem to believe today, it is possible to side with the marginalized, maintain a healthy sense of mystery, and work to develop a deep sense of authenticity, while at the same time attempting to be relevant to our culture. Is it possible to be a church that leaves room for doubt and is tolerant of people of other faiths, while at the same time seeks to carefully consider new and fresh ways of being the body of Christ in the world today.

What many of our old, liturgical, progressive, and forward-thinking congregations have failed to realize is that it is just as possible to engage in faithful and effective ministry with a good, freshly ground and brewed mug of fair-trade coffee, as with a Styrofoam cup of Folgers, ground several months ago, and left to ‘cook’ on a hotplate for three hours every Sunday morning!

No! The Church today simply cannot afford to pit a method against a message. Much of the methodology of the corner evangelical Bible Church works! So let’s learn from them, not condemn them! Let’s carefully discern what they are doing and how they are doing it, and then not be afraid to adapt some of their models of ministry for our own congregations. For when paired with a more liberal understanding of the Gospel, with an inclusive grace, that is truly amazing, and with a mission that is all about being seekers of justice, peace and love – when this becomes our reality, the trajectory of our churches will change dramatically.

I don’t want to drive my father’s Oldsmobile, and I don’t want to worship in my mother’s church!  Rather, I want to be part of faith community that is not afraid to embrace the best of our past, but that also acknowledges the work and movement of the Spirit today, and thus is also open to new and contemporary expressions of faith. I want to be part of a church that values the historic traditions of our faith, but that is also willing to rethink the way we attempt to be the body today, and that is not afraid to create new rituals and traditions. And I want to be part of a congregation that is that is warm and inviting. We’ve been the frozen chosen long enough; it’s time to warm up a bit.

And if that means I’m cool — well, I have no problem with that. I’ve been called far worse. And so has the church!

In 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt was elected to the Presidency of the United States of America, he was staunchly opposed to American involvement in the conflict taking place in Europe. And that stance was maintained through his 1940 campaign for reelection. But as the war progressed, the world changed; and as a result, when the conflict made its way to Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt changed his mind and America became involved in WWII in a big way!

At the 1988 Republican National Convention, George H. W. Bush boldly declared that an America under his watch would have “no new taxes.” But two years later, in an attempt to compromise and work with Democrats on a budget, he too changed his mind, and taxes were raised.

In 2003 (yes 2003!) Bob Jones University finally changed its mind, dropping its ban on interracial dating; and over the past 20 years, Americans have changed their mind on gay marriage, with support more than doubling, up from 26% in 1995, to 56% in 2015 (Gallup).

People change their minds all the time. All of us do. I once loved a good t-bone, medium rare – but today, I can’t remember the last time I had a steak! In college, my fraternity brothers and I used to “pie” students at Georgetown (use your imagination!) – but today, all I want to do with pie is eat it! In the 1980s I joined the Young Republicans, and ate jelly beans in honor of my favorite Republican President – but today . . . well, the only thing I believe trickles down . . . is water, when it rains! Hey, when I was 8 years old I used to dress up in my grandmother’s scarves and high heels – but look at me today. I haven’t worn heels since platform shoes were the style in the 1970s.

Change is not a bad thing. Flip flopping is not a bad thing. We grow. We mature. And whether we like it or not, life changes us. Circumstances change us. I have changed in all kinds of ways, and nowhere is this more obvious, than in matters of God and faith.

Whether talking about the virgin birth or Jesus’ bodily resurrection, Biblical infallibility or limited atonement, abortion or gay marriage, my perspective today is nothing like it was 20 years ago. Many pastors are able to pull old sermons “out of the barrel” as they say, but my barrel is full of thoughts and ideas that I wouldn’t dare utter ever again. Which brings me to the pint of this blog.

While I love ministry today as much as I ever have, some of my fondest memories in the church involve times spent with the ‘kids’ in the youth group of the very first congregation I ever served. Today, they are no longer kids; but that is how I still remember them. I follow many of them on Facebook, remain interested in all that is going on in their lives, and continue to love them more than they know.

I still smile when I think of early morning Bible Studies at Donut Delight, retreats at Camp Donegal, spaghetti dinners, College Tours, “Sex on Sundays,” the sub-Hub, Fun in the Son, and . . . well, I could go on and on!

But sadly, not all of my memories cause me to smile. You see, when I think of some of the things I sought to teach those amazing young people, my heart breaks. It breaks because I now think that many of my teachings were downright wrong! I’ve flip flopped, on many of the issues that at one time were so important to me. And for that, this blog is simply an apology.

Many of those ‘now-adults’ have moved on, and grown in their thinking in spite of me; and to you, all I can say is “I’m sorry.” I was very young, and I was engaging in ministry the only way I knew how. So I hope you can remember the love I tried to show you and let go of the lessons I tried to teach you. Some of them were way off base, and I often grossly misrepresented the church and the Christ.

To those who have not moved on, let me simply encourage you allow yourself some room to question, wonder, and even doubt. Give yourself, your faith, and our God, a little room to breathe. Faith is ultimately about so more much than belief in the four spiritual laws, subscribing to some kind of rigid moral code in an attempt to make us more acceptable to God, or becoming so Christocentric in our theology that we forget the One to whom Jesus came to point us!

People change all the time. We flip flop on all kinds of things. And sometimes, perhaps often, change is good. At least if it’s change that is coming from God. For ours is God who is all about change! God is ALWAYS seeking to do a new thing; ALWAYS seeking to shed more light on issues that we are so sure we’ve figured out; ALWAYS seeking to move us onward and upward, becoming more loving, more gracious, and more like the one we call the Christ.

Following the examples of Presidents Roosevelt and Bush, Bob Jones University and the American public, let’s embrace change – particularly when it moves us to be more in line with the ways of Jesus and the will of God. Let’s not be afraid to flip flop on things; because sometimes, what was . . . what is . . . is downright wrong, and needs to change.

I wasn’t angry with God when she died.  I didn’t suddenly begin to question the existence of the Holy, nor was I tempted to give up on the discipline of prayer that had been part of my life for so many years.  When Paula Cromer, one of our congregation’s worship leaders and a dear friend was suddenly killed by a drunk driver back in 2002, I didn’t have what many would call a crisis of faith.  However in the words of pastor and author Doug Pagitt, something in me ‘Flipped.’  

In his 2015 book, Doug writes, “in situations where so many people are committed to the religion industry, most conversations stay well inside the boundaries of what we already think.  No pastor wants to risk his or her job by crossing too many lines.”  But Paula’s death took my right up to a line, and then flipped me over it, launching me into a world where lines and boundaries aren’t always straight, let alone clearly defined or determined.  

I had grown up believing, and spent years teaching, that ours was a God who heard our prayers: prayers for protection when we traveled, prayers for success when there was some kind of test in our future, prayers for prosperity when we were considering our careers.  I thanked God for the food on my table at mealtime; for a loving wife, three great kids, and an awesome extended family; and for my ministry, my home, and if I’m honest with you, even the car that I drove.  (My first new car was a 1986 gray metallic, Chevy Cavalier, with a dashboard that lit up at night like a space ship!  Sadly, in spite of my prayers, when I loaned the car to a friend’s wife several years later, she totaled it.  And not until 2005, when I purchased a 1999 Black Saab convertible, did I feel God blessed me again with a car!)

But with Paula’s death, everything I had been taught about prayer was suddenly called into question.  Sure, my misconceptions had been percolating for a couple of years – perhaps longer; but after lingering on life support for more than a day, with our church’s and others’ prayer chains activated, I became suddenly willing to accept the possibility that perhaps prayer was about much more than our pleas and petitions.  My morphing understanding of God, and Scripture’s charge to “pray without ceasing,” had already challenged much of the teaching on prayer that I had been subject to most of my life.  Surely, neither God nor Paul wanted me kneeling on the floor of my office, or my bedroom, or even my church, 24/7, rambling off a list of all the things in my life that needed some divine attention.  And even if one was to add the A (adoration), C (confession), and  T (thanksgiving) to my S (supplications), surely one’s prayer life had to be more than that.  Walking with God had to involve more than that!  

Paula’s death transformed my understanding of prayer.  It reminded me of something I had heard years ago – a teaching I’d not forgotten then, and one that continues to push me today, one that calls me to see prayer as less about changing my circumstances, and more about changing ME in my circumstances.  For in spite of my prayers, Paula would eventually die.  And NOT because God had some kind of greater plan that I could not comprehend, but because that is not what prayer is about.  God is not some kind of heavenly puppet master, pulling strings of marionettes marquarading as human beings.  Rather, God is Spirit, in whom we live and move and have our being.  And prayer is about reminding ourselves of that.  Holy mindfulness, practicing the divine presence, spiritual communion – such disciplines tune our hearts and harmonize our thoughts with all that is God.  They create what Marcus Borg calls ‘thin spaces’ in our lives, times and places where we feel as though we can almost touch the face of God; and that, changes us!

Prayer is powerful indeed!  It sustains us when life gets hard. It supports us when fear and anxiety overwhelm us.  And it strengthens us when sadness grips our lives and won’t let go.  Prayer is all we have when the reality of death comes knocking on our doors.  And it works!  Always!  For even when life is lost, new life can be found, thru prayer.

It was the mid 1990s and I was serving as Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Erie, PA. As the largest and one of the most conservative churches in the Presbytery of Lake Erie, First Covenant was steeped in the reformed tradition, with strong Evangelical, and some might even say Fundamentalist, leanings. In so many ways, it was a wonderful church for me and my young, growing family. The people there loved me, my wife, and our children. They extended vast amounts of grace to this 31-year old, wet-behind the ears preacher, and taught me volumes about Church Administration and Finances, and the importance of history and tradition; and without even knowing it, clarified and helped me to hone my sense of call to ministry and service to God in the Church of Jesus Christ. (I also learned alot about ‘lake effect’ snow but that’s another matter altogether!)

My time in Erie was a critically formative time in my life, and I remember countless drives home from my office with the sense that God was preparing me for something that I had yet to discover. Little did I know that it would come from a segment of the Church that I had often maligned and pretty much ‘cut out’ of the Kingdom.

First Covenant had a wonderful Sunday School program for adults . . . that people actually attended, with curriculum that was carefully scrutinized by session, and that accurately reflected the theology of the congregation. But one of the classes was continually pushing the boundaries of the church, and always challenging the narrow and restrictive teaching that was coming from the Adult Education Ministry. So when they announced that they were going to read and study a book titled “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time,” by Marcus Borg, I was instructed by the ‘powers-that-be’ that I need to spend some time sitting in on the class and making sure that they were not leading people astray.

So I did, and . . . well . . . let’s just say I mark those days as the beginning of my being born again, again!

I still have the book, and there are question marks everywhere! On page 9, when Marcus states that the books of the Bible are not “Divine Documents,” there is a note in the margin calling into question his statement. “Who says?” I wrote, in anger no doubt, as a way of challenging what was clearly his opinion. Every page seemed to betray my long-held beliefs, but I could not put the book down. It was as though the Spirit was calling me on, taking me deeper and further, inviting me to let God out of the box that kept divinity bound to another time and place, and kept holiness from breathing new life into the dead bones of today’s church.

By the end of the book, Jesus remained for me . . . in the words of the church, the fullest and most complete expression of God in human form. I didn’t abandon the faith that had raised me, nor did I hastily adopt a new paradigm for understanding the Gospel. However a brick in the wall of my worldview — the one that everyone had told me needed to remain firm and fixed or the wall would come tumbling down — that brick moved. The mortar cracked, and things shifted just enough to allow a new ray of light to touch my heart and mind.

Marcus Borg did what he had set out to do. He introduced me to a Jesus I had never met before; and if I already had, I was missing out on who he really was and what he was seeking to do in the world. Was he really some kind of divine son on a rescue mission for a God demanding a blood sacrifice for human sin, or a miracle worker out to prove his identity by breaking the laws of the universe that the Spirit within him had set up in the first place? Perhaps. Or perhaps he was more than that. Yes . . . MORE, than that.

Over the past 15 plus years, I have discovered Jesus to be, in Marcus’ words, “a subversive sage and a social prophet.” I have discovered spirituality to be more than believing in things that don’t make any intellectual sense, but rather about “becoming conscious of and intentional about a deepening relationship with God, a God with whom we are all, already in relationship!” And I have discovered faith to be about so much more than going to church every Sunday, so I can learn how to stop sinning, in order to go to heaven when I die! Rather, Marcus Borg has helped me to see that Jesus is the norm by which the Bible is discerned and evaluated, and that while Scripture tells us how ancient Israel saw God, it does not necessarily tell us how God actually is. He has helped me to see that believing in Jesus can never come at the expense of following Jesus; and that while Jesus is the norm for our living, Christianity has no monopoly on the Spirit.

At last year’s January Adventure, a conference that Marcus Borg keynoted on more than one occasion, he titled his presentation, “What I Wish Every American Christian Knew.” His countless books, articles, DVDs, sermons, and lectures, have been doing that for years, and my life and faith are different because of his ministry and presence. My view of Jesus has morphed in ways that have drawn me closer to God than I ever hoped, dreamed, or dared to imagine.

Rest in peace dear brother, and thank you for introducing me to Jesus, again, but in so many ways, for the first time!