Thoughts on church…we’ve all got a long way to go

A little while back I posted on my Facebook page this question, “What kind of church body, community, or congregation (call it what you want) would you want to belong to if you could create it…let your imaginations run…things I am interested in; worship, gathering, service, etc.?”  The responses that were either posted for the facebook world to see or sent to me in private messages truly astounded me.  The astonishment did not so much come from the fact that so many replied but more around the people who took time to do so.  The range was from folks who went to church every week or more to an atheist struggling to make sense of it all.  And yet, at the heart of the responses, was a genuine concern for love and service- treatment of others in the new community and outside of it.  One could argue that what people desire most is a safe place where all can be loved for who they are, where they are, as they are, authentically.  A place that is safe for people to have doubts and disagreements.  A place that has no judgment of one’s lifestyle or way of living.  Makes sense right?

Then why is this so foreign to so many?  Why is it that the church on earth has continued to hurt so many- and while it is possible to live in a shell and think this is not true (many have told me I am foolish to think this) it is reality.  Just this Sunday in our education time at Advent, we talked about the church and what it needs to be.  We were careful, though, to define it not as something that meets the needs of everyone for that would be impossible, but to define it as something that is authentic and real, rooted around the promise of grace and mercy that is shown through love.  Ground rules need to be set- all are loved- period.  My experience with church has been good, so I cannot speak as one who has been hurt.  But, many I know have and their stories now are mine.  I lament the pain that the body of Christ has caused and set myself to work for change from within.  To preach good news yes but also to preach a challenging word that forces the Church to let go of ego, to let go of thinking we have it all figured out, to reach out, to stretch out and to create a safe, sacred space that allows people to be people.

As one, called and ordained (we say that sometimes in our absolution of sins in our liturgy) I want to apologize to those of you who have been hurt by the body of Christ- the same body that I desperately love.  We are not perfect.  And I hope you will forgive us for hurting you.  I also hope that you maybe can help us, speak up, speak out, talk to those that are safe in this world of church so we can be better together.  Below is one of my favorite songs called “Don’t you Know” by May Erlewine and Seth Bernard.  Part of the chorus at the end states, “don’t you know…we’ve all got a long way to go”.  We do, all of us- the church, the non-church, all of us…I look forward to the journey with you.

serving the neighbor

“Stranded Husband!”  That was the subject line in an email I received this afternoon from a person newly connected with our congregation.  We recently had a snow storm of apocalyptical proportions and many still are without power- he was, and worse yet could not get out of his driveway/road of about 1000 feet.  She was emailing from South Dakota where she is currently living and her husband was stranded at his house here in Northern Michigan.  Recently moving here he has not many connections so she thought she might as well try the pastor who may know someone.  I called M quickly and gathered some information, and then dialed up a member of our congregation who I know to be resourceful.  Without question, D (the member of the church) offered to go scope it out and see what he could do.  In the end, he plowed him out, and also his neighbor behind him- who said something about “I am not a church going guy, but this thing you did makes me think about it.”

I share this story because it makes me smile inside.  To me, it partly answers the question raised a few blogs back about what a church is to be.  Dave, the gentleman who responded was whooped, tired, and had been moving snow and working hard at his job for the last several days.  It was late in the day, he was tired and ready to go home…but he responded.  Without question.  I don’t normally brag about the congregation I am so blessed to serve but tonight I thought I would.  Thanks Dave for reminding me of the kind of servant hearted people we are called to be.  The church…is called to be a body that loves and serves the neighbor in need.  How else have you seen the church do this….please share- we need to celebrate these stories more often in the face of all the stories about the church losing members…losing it values…losing its relevance in the world.  Talk back…where have you seen the church follow the calling of Christ to love and serve the neighbor…?  Can’t wait to hear your stories.

really?

side note- I took a bit of a Sabbath for myself this weekend as the family and I spent some days and nights out at Crystal Mountain- it was wonderful!  My daily goal of blogging also took a Sabbath- but I think that was okay!  But I am back for now and hope to work hard at finding time to blog a bit each day. 

So today as I was using the restroom in a local establishment I came across this image…It was a flyer for a divorce attorney in town.  Now, I value the services of attorneys and feel there is definitely a time and a place for them for sure- but this poster really rubbed me the wrong way.  It could be because I am married to a marriage and family therapist I suppose but I think it is more than that.   I found myself saddened by this claim of “Life Can’t Wait” and the above print about calling an attorney if your happily ever after is not working out.  Now, know this- I really do believe that there are times when divorce must happen- where things won’t ever get easier or better and where the people simply can’t be together in marriage.  I come from a divorced family and feel very strongly that for my parents, at that time , it was the right thing to do. But, on the other hand, I feel divorce is way to normal these days.

When I sit with couples in our meetings before their wedding I often challenge them to think about the times when their happily ever after is not so happy.  The hope is that they will take seriously the vows they are about to make.  Of course, all of them really do think they understand what they are committing to- but the world tells a different story.  A story where divorce is more normal than staying married, where prenuptial agreements are made almost as in expecting the marriage to not make it, a world where articles come out suggesting that men and women are not meant to stay married forever.  This saddens me.  It saddens me because I believe in commitment.  Perhaps I am too much of a romantic- but I believe in love too.  Finally, I believe that the community couples belong to also has a role in supporting them.  So perhaps, before the divorce attorney is called the church, or other community- the friends, the wedding part- someone can walk with couples before they throw in the towel.

Marriage takes work- love takes work- my hope is that people work hard before calling it quits.  That’s another thing- why do we think so often as therapy as failure?  Another day perhaps….

get real

I had the joy of drinking a Chocolate Chai at Brew this morning while meeting with a friend.  I love this place- a wonderful place to hang out, to work, to drink coffee or wine or beer and also has a nice lunch menu.  I love it for its relaxed atmosphere and for the great staff.  Okay, enough about this amazing place.  Anyway, today while I was meeting my friend there was also a photo shoot of some kind going on in the back corner, and then eventually literally right next to us.  I overheard a gentleman ask what is was for and apparently it was for something not to do with the Brew, but rather something else and they just loved the space- me too!  Now, I am all for photographers and for great places to shoot – my wife is a very talented one who always looks for the next great shot.  But today, in this place I loved to be in, I was a bit distracted by the shoot.  Now…I can live with distraction- most of the time- and managed to do fine.  But what stuck out to me, and what continues to be on my mind tonight was the amount of tweaking and positioning that the photographer kept asking the model to do.  Now know this- I get this is necessary- really- for professional models this is a must as they are trying to get the perfect look…this is fine and by no way am I trying to downplay the importance.  But…it was so much, so often- move your legs here, smile a bit more..a bit less…sit up…not too straight…don’t slouch and so on.  Again, I get this is needed!

But I wonder…what about just being real.  Not in pictures but in life…how often do we try to reposition, change, make up, make over, alter, etc who we are?  How often do we all try to be someone we are not and try to talk games we cannot talk just to be more embraced and welcomed by others?  How often do we worry more about what others think of us than about who God thinks we are?  Here’s what I think-God loves us for who we are- yes we are called to be healthy, take care of ourselves and all of that- but God loves us and created us to be us- authentically.  I fear that this world we live in demands so muchn in-authenticity that becomes the norm.  People fear to be real because real is risky.  People fear to be open because they might be hurt.  People fear to allow their true colors to shine because it might offend someone.  I guess I think more real, authentic people makes a better place.  I am guilty of it just like the next guy- but the photo shoot today reminds me to strive to be more real, to be more open, to quit putting on a smile just to avoid the hard painful conversation that may need to happen.  So…I am going to try to get real a little more- will you join me?

Political overload

I’m sick of politics!  Now, this is a hard confession for me to make as I tend to be a bit of a political junky- actively reading various news sources, following the different races on the local, state, and national news, and so on.  In fact, it could be said that I love politics- the journey of elections has always intrigued me and I do my best to be an educated voter.  But, I feel like I am overdone.  I am so sick of the negativity that is being spewed on different adds by many of the candidates – it leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I see one.  But, something else has driven me even more crazy this year.  As I sit here, the eve of the Michigan Primary, I am saddened by how political folks I love and care for have become.  Now, I am not sad that they care about politics, or care about what is going on, or any of that.  But I am sad at some of the nasty things they say and post on facebook.  It saddens me to see the divide between my “liberal” and “conservative” friends- yes I have both.  It sickens me to see that rhetoric gets in the way of conversation, and that love is seemingly forgotten.  I pray for peace and love to prevail- really, that’s my simple prayer.

So there it is…not much of a creative thought tonight- but wanted to keep with my Lenten discipline and this was on my mind with tomorrow’s election.  I will vote as I feel strongly that is important and hope all of you vote too- and I know this is just the beginning of a long election year- but I hope, I pray, for mutual respect to exist at some level….lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.

take to the world…

In light of the post last night about the possible reality that the church today like in the past can be quite oppressive, I thought it might be good to think about how the church really is called to be everything but oppressive by Jesus himself.  I don’t get it – the oppressive nature of the church. I cringe when I see people representing hate in the name of Christ.  Photos like this really cause me deep pain inside as they so grossly misrepresent the Christ that I know…the Christ that I believe to be the son of God.  And while they cause me pain as one who professes a faith in Christ, I can only begin to imagine the kind of pain and struggle they cause for those who do not confess Christ.  Furthermore, they cause alienation between the church and the world and make my job as a pastor in the church of Christ a lot more difficult.  Hatred, irrelevance, stiffness- those words don’t seem out of line when seeing folks who profess to love Christ breathe hatred and judgment.  So what do we do?  Shake our heads and accept that this is just the way it is, or take the mission of Christ actually to the streets and love all, serve all, welcome all, and attempt to bring the light of God into the world in a way that is neither oppressive or top-down but rather supportive and loving.

I continue to have hope though.  Perhaps this is simply because I am a glass half-full kind of guy, or because my vocation demands me to cling to hope.  My hope rests in the people of the church- those that get it- get the calling of love that stems from Jesus.  I have hope in the power that the church can have for good, when it actually gets over itself and remembers why it is here in the first place.  I have hope…yes I have hope.

I was struck today in worship as we prayed our prayer after communion.  The prayer reads as this, “Compassionate God, you have fed us with bread from heaven.  Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage: may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our savior and Lord.  Amen.”   In that prayer is truly our calling- a hunger for justice…a making of peace.  This is where the church needs to go.  I remember Derek Webb’s song, Take to the World where he calls the church to get out of the pews, out of the metal chairs in our case and truly take into the world the love that we hopefully felt in our time of worship.  There are words in the song that speaks volumes to what my own heart believes.  Webb sings, “Go in peace to love and serve, let your ears ring with what you have heard; may the bread on your tongue leave a trail of crumbs to the lead the hungry back to the place that you are from.  And take to the world this love, this hope and faith- take to the world this ware, relentless grace.”  There it is.  That is where we begin- with the relentless grace of God who calls us all by name as his children and sends us into the world to bring peace, love, hope, and grace- not hate, evil, judgment, and fear.  Time to get to work…

An oppressive church…then…and now?

I watched the movie Agora tonight with a friend and my mind is still swimming with thoughts.  The plot description according to IMDB reads, “A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hopes of pursuing freedom while also falling in love with his master, the famous female philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.”  But the movie is so much than that.  It takes up the issue of the church-the Christian Church and the violence it used to get it message across.   I was saddened by seeing this film in some ways- yes I know it is Hollywood and all of that- but it hit too close to home.  The church, in the name of Christ doing hateful things too people they did not agree with…people that had different beliefs…people that were unsure of what they believed.  There is no denying the fact that the Church of Jesus really did a lot of things that were not very Christ like all in what they thought was God’s will.  Seeing this movie reminded me once again of how imperfect the church is.  Yet I have hope.

But to be honest, sometimes this hope gets lost.  Not lost because of a movie (a very good one though), but lost because it seems that the church today continues to cause pain to those that are not “inside”.  But then quickly I find the hope again because of the wonderful people that are in my life, that are part of the church I love- people that have been posting on here about what church is to be.  You see, I really think that we, as the church, must continue this journey of working hard to welcome all…to love all…to serve all and to truly be reminded that we are blessed with the gift of God’s grace and that gift is a calling to go and serve as Christ first served us.  To steal a phrase from Rob Bell and others before him…Love Wins…simply put…love wins.  I pray for that love to be found in the church I serve and the lives of those who enter our doors.  Thanks to you all for continuing to inspire me and give me hope.