An Open Letter to the Church

image credit: serre86/shutterstock

(This post was copied from my wordpress blog)

I've been mulling over my thoughts and feelings for the past few days now and I think I'm finally ready to express what has become a very serious concern for me. So, I present this very open letter to anyone who claims to be a believer in Christ, and more specifically, to the church as an institution.

With everything that has been going on lately, I've really had to re-examine myself and my actions. Consequently, this also led to my observations of the church as a whole. This is where my struggle begins.

We have failed our mandate.

I am grieved by the state of the church today. I weep whenever I see hate, sorrow, anxiety, impatience, harshness, hypocrisy, and pride take priority within the church. We unabashedly spew injustice, legalism, and dogma to those we were called to love and then wonder why church attendance is so low.

How easily we have forgotten that the very core of our story, the Gospel, only begins with the sacrifice Jesus made for us. It continues with his life, his teachings and his examples. He exemplified the very virtues that we should try to uphold every single day: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

He condemned no one, but offered his loving embrace and Truth to anyone who was willing to listen. He had compassion.

Yet, time and time again I watch in horror as those who are supposed to be the embodiment of all this good fall into the exact opposite. How little we cried out against the wrongs of our history, but how quickly we were to point accusatory fingers at others for their wrongs.

We sat idly by as organizations like Westboro Baptist Church openly harassed members of the LGBTQ+ community, and even showed our solidarity with them during events like "Chik-fil-a Day" (Remember that day in 2012?). Or, how about those times we made Kaepernick's peaceful protest about #blacklivesmatter, about him "disrespecting the flag". We ignore the fact (or at least, pretend it's not as bad as it seems), that people are abused and rejected by the church because of some imagined or real sin. If a person makes us uncomfortable, we shut them out.

I have never been more ashamed of my association with the word Christian as I am today. If you happen to be reading this and have been hurt by a "Christian" in any sense of the word then I apologize from the bottom of my heart. The hurt and pain and judgment that has been shown to you is not what Jesus taught and it is appalling that you had (maybe even continue) to experience that. I hope that you can find it in your heart to one day forgive us.

This has to stop.

The strongest evidence that we have failed our neighbor is being evidenced right now by the state of our country. We have allowed racism and politics to pervade our sanctuaries; something that should have never even been tolerated outside of the church, much less in. You want revival to happen in America? Stop judging and start loving. Look at yourself: truly, openly, honestly, and focus on the things that you need to work on and just love those around you.

If we are going to teach and preach that all people are worthy in God's sight, then it's time we actually lived like we mean it.

When asked, Jesus said that the greatest commandments were to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. In the same sentence he also added, love your neighbor as yourself. There was no caveat, no addendum, no exceptions. Love God, Love People.

We have not been loving our neighbor, and by extension we have not been loving God.

This is my call to action. This is my desperate plea.

Be better.

No longer tolerate injustice. No longer be enslaved to politics. No longer be bogged down by the dogma. No longer let there be a barrier between you and the people you were called to love.

Let us all strive to be more like Jesus. Right now we are so far from it.

In a lot of ways, I feel that we are guilty of far worse than the police officers who have shown just how brutal they can be. At least we know where they stand.

No, we just pretend like nothing is wrong as we savagely rip apart the souls of the downtrodden, the hopeless, and the weary. Instead of being a refuge, we have become a snake pit.

If Jesus were to give his speech to the Pharisees today, it would be aimed at us. I honestly think we would be the ones to be driven out of the temple with the whip. There is no place in God's kingdom for what the church has become.

Doesn't that make you weep?

You can try to justify, or argue. You can write me off completely. But I think deep down we all know the truth.

We must be better.

Grace and Peace.

Let them in: Open the Gates of Freedom

I've been debating on whether or not I would even write my thoughts out concerning the recent events.  I suspect that they will not leave me a popular individual, but then again, I never wrote to be popular.

Not here anyway.

The past week has been wrought with heartbreaking news and many angry people.  People who on the one hand mourn the events that took place in Paris and claim their solidarity and camaraderie as fellow humans through its various forms on social media; and on the other hand completely ignore the same principles of "precious life" by having nothing positive to say concerning the refugees that wish to enter our country.

I can understand to some degree.  It is easy to feel compassion for something that does not directly affect you.  When things are closer to home, fear can be a powerful hurdle to overcome.

As a Christian, however, I believe the answer is pretty simple.

Let the refugees in.

I have seen a lot of arguments over this single topic, and I can't help but think that, for a country that has been built and thrives on the diversity of its people and the culture they bring, the United States is one of the most xenophobic countries out there.  I don't just say this because of the current refugee example (though it is quite prevalent), but from the years and years of coming across bigoted notions and conversations concerning all races and cultures.

All my life I have been fed the propaganda that we (the US) are the good guys looking out for the little people, but right now I can't believe that.  The "little people" are at our doorstep and most of the country is crying out in full resistance and even hate.

And the thing I find the most amusing about this dance we are having is how resistant we are to 10,000 refugees when it is estimated that there will be almost 5 million refugees by the end of the year.

Please, read this article to get a quick understand of how bad it is for them.

I know.  It is scary to consider that among those 10,000 souls there are those who would want to harm the citizens of the US.

I know.  The events in Paris have done nothing to alleviate those fears.

I know.  We do still have plenty of problems to take care of here in the US without adding the extra stress.

But.

Can we really claim to be the good guy, when we refuse to help those who come for our aid?

We cannot let our fear get the better of us, and allow ourselves to be filled with disproportionate rage.

I have seen quite a bit of outrage at the fact that we have 50,000+ homeless veterans and the fact that people want to help these refugees.

The fact of the matter is though, they are two separate issues.

I agree that our vets should be taken care of; after all, they did put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms we enjoy and should be honored for those acts of bravery.

However, just because we have trouble fulfilling our duties to support our own, does not mean we should deny others the opportunity to live in the same freedom we so deeply cherish.

Being human, is so incredibly messy.  Let's not make it harder on ourselves and remember that all lives have value and we should do what we can to better each other not tear each other down.

Anyway, that's my two cents.  Take it or Leave it.

Grace and Peace.

Has Feminism Lost It's Touch?

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog.  I've mostly been trying to post consistently on my wordpress page for those interested in stories, video games, and storytelling in games.  But I do not want to abandon this blog just for that one.  It's more of a content management deal.  That blog is more about expressing ideas that I find interesting and that might help others while this one is my own musings about anything in general.

Today's Topic?  Feminism.


I can already feel the icy stares that come with even mentioning the word, but it has been so in my face lately that I felt a need to put my own two cents into the already large festering pot of opinions concerning feminism and what it should look like.

Now before I begin, let me start with my understanding of the word.

Feminism: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

 By that definition anyone who holds to this doctrine can be considered a feminist.  So, please believe me when I say I am all for women being treated equal to men in their value and their rights.

I completely agree that women should be able to get a job and expect to get paid the same amount a man would make in that same position.  I completely agree that women are overly sexualized and it needs to stop.  I agree, 100%.

But.

It feels like there have been a lot of "movements" lately that aren't really about the equality and more about gaining attention, and it is such a fine line.  It's the ever constant pendulum effect that plagues humanity.  One thing is too much so we swing back to the other extreme and I feel like feminism as it is has the potential to become that extreme opposing view.

One particular facet of the feminists I have run into is this odd double standard.  They expect to be treated equally, but there is an expectation of special treatment as well.  On the one hand, these individuals want to be able to have all the same rights as men ("I'll open my own door thank you") but when men do treat them equally there are complaints about it.  It definitely sends out mixed signals.

I came across this movement recently where some of the more extreme feminists were encouraging all women to get rid of their "sexy underwear" and wear what have been termed "granny panties" for years because women should be able to wear the latter and still be seen as attractive or at the very least should not be judged on the underwear they choose to don on their bodies.

I get it.  Men and women are both people, and a woman's worth should not be based on how she dresses.

I get it.  Women have been ushered into this narrow path of what is acceptable to society and we need to break those restraints.

However, when women who don't follow a movement like that because they actually like the way the "sexy underwear" makes them feel are accused of not really being feminists, it seems a bit extreme.

Perhaps, I am showing my ignorance in all of this rambling, but it just seems to me that there has got to be a better way to break down these social barriers without leaving such a negative feeling behind.  Wouldn't it be better to fight about things a little more important than underwear choice?

If you don't believe me that feminism is turning into a bully, take a look at this website.  Hundreds of women have contributed to this website it's pretty eye opening: http://womenagainstfeminism.com/

All of them support equality, they just don't support what feminism is becoming.

Just a few thoughts.

Grace and Peace.

America a Christian Nation?

This post stems from a conversation I was having with my wife this past Sunday on the way back from church.  We had a guest speaker and his topic was on the “Immorality of America” essentially.

I’m sure you can see where this topic is going.

I won’t go into the bigger details he spoke about or how I had to force myself not to tune out as soon as he said the words “Christ and Country”, but suffice to say there were things mentioned that I did not agree with.  But, I also think I don’t see Christianity the way a lot of others seem to.

To explain, I want to address a couple of things this speaker brought up that seem to permeate the Christian culture right now, and have for a while.

Decline in Churches and Attendance

This is a big deal to a lot of people.  It used to be that you could find a four thriving churches within a 20 mile radius of each other, especially here in the south (better known as the Bible Belt to some).  However, it seems that lately churches have been dwindling down to minimal numbers and many are shutting down altogether.  I can understand why some might be upset by this but I can understand why people are leaving more often a little more.

I’ve heard the implied statements that people don’t go to church anymore because they don’t want to hear the truth.  I’ve felt the undertones of blame thrown at Atheists for “being blind to the truth” and for pulling people down with them.  Of course, you could also interchange the word Atheists with homosexuals, corrupt politicians, etc.

“They’re ruining America with their sinful ways; they are the ones we have to watch out for.”

Please, they just want to be treated with love, respect, and equality.  Just like everyone else does.  Like they should. Because it is their right (enter my paradox of wanting equality via Constitutional Rights vs. disagreeing with the life choice).

The real reason people don’t go to church?  They don’t see the point.  Having grown up in the south I have seen where the stereotypes of Christianity come from.  I have seen how people who are legitimately looking for help get crushed and thrown by the wayside because they didn’t fit within the “acceptable” realm when they walked in (dress, hygiene, smell, or anything else that doesn’t fit the status quo for that church culture).  Would you want to go to a place that would make you feel lower than dirt?  You can do that well enough on your own at home, right?

Others may not want to go because, outside of feeling judge unfairly, they have pursued a different approach to life and thus feel that it is irrelevant to them.  Still others just want nothing to do with a group of people who have such a reputation.

Now, I do know that there are several exceptions out there.  Not everyone is going to be the monumental jerks that we’ve become to the world, but they seem to keep to themselves for the most part.  So the ones that need to speak up the most are quiet, and the ones who need to shut up for once are yelling at the top of their lungs.  What is wrong with this picture?

[[Side note: I acknowledge that I have a tendency to oversimplify things.  Please read all statements on this blog in general as if I am trying to portray an idea rather than straight details and facts (generally).]]

America is a Christian Nation

This one really gets to me most days.  The fact of the matter is America is not a Christian nation.

“Of course not, not anymore at least.  With all the immorality, America has gone down the drain and it’s all the _______’s fault.”

No, you don’t get me.  I’m saying that the US never was, nor will it ever be, a Christian nation.  Was it founded on very Biblical principles? Yes.  Were several of the founders Christians or some form of deist/theists? Yes.  Does this mean it’s a Christian nation? No.

Here is why:

Outside of the obvious fact that an abstract and inanimate things can’t “get saved” and become Christian, there is already a nation for Christians that is claimed: The Kingdom of God (or Heaven), where Jesus is the Monarch and we his subjects. 

Beyond that, the “People of God” is no longer limited to the Israelites as we understood it to be in the Old Testament.  But with the New Covenant, came the ability of any individual to join the ranks of this theistic monarchy by simply believing and confessing (easiest immigration laws ever).

But we are placed on the world in various countries and must follow the authority over us.  In the US especially we are apt to place blame on the government for the way things are these days.  While not wholly false, it is also only partially correct.  Because, the fact of the matter is, we are the makers of our own demise.  We vote into office our Presidents, our Senators, our Representatives, Governors, and Mayors into those positions.

We do.

Then we get mad when they do exactly what they are expected to do: Over promise and under deliver.  Seriously, what was the last thing you did to change the way things are? Can you think of anything?  Me either.  Because I don’t do much in the way of politics.  I am just as guilty about letting our government do their own thing until it directly affects me personally then I might start fighting back.  Of course, by then, it’ll probably too late.  So, the way our economy is, the way America is – that fault lies with everyone.  Not just those in positions of authority.

Anyway, these are just a few thoughts that came to mind this week.  I could go off on several tangents that take roots in these two topics, but what benefit would that be?  Additionally, if my tone came across as an attack to anyone I apologize.  I am merely trying to write out some observations.

Grace and Peace.