Couple that with several diatribes concerning liberal judges, abortion, and homosexuals I felt very frustrated.
It was a difficult day because most if not all of my churches parishoners whole-heartedly and unquestioningly agree with these things. It was difficult because my post-evangelical convictions are not terribly welcome in this small town. In some respects I feel it is even dangerous to post this.
Yet despite any potential misunderstanding, I feel the need to challenge much of what is seen as "Christian" by evangelicals.
My frustration yesterday began at a prayer breakfast I attended. Now let me commend the men's non-denominational Thursday morning prayer group that organized this event without the assistance of any church in town. It was great to see laity who are passionate about something from several different churches and denominations work together on this event.
However, the speaker offended me by describing non-Christians as long-haired, pierced, tattooeed, raggedly dressed people. He did acknowledge that some Christians look like this but that they are not fully conformed to the likeness of Christ yet. WHAT?! Since when was the likeness of Christ equal to middle-class American values?
It is amazing the walls the church puts up. Ironically and probably unknown to the speaker, the restaurant that catered the event is owned by a tattooed, pierced, openly gay woman. I wonder what she heard in that statement! I bet she made huge strides to coming to embrace Jesus Christ yesterday!
I could go on and on about this but I won't. I love the folks in my town and churches. And that love and concern is what fuels my frustration. I so desperately want the Christians in our community to be reached for Christ as Brian McLaren explains so well in his book, More Ready Than You Realize.
Here's a quote from his book on the Lectionary reading from Acts 11:1-18 for this week. I can't wait to preach on Sunday!
But even better than reading a book is engaging in spiritual friendship with [postmoderns], because their stubborn refusal to be content with our modern depiction of God will pus us better than any book could to realize that God is not limited to our modern conceptualizations. In this way, engaging in spiritual friendship will not only help others become Christians, it will help us become better Christians, who love God more than ever. This occurs because our concept of God is expanding, deepening, and growing more glorious through conversation with our seeking friends. In essence, the Christians are "converted" first in authentic spiritual friendships.
There is a wonderful story in the New Testament that prepares us for this kind of profound transformation in ourselves as "converted" people who seek to help our as-yet "unconverted" friends. As you read the story found in Acts 10:1-11:18, be careful not to reconfigure it to fit into your preexisting categories. Try to let it stretch or even deconstruct your current categories.
Several pages later, still discussing this passage, McLaren writes,
When we become spiritual friends as Peter did with Cornelius, we similarly become sensitive to issues of language. We become uncomfortable labeling people. Whether it's "impure or unclean" or more contemporary labels like "unsaved," "non-Christian," "lost," or "pagan," we become increasingly sensitive to the way that such in-grouping and out-grouping can itself be sub-Christian behavior. On the one hand, by using such language we can unintentionally elevate ourselves to a superior category; on the other hand, such language can degrade others--in our minds or to their ears or both. Either way, careless language sabotages spiritual friendship.
For more, I'd encourage you to pick up the book. It gives me great hope as I struggle to emerge as a new kind of Christian, neither liberal nor conservative nor evangelical, rather like someone without a home or country to call their own at this point of the journey.
[Listening to: When I Stand With You - Charlie Peacock - Love Life (5:14)]
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