church trends

at its most basic level, the everyday practice of being with other people is the practice of loving the neighbor as the self. more intricately, it is the practice of coming face-to-face with another human being, preferably someone different enough to qualify as a capital “O” Other - and at least entertaining the possibility that this is one of the faces of God. 

barbara brown taylor 

an altar in the world

i shared this thought on facebook yesterday.

i'm reading this book and have completely fallen for the author. her diction is breathtaking, which is so enjoyable! (where my word nerds at?!) but her subject matter is what really has me by the heart. 

anyway,

one of my favorite things to do is go for a walk with my bestie. what tangles we have worked out by the simple act of walking! we joke that it's therapy for us, but we're only half joking. it is every bit a healing, spiritual practice. 

this morning, in the blazing sun, we got to talking about this quote.

our little community is an uproar over an upcoming event at a local library. 

i've gotten lots of call-to-action type messages. 

so much of what i read and heard activated an away state in my brain.

Drag Queen Story Time

Join us for an afternoon of books, songs, and activities led by drag queens from UL Lafayette’s Delta Lambda Phi chapter. Recommended for Ages 3 – 6 and their families.

there was another event recently that created a bit of a stir, too. Jen Hatmaker had shared some thoughts and photos on her facebook page about her little church going out to the Austin Pride Parade to extend their arms in love and give out free hugs to anyone who wanted one. mom hugs. dad hugs. pastor hugs.

she says,

our arms were never empty. we "happy hugged" a ton of folks, but dozens of times, i'd spot someone in the parade look our way, squint at our shirts and posters, and RACE into our arms. they were the dear hearts that said,

"i miss this."

"my mom doesn't love me anymore."

"my dad hasn't spoken to me in three years."

"please just one more hug."

you can only imagine what "pastor hugs" did to folks. so we told them over and over that they were impossibly loved and needed and precious. and we hugged until our arms fell off. this is what we are doing here. what we are here for.

that did something to me. this my brain activates and leans toward.

i later saw a prominent leader in a large church in america say something along the lines of never attending something in celebration of sin like that for any reason.

for any reason? 

there goes my brain, away again.

they weren't throwing beads. they were being the arms of Someone who Loves them.

louisiana family forum sent out an urgent newsletter about story time: From Bathrooms to Libraries! (because if you don't know there was a bathroom battle not long ago - you can look it up it you want to know more.)

are we really holding those as the same thing? because that feels like a stretch to me.

and i just... i don't know, y'all...

i don't think it's as clear cut and tidy as we would like it to be.

so we're walking, 

and we're talking,

and i thought about how all throughout church history there have been generations or whatever - these blocks of time where certain issues were the most prominent issue of the day.

remember when 19th century Christians believed the bible endorsed slavery? 

what about when folks thought segregation was scriptural, that integration was offensive to God?

or that women were personal property, just above that of a slave in her husband's house. or women not having the right to vote?

"when people say, 'i just take the bible as it is, 

it means that they are unaware 

that they are reading the text through thick lenses 

of culture, language, opinion, 

politics, theological background, etc. 

and it's how we end up unwittingly making the bible do our bidding."

brian zahnd

for every cause in past 'culture wars' there were bible verses to "support" it because as it turns out, we can almost always find what we're looking for, if like a diamond, we turn the bible just so and look through those thick lenses.

are we taking a stand against culture, and unwittingly using our own cultural interpretation of scripture to do it? to fit our own agenda?

the bible doesn't change. and God is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever. but the church trends.

homosexuality feels to me like our day's leprosy. they're our untouchables. how many of us have glitter on our faces because we spent ourselves face-to-face giving love to people who feel incredibly rejected and unlovable.

i don't. i wasn't there that day in Austin. but i wish i had been.

i'm not arguing against the bible.

i'm saying what if our interpretation isn't as flawless as we think?

even if it is sin... what about this: what about sinners in the hands of a loving God? isn't it God's kindness that continually leads us all into repentance anyway?

we all have a bias.

are we really protecting in love? or are we just terrified of things that are different from us? we are so easily threatened. 

i'll be honest, when i first heard of the event, i was taken aback by the age because they are so young. and having been in the church for 18 years i already know the very loud response to that. 

indoctrination! 

agenda! 

but what if it's not...

what if we suspend judgment for just a moment and open ourselves to another possibility? 

i don't know what books will be read that day at the library. it may be a book about Clifford the Big Red Dog or a book about a girl who got bullied because she has freckles and learns how to love her sweet face and her freckles in spite of her experience. 

and i'm totally making an assumption here because i don't personally know a single one of those souls who will be presenting that day (if the event is not cancelled by then), but this is what came to me when i thought about "but why so young?"

if they're reading Harold and the Purple Crayon, does it even matter. maybe they just want to dress up and have fun and bring delight to some little ones. 

but if the books are geared toward growing up LGBTQ, is it possible that their intentions can still be pure? 

maybe they want to help the best way they know how? and maybe this sounds flipped and crazy to you, but what if what they want to do is protect kids from hating themselves and wanting to die because they didn't know how to love themselves as they are today. could it be that they're looking out for others like them, hoping to catch them before they want to kill themselves or attempt to because they haven't felt accepted in years? maybe they've been so deeply wounded by other people's judgments and rejection and abandonment and betrayal that they want other kids to know now that someone loves them just as they are. 

and maybe, 

just maybe,

the love of God can come through a drag queen

to reach the heart of a person

that the church has missed or may never meet.

can we be kind and curious and compassionate - especially when we don't understand? especially when we're terrified? when someone is Other, and let the working out of whatever that thing is be between them and God?

i mean, how many times have we gotten it wrong in our own lives?

these are just my questions and thoughts, y'all. i don't have it all figured out.

but here's kind of the crux of it for me.

there is only fear and love.  

and i am so tired of being so afraid.

afraid of getting it wrong. 

afraid of the wrong influence. 

wrong turns, whatever those are, as if God has no experience in steering a sheep.

afraid of fumbling and bumbling along and getting lost as i work out my own faith (as if there is another way to do this thing).

afraid of falling on the wrong side of God. 

afraid of not being perfect.

afraid of falling on the wrong side of you and your opinion and what that might cost me or my children: fitting in. belonging. 

but i cannot breathe in that box.

and i believe Graham Cooke when he says that the will of God is not a tightrope. it is a broad, green pasture.

i have to believe there is room to explore. there is room to fall. there is room to get it wrong. and to roll in the grass and enjoy the journey. there is room to BREATHE.

am i scared? hell yes i'm scared.

but i'm also frustrated. 

and more than that, i am determined to live above the line, and at least for this moment, to step over into courage.

Levels of Effectiveness, via Ann Betz
If you don't know about Ann, look her up! She's fantastic and humble and brilliant and so kind.