Through a random series of events I found myself visiting a different church on Sunday. The congregations average age leaned a little "older"and I can only assume it also leans conservative for that reason, in addition to it being a PCA church that has been in the area for a long time.
The pastor was preaching on Paul's imprisonment and his words of encouragement during that time.
If I'm 100% honest, I was mildly tuning in.. but then the pastor said THIS (which we asked him to send us afterward)...
“There’s a song from maybe 15 years ago by the band Wilco, ‘I am trying to break your heart.’ To try and get your head around why Paul’s message was worthy of prison, let me attempt to upset you, to break your heart with this news as if you were more a part of today’s culture rather than the culture of the Kingdom.— Neither major political party can save our country. Not in any way, shape, or form. Christians are for peace not violence, not ever. We stand for life as well as united families. We will never support the forced removal of children from their immigrant parents as acceptable. Our country has established various long standing systems of injustice against women as well as cultural minorities, like those with a different sexual ethic, and religious minorities, like our Muslim and Buddhist neighbors. America has done nefarious things to keep other countries impoverished to meet our insatiable greed. We willingly engage in polarization so that we can demean and revile fellow image beaters of the Divine. We are on constant vigil to be offended so we can lash out in protest to announce our hatred. The Kingdom of God stands against much of the American ideal. Ok. Is everybody mad yet?
Paul preached the gospel of God’s coming kingdom and ended up jailed because the implications of that message strike at the vitals of what every rival government holds dear. If we are faithful to announce in practice this message diligently, we will be labeled as either too extreme or too weak by every party or philosophy of this world, and exile to the periphery of society. We can neither accommodate nor insulate, but must both preach and live this kingdom grace.”
Friends. I can't tell you how badly I needed to hear this. From a pulpit. In a church with doctrine I mostly agree with.
I'll close with this:
-If you go to a church that is unwilling to say this, you should leave.
-If you go to a church that may agree but isn't saying this, you should ask why, and then leave.
And if you find yourself anti-church because you paint us all with the same white-evangelical blasphemous christian brush of Trump and his normalizers (which yes, sadly includes many "churches"), please stop. Take a moment to realize that we are all reeling in this new world order and trying to find our footing and use our voices as best we know how, which as you know, is difficult when every damn day some other injustice becomes acceptable.
To truth telling,
-D
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