God Bless America? Really?

Why I Will Not Say It, And Maybe Why You Would Not Want To Say It

(Warning:  Due to the mature subject matter, some may find this post offensive.  Therefore, viewer discretion is advised before reading it all the way through)

     I have made a prayerful and very intentional decision to stop saying “God Bless America”.  I am not demanding, suggesting or even hinting that you should do the same.  This is a decision I have made out of deep reflection and conviction because I am first a Kingdom Citizen, and second a Kingdom Pastor.  Before you label me something I clearly am not, please read my opening lines in a previous blog, The Americanization Of The Gospel.  This particular blog has been working its way through my heart and mind for some time and at first I wasn’t going to write it, but I kept coming back to it.  I wondered why I was reluctant to frame these words and it hit me.  I was “concerned” that someone might misinterpret or downright dislike these thoughts.  It was then I realized that I must write.  So here goes…

     I have many reasons why it has become difficult, actually downright impossible for me to think, write or say the words “God Bless America”.  (Even now as I type this phrase, I am very uncomfortable.)  When I say “God Bless America”, now this is me and I am certainly not asking you to feel this way, I feel like I am asking God to bless things that are not a reflection of Him; that do not honor Him; and certainly does not represent the life that He calls all of us to live.  I believe that I am asking God to bless a culture that is the antithesis of the Kingdom of God.  One of my deepest concerns about Christians in the U.S. is that we have made patriotism and our Discipleship equal.  Or we have done something even more sinister–we have replaced being Disciples with being Patriotic–that somehow they are one and the same.  They are not.  I am patriotic and I am a Disciple but being a Disciple trumps being patriotic every time.

     When I say, “God Bless America”, I feel like I am asking Him to bless a culture that is most often selfish, and this selfishness reveals itself in so many ways.  Some live with a sense of entitlement.  Others live like they are victims of anything and everything, and as such diminishes the pain of real victims.  Some live without regard for the consequences of their choices, words and actions.  Some live thinking that the values of the Kingdom of God are outdated.  Some live with hatred and anger in their hearts.  Our political system is corrupted to the max.  Self serving is esteemed higher than self-sacrifice.  And I could go on and on.  This is what I feel like I am asking God to bless because these attitudes and so much other “stuff” have become deeply entrenched in the American culture.  And deep down in my heart, I know that God would never bless any of this mess we have created.  I feel like I am asking God to change His mind about His Plans and Mission in the world.

     I also see this as symptomatic of another issue–our prayers to ask God to bless other things we do as Disciples.  I wonder if some people need to ask for God’s blessing as a sign that He approves their plans, at the cost of His plans.   Again, this is me thinking to myself–but should I have to ask God to bless the things I do IF I am doing the things God wants me to do?  I am not even suggesting or thinking that we should presume anything about the blessings of God.  But this verse has been in my heart and mind for some time.  It’s from John 13:17 (NLT)…

Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

     These words of Jesus come on the heels of one of His top 5 most incredible acts when He walked His creation as one of those He created.  Jesus had just washed the feet of a group of disciples knowing that one would betray Him, another would deny knowing Him, and the rest would abandon Him.  He had set the pattern for what it would mean for them in the future, and for us today, to be a real disciple of His in this fallen and messed up world.  It would be a life of self-surrender to something much bigger than themselves and a life of self-sacrifice where following Him any day and every day would cost us something.

     When we make a personal vow and commitment to a life of self-surrender and self-sacrifice to the Kingdom of God, the blessing comes without us ever asking for it.  I am not
being arrogant or presumptive with this statement.  I am simply trusting in the promise of Jesus.  And in this profoundly simple act of trusting, I am absolutely blown away by the power and depth of His grace and mercy to me; that God would use for His Honor and Glory, someone like myself.  And I find myself blessed beyond words–and I never asked God to bless what I was doing.  I simply “left my boat immediately” and followed Him.  Rather than seeking a blessing for what we are doing (or for who we are, Americans), let’s walk into those places and situations where God is already blessing.  Let’s walk into those places and situations where God is wanting to bless because people are needing to experience life as He intends and as only HE can provide.  However, if you still feel the need to ask God to bless what you or your church is doing, could it be you are asking God to accept something less than what He calls us to be and do?  I cannot answer for you but as for me, I will do whatever God wants, wherever God wants it done, and whenever He wants to do it.  I know I will still miss this mark sometimes, but it doesn’t change my aim.  Just because I miss the target doesn’t me I change the targets; I change ME by changing how I think, feel and what I do!

     At the age of 60 I am finding out that I have learned much more about God and His Kingdom in the last 5 years than I learned in the first 55 years, and am looking forward to learning even more.  And one of the things that He has taught me is that I do not have to plead or beg or even ask for His blessing.  All I need to do is to be where He is blessing and where He wants to bless.  Truth is, God is not blessing this nation–but He is blessing wherever people are committed to and living in something much bigger than themselves–The Kingdom Of God.  You will not hear me say “God Bless America”, but you will find me where God IS blessing and wants to bless people, and situations with His love, grace and tender mercies.

     Please remember that this is ME, how I am thinking and feeling.  I’m not asking you to agree with me.  And I am certainly not asking you to join with me.  This is how I feel.  What about you?  How do you feel about this?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.  Love God with all your heart, love others the way God loves you, and make sure all the glory goes to HIM!

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The Importance Of Memory

7 Signs You Have Sacred Pillars And Sculptured Stones

^{1 “}Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God. ² You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.” 

Leviticus 26:1-2 (NLT)

    When this Word came to God’s people, they understood what God meant.  Idols, carved images, sacred pillars and sculptured stones were easily recognizable.  Typically they took the form that came out of a culture’s abilities to reason out what he or she looked like.  Today they are a little more difficult for most people to see, especially within the local Body of Christ.  Now some idols are easily recognized by the pew–images of Buddha, images from Hinduism, or any of other religions.

     While many in the pew consider these the “great enemies” of the church, the most dangerous idols are those that do not “look like” (whatever that means) an idol.   These idols take on a more subtle form and this makes them even more dangerous.  Some of them are even found in buildings commonly known as “local churches”.  Some of them have taken a material form, while others have taken the form of “beliefs”.  Perhaps this was the concept that inspired Bill Easum’s book from a few years back, Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers.

     Sacred Pillars and Sculptured Stones today are those things, actions, words and attitudes that become more important to us than the Kingdom of God.  I am keenly aware that these musings probably will offend some.  I humbly ask that you read through all 7 Sacred Pillars and Sculptured Stones to the very last paragraph and then ask yourself, “Do I have any Sacred Pillars or Sculptures Stones?”  If I make you mad, ask yourself why I’ve made you mad.  Analyze carefully any or all of these points you disagree with.  It’s a good thing, a very good thing, to review our faith and our convictions in light of The Truth.

Here are some signs you have a Sacred Pillar or Sculptured Stone, in no particular order:

 1.  You Use The Offering As Your Ballot Box

     Something has happened that has upset your sensitivities or you simply do not like it.  Maybe a decision was made by your governance board that you did not like.  Maybe it was something the pastor said that left you with a sour taste in your mouth.  Maybe it’s the direction that the pastor is attempting to lead you towards.  Or maybe it’s that you just don’t like the pastor.  You cannot get your way so you express your displeasure by reducing your offering, or simply give it to some designated fund of which you approve.  Your Sacred Pillar is, well, I know of no other way to put it than to say, it’s having it your way.

2.  You Resist Change And Are Vocal About It

     A man who had reached the age of 100 was being interviewed by the local newspaper.  The reporter said to him, “I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of changes in your church over the years.”  He replied, “Yes I have and I was against every one of them.”  Anything that even vaguely looks like change you vocalize your disapproval.  You mistakenly believe that the peace of God happens only if things stay the same and the waters remain calm.  I know our world is changing fast, sometimes way too fast.  And I will admit that some of those changes are not good.  But I am talking to those who when they hear anything about change within their local Body of Christ their immediate reaction is to be very vocal against any such change; really, against ANY change.  If this is you, then your Sculptured Stone is The Status Quo.

3.  Your Church Budget Is Inwardly Focused

     For a local congregation, the surest test to see if you are guilty of idolatry is to look at your budget.  Measure how much of your budget is given to the mission outside your real estate compared to what you spend inside your real estate.  A sure sign that idolatry has slipped in is when the bulk of your resources are spent on the building, those activities  that happen inside your building, and the staff to maintain those activities.  If 75% or more of your budget is used inside your real estate then you are inwardly focused and not externally mission driven.  Your concern is more for your church than for the Kingdom of God.  Your Sacred Pillar is your programs.

4. You Cannot Change Communion Table / Worship Table Except For Communion Sunday And The Liturgical Calendar.

     I’m speaking now to more traditional congregations who have existed for some time, and I know some of you will take me to task for this one.  You know what I’m talking about:  that large brass cross, the 2 candlesticks, and that big family type Bible.  I’ve often wondered where did this come from or how did it start.  Right now I’m thinking about when Rehoboam became King.  He did not seek God first and as a result, Jerusalem and the Temple was plundered by the Egyptian army.  Among the many things stolen were his father’s shields made of gold.  He replaced them with brass shields.  These brass shields could be polished to shine like the gold ones, but they were only inexpensive substitutes.

     We are living in a world that learns more visually.  Worship tables that speak to the theme of the message help them connect with the eternal truth.  But some congregations insist that it is sacrilegious to have anything on that table but “The Brass”.  Like Rehoboam, you have substituted the real thing for an almost like imitation.  Rather than focusing on the One to whom our sacred symbols point, you have made a Sacred Pillar of symbols.

5.  You Must Use The King James Version

     Now before you jump on me, read my statement carefully.  I have not said anything against the KJV.  In fact, when I’m in the mood for great poetry, it’s the KJV that I reach for.  But for some, perhaps even many, the only translation is the KJV.  At the root of this love affair for the “authorized” version is something much deeper.  It is that love for the words of the KJV rather than their love for The Word, to whom the KJV and all other translations point towards.  The insistence that there is only one true Bible translation clearly indicates a worship of paper and ink rather than the One who breathed inspiration over those who wrote and preserved these wonderful manuscripts.  If you insist on the KJV, then you have made a Sacred Pillar out of the Bible.

6.  You Cannot Remove For Any Reason The Memorial Furnishings Nor Their Plaques

     If your local church does not have any of these, then take this moment to give thanks to God for this.  Let me be very clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with offering God a tribute in honor or in memory of someone who has deeply touched your life.  These saints are to be recognized as that “great cloud of witnesses” who challenge and encourage us in our Faith Journey.  However, when those remembrances become more sacred than the Mission of the church, then something has gone terribly awry.

     When that memorial was given, the furnishing or whatever it was, had both meaning and functionality.  As the Mission of the church changes, sometimes our furnishings need to change.  I was once told that I did not need to remove a particular furnishing because that family meant for it to be used and to be seen.  That became more important than the Mission of the Kingdom of God.  When Mission becomes secondary, you have made memorials the Sacred Stone.

7.  You Cannot Alter Nor Change The Purpose Of Certain Rooms.

     As the church expands because it has made a commitment to the Kingdom of God over church programs, inevitably there must be reassignment of spaces and rooms in order to make room for what God is doing.  For some, this a cause for great alarm.  Certain rooms have always had certain functions and they believe, wrongly believe, that those spaces cannot take on new meaning with new purposes.  As the Body of Christ grows, new people appear whom God has called to make a difference in the world.  The Sacred Parlor may need to become part of the children’s place.  The library full of books that are rarely if ever checked out may need to become the food pantry.  That largest room that once held scores of class members but has dwindled down to just a dozen or so, may need to become the single adults room.

     And what I am about to suggest will be blasphemous to some and some will suggest that I need to be burned at the stake as a heretic.  Perhaps it is time to change the sanctuary to a worship center.       And when such changes are suggested, even urged, the reaction is sheer anger that such a thought could even be contemplated.  That room has always been that and should stay that until Jesus comes back.  When the old purpose is more important than the movement of God’s Kingdom, then your Sculptured Stone is the history.

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     And it’s not just the traditional folks that erect Sacred Pillars or Sculptured Stones.  Even more “modern” and “contemporary” folks can like their stuff to the point that it becomes more important than the Relationship with God and the Mission of The Kingdom of God.  So to keep us away from those Pillars and Stones, may I suggest we continually engage in some of these spiritual disciplines:

1. Pray!  Don’t pray that things stay the same or the way you want them to be.  Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t pray for God to bless what you and your church are doing.  Pray that you and your church are doing what God wants done.  If we do this, then we never have to ask God to bless it–for He is already blessing it without us even asking.  (A footnote:  If you feel you must ask God to bless what you do, maybe it’s not what God wants done.  I’m just saying…)
2. Make sure the Vision is fresh.  Visions serve a purpose but change according to what God is wanting to do in our current world.  Vision is what we want to look like in 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years down the road.  This image will be consistent with God’s planned work of redemption in our current world.  A God-given Vision will be expressed in a single sentence or thought.  Vision statements that require a paragraph or more are nothing more than an idea for the next Dilbert© cartoon.
3. Evaluate the Mission, the things that you do and cherish.  Measure the Mission BY the Vision.  Ask the toughest question:  “Are the things we do helping us become what the Vision says we need to become?”
4. Get to know your community and world.  This means getting to know people, and not just the people you normally hang around with.  The way to know them is to do 2 things:  First and foremost, see them through the eyes of The Father.  Remove all human labels and categories.  Second, as you see them with the eyes of The Father, take the time to listen.
5. As you do that previous point, go back to Point 1 and work your way back down the Spiritual Disciplines again.

Can you think of any other Sacred Pillars or Sculptured Stones?  Feel free to add the to the comments section below.

Expanded Prayers for the UMC Judicial Council

Here are some words for you to think about during such a time as this in the United Methodist Church.

A Potter's View

The United Methodist Church’s version of the Supreme Court, otherwise known as the Judicial Council, will be ruling in October about Karen Oliveto’s consecration as a UM bishop, and they’ll be adjudicating whether an annual conference’s Clergy Session and Board of Ordained Ministry can properly have before them persons who have self-avowed behaviors that are in violation of the United Methodist Book of Discipline. It is basically a question of whether an annual conference’s prerogatives outweigh General Conference’s actions.

The first major Judicial Decision which established that General Conference is preeminent in legislation and supersedes annual conferences’ administrative function, was made back in 1972. In reference to the establishment of the General Council on Ministries, the Judicial Council  stated in Decision 364, “The General Conference may not delegate legislative functions and responsibilities which are assigned to it by the Constitution.” This specifically helps us pray for the Judicial Council because…

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You’ve Lost Your Keys Before, But Have You Lost Yourself-In Worship?

     There are many experiences we have that are unique to us, but there are many more that can be classified as common to all of us.  One of those experiences that we have all had at one time or another is losing our keys.  Come on, be honest; I know I’m not the only one who has done that.  What do lost keys and worship have in common?  I’m so glad you asked.

     When keys are lost it means they are not where they usually are, or where we think they are.  And for some of us, it’s a cause for panic.  Losing keys is a bad thing, but losing one’s self in worship–that is NOT a bad thing, in fact, it’s a very good thing.  To be lost in worship means that we are no longer aware of ourselves as to place or being.  To be lost in the praise and wonder of God means we step out of the places of fear, frustrations, agendas, and whatever and into a place that is absolutely safe.  It is to engage in an act with abandon, putting everything out of sight and out of mind in order to offer to God the only kind of worship He is worthy of and deserves.

     I think about that time when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).  Verse 14 paints this picture for us:  “And David danced before the Lord with all his might.”  How great is that?  But his wife Michal, was disgusted with him and she let her displeasure be known.  But listen to David’s response to Michal in verses 21 and 22:  “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family!  He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord.  Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!”  That day, in a crowded Jerusalem, David was lost in worship-his only focus was on God.  In David’s heart and mind, there were no people in Jerusalem that day, only himself and God.  He was lost in worship-nothing else existed.  When was the last time you worshiped like this?

     When I first arrived as Lead Pastor at Sheffield First, I made a commitment to first observe, even in worship.  I believe that one can learn much from simply watching and I did this even in worship.  We are blessed here to have 2 unique worship services, a very traditional worship service and an alternative service called The Edge.  At The Edge, my contribution is the proclamation of The Word.  Wanting to observe, I chose to sit at the back.  But I read something that God used to convict me about this.  I read that others need to see me, the pastor, worship.  So I moved up to the front, second pew in the left section.  I found this place liberating for me because I needed to worship before I began to proclaim the Word.

     Yesterday I had a moment close to what David experienced.  The worship band opened with a song that God used to literally blow me away–I became lost in worship.  The song was built around one of Charles Wesley’s hymns “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing” but with a David Crowder touch (click here to hear this song).  In addition to the rich thoughts from the heart and mind of Charles Wesley, it was Crowder’s touch that caused me to become lost in worship.  It goes like this:

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
Jesus

     I wasn’t the only one lost in worship yesterday.  One in my faith family had brought some of their friends who was visiting them on the way to Colorado.  This husband and wife were from Austria and unbeknownst to be, they, too were lost in worship.  I realized this when I was given the gift of opportunity to share from the Sacred Script.  As I preached, I saw it in their eyes.  There was a brightness in their eyes that reminded me so much more was happening and it wasn’t me making it happen.  This couple, far from home, on a journey to Colorado became lost in worship.

     When the service was over, I could still see the lingering effects of what they experienced by being lost in worship.  They are going to carry this experience with them in their journey, and it will be a part of their identity for the rest of their lives, and throughout eternity.  I was both thankful and humbled by their response to the message I had faithfully worked on, trying to make sure it was the Word that would make a difference in someone’s life.  Thanks to God’s wisdom and the Holy Spirit, I was able to do what my heart desired about everything else-to honor Him by becoming an ordinary clay vessel that His Glory could shine through.  (Even as I write this, I am so blown away that God still uses me, and still wonder what He saw in me that I could be His pastor of this flock.)

     This “one great love” continues to cover me and propel me in this life in Grace.  Worship, true Worship, Worship that honors our Father, Worship that our Creator is worthy of, Worship that expresses deep gratitude for the Sacrifice Jesus made for us, Worship that is truly empowered by the Holy Spirit, happens when we, like David, dance with abandon, in our hearts before The Lord.  So, the next time you lose something, let it be a reminder to you, that YOU need to be lost in worship–to be consumed in that sacred moment–the moment that needs to happen in both our corporate worship and in our private worship.  Help me, Lord, to dance without restraint in worship to you.  Amen and Amen!

An Open Letter To My United Methodist Sisters And Brothers (wherever you are)

Dear members of this Tribe,

     There is so very much about our Tribe that I dearly love.  It was here that I was surrounded by God’s indescribable grace.  It was here that God’s Prevenient Grace surrounded me, loved on me and nurtured me.  At the age of 16, it was here where I experienced and after much struggle finally accepted for myself God’s Justifying Grace.  And it is here that His Sanctifying Grace has been at work in my life for the past 44 years and I am confident that this Grace will continue to be at work in me until either Jesus returns or I graduate to the life God intends for all of us to experience, that life Adam and Eve enjoyed until The Fall.

     I have been in the Tribe all 60 years of my life and I have remained here, not because I grew up here, but because God called and planted me here.  I had always believed that I would end this journey still with this Tribe but recent events have now caused me to have for the very first time, to doubt if my journey will end in this Tribe we call United Methodist.  For the past 42 years whenever someone would ask me about joining another Tribe or if I had that thought, the immediate answer from the Spirit was an emphatic “Absolutely NO!”

     But our current situation and controversy over human sexuality has caused me to enter into a season of deep reflection and even deeper prayer.  And now when I am asked about leaving or pondering the thought of leaving my beloved Tribe for another one, the answer that the Spirit gave me caught me off guard.  This time the answer is, “No, not yet.  Let’s wait and see what develops.”  My heart is literally breaking and I am having many restless nights over this issue.  I need to work through this for myself in order to be first His follower and then the leader God created and called me to be.  So to work through this, I want to write a letter, actually several letters, to those in my Tribe, whether they read it or not.  Writing serves as a catharsis for me.  Here goes in no particular order of importance:

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Dear Conservatives/Evangelicals,

    Please stop using the word “abomination” when describing and/or addressing the LGBTQ community.  Using the Bible to beat anyone over their head has never accomplished what God’s Word is designed to do.  I once heard that the Bible is God’s love letter to us and that in the front of our Bible we should write “Dear (insert your own name)” and on the back write “Love, God.”  I have done my due diligence  in trying to understand the progressives and LGBTQ views about the Bible, and I have learned much; not that I agree with their views, but I have learned much about the progressives.

     After seeing and hearing many comments addressed by you to the progressives and LGBTQ communities, I can see why they want to reject parts of the Bible.  Homosexuality is NOT the worst sin, so stop treating it like it is.  I made this statement once and I was asked by someone, “Brother Randy, what do you think is the worst sin?  I think it is rejecting Jesus.  Don’t you?”  I think my reply caught them off-guard.  I thought for a moment and replied, “No, I don’t.”  No sooner than those words rolled off my tongue, that person looked at me with an expression that said, “I heard you were crazy, now I know you are.”

     I continued my thoughts, “Sin is sin is sin.  There is no sin that is worse than any other sin.  Sin cuts us off from the relationship that God wants with us and messes up the intended design God has for us.  But I would say there is one particular sin that disgusts God more than any other.”  The question I longed to hear was asked, “Well, which one is it?”  I replied, “For a church or follower of Jesus to be lukewarm.  In Revelation 3:16, Jesus said that a lukewarm (meaning ‘mediocre’) church (or follower) made Him sick at His stomach.  I do not recall Jesus ever saying that about any other expression of sin.”  So to you, the conservative/evangelical members of this Tribe who insist and continue to use the word “abomination” in addressing the LGBTQ and progressive community, I want to say, “STOP IT!”  This tactic is only widening the gap and creating deeper wounds.  Instead, let them see in you the driving desire to be more like Jesus, yourself.  Letting anyone see Jesus transforming our own life is always the best way to invite them to Jesus, and for them to allow Jesus to transform their whole life, which is more than the term “sexual orientation”.  Transformation is about the whole person.

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Dear North Alabama Annual Conference,

     I write to all of you–both clergy and laity–individuals and congregations–leadership and those of you in the trenches.  The first thing I would say is to our leadership–please say something definitive about these recent events.  Let me know where you stand on this issue–clearly and decisively.  Please avoid being like the politician who, when questioned about his position on a certain issue, replied, “Some of my friends are for it and some of my friends are against it.  And I want you to know that I stand with my friends.”  Some of you have done so in a public manner, and others have done so privately.  Whether I agree or disagree with your views, I want to hear them, I need to hear them.  You are among the leadership in my life and my local church and in times like these, make up your heart and mind and then speak it.  Even though the concept of “unity” would be great right now, there are moments and situations where unity is not a possibility, or at least unity as we try to define it.  I think this is a time that fits what Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 (NLT), “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth!  I came not to bring peace, but a sword.”

     The second group I want to address are those who are seriously considering pulling out and abandoning this Tribe simply because of what a minority have either said or done.  Do not consider abandoning your post because it seems to be the best or only answer.  And definitely do not abandon your post because you feel like it is now or never–that somehow God is going to judge you if you don’t pull out right now.  I am convinced that God’s guidance for me–“Not yet.  Let’s wait and see what happens first”–is the message He is trying to get out to more of us orthodox Tribal members.  I just recently heard about one of our churches that has already left our Tribe.  If God is actually guiding this local church in a new direction, then they will be blessed because of their faithfulness to God.  But my greatest concern (and heartache) is that they simply have given up hope.  If you are about to give up hope and leave our Tribe, then understand that you will have gone A.W.O.L. (absent-without-official-leave) and are M.I.A. (missing-in-action) at a time when the Tribe needs your faithfulness and your hope.

     And to my fellow Tribe members who simply do not care or have not kept yourself informed, I want to encourage to arm yourself with facts–and not the “Google or whatever blog you happen to read” facts.  Ask questions and share truthful information with each other.  Search for the truth and then pray–pray without ever stopping for our Tribe.  Arm yourselves with other prayer warriors.  In your prayers make sure you take enough time to listen to what God might want to say to you.  If He gives you guidance to speak or act, then be faithful to that guidance.

     And to everyone in North Alabama Annual Conference, please remember that progressives (and for you who are progressive–remember that us orthodox) are NOT your enemy, and neither is the LGBTQ community.  There is an enemy who is trying to uproot our Wesleyan orthodox heritage–but it’s not people.  This is a spiritual battle and it needs to be fought with spiritual weapons against spiritual forces–not against human beings.  And we all need to be accounted for and counted on.

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Dear Council of Bishops,

     I hear your call for unity and on the surface, this sounds very nice and good.  No one wants to lead a divided organization.  A general does not want to lead forces into battle who are not of one heart and mind.  And it appears to me that your basis for unity is that progressives accept the orthodox and that the orthodox accept the progressives.  Hey, that would be great IF it could actually happen.  Like some engineering designs, it looks great on paper, but it does not translate well, or at all, into the real world.  And here is why it will not happen and cannot happen.

     You have framed this storm around the context of human sexuality, but this is not the true cause of this storm.  Ask a physician if it is possible for her or him to treat a symptom but not treat the disease and they will tell you not only is it possible, but it happens on a daily basis.  They will also tell you that while the symptoms may become better, it is only temporary.  Eventually the disease consumes the person and hopefully it will be recognized before it is too late.  Bishops, the real storm and the cause of our malady is the rejection of biblical authority.  Does the Bible have authority over us or not?  Progressives answer this question with, “yes, but not all of it.  Some of it is just plain wrong.”  The orthodox answer with, “yes it does over all matters of life, faith, order and action.”  These two views are antithetical and by definition antithetical means “directly opposed; mutually incompatible” (emphasis mine).

     One of the most important ways you can lead us is by ceasing to frame this storm around human sexuality and lead us through this storm by addressing the real disease:  rejection of biblical authority for life, faith, order and action.  You and I were ordained as clergy in our Tribe with a vow and covenant that included to embrace with example and through proclamation a life framed within the Bible.  I do not recall any words that resembled, “do this with the parts of the Bible you agree with and disregard the parts you either disagree with or don’t like.”

     John Wesley once wrote in his private journal, and expanded it later in one of his books of sermons about the Bible, “O give me that book!  At any price, give me the book of God!  I have it: here is knowledge enough for me.  Let me be homo unius libri.” (means: “people of one book”)  Though Wesley loved to read other books, his anchor was and his roots remained in the Bible.  All other books were measured by THE Book.  As United Methodists we have 2 clear choices:  to be progressive or to be Wesleyan orthodox.  And by definition, these 2 views are mutually incompatible.  Make your choice, either lead us to be homo unius libri, or make your decision to lead us away from the unius libri.  It is mutually incompatible to be both a people of one Book and a people of “let’s choose which parts of that one book we like.”

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Dear Progressives And LGBTQ Community,

     As I focus my heart on Jesus to frame my words, I have much to say, so where do I begin?  With my focus on Jesus, I want to begin with an apology for the ways that some conservatives/evangelicals have treated you by using the Bible as a billy club and a bully pulpit.  Neither of these are ways that the Sacred Scripture should be used.  I sense many deep wounds inflicted on you and I am praying that God will heal your wounds and that you will be able to forgive these colleagues for their misplaced zeal.  Hopefully you read my “first letter” that was addressed to them who use the Bible in the wrong ways.

     I also need to make a confession to you. I have not taken the time to listen to your perspective and why you believe what you believe.  But in the past few months I have reached out with the desire to listen and ask questions.  Some of you have engaged with me in dialogue and what I have heard has helped me understand your position better.  It was in those dialogues that I became acutely aware of the wounds that religious bullies have inflicted on those in the LGBTQ community.

     But unfortunately most of you end the conversation when I ask the question that no one from the progressive Tribe has answered in a way that adequately described the quest we all share–the quest for that meaningful life, the life that God intended when He created us.  Here’s the question that has ended our conversations:  “What is the Biblical and/or scientific basis for the premise that God created some people to be gay?”

     The only consistent response has been centered around the concept of “feeling”.  “I have felt this way my whole life.”  “I started having these feelings in college.”  And since you have these feelings, then you believe God made you this way and any verse in the Bible that says this goes against God’s intended design for you must be inherently wrong and should simply be ignored.  I had one progressive tell me that when God created Adam and Eve He put the capacity for “being gay” inside them and it was just there, waiting for the right moment to come out.  When I asked if it could be that the Fall messed up God’s intended design for sex, I was told, “Oh no, in fact, the Fall was good because it liberated us to discover and become all that God created us to be.”  When asked for the source and evidence of this theory, the response was yet again silence.

     Feelings are rooted in the arena of human emotions.  Human emotions were given to us in Creation, so they are not bad–it’s in how we use them.  Feelings are unreliable as an anchor or foundation for our life.  My emotions change from the time I awaken in the morning until I lie down to sleep–usually several times during any given day.  The temptation by Satan in the Garden to Adam and Eve was focused on their emotions.  His lie was “You can be a god.”  Being a “god” means you can make up your own rules, be in charge of your own life.  So to my gay friends who may read this, and to the LGBTQ community, I encourage you to not trust your feelings and look deeper.

     Forget what the morons say about you being an abomination to God, for you are not.  But neither are you and I yet what God designed us to be.  To find that design you and I need to look back to the very beginning–that season before sin entered God’s creation and messed me us, messed you up, messed everybody up.  The act of sex was given by our Creator as a gift to be the expression of the deepest, intimate love between 2 people, man and woman.  (I had that same progressive whom I mentioned earlier tell me that sex didn’t happen until after the Fall.  I wonder how Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and reproduce this image of God into creation?)

     I want to ask my gay friends, the LBGTQ community and you who identify yourselves as progressives to carefully read the Creation saga.  Here is what God intended to happen and the life He intends for you to experience.  Do not read the Bible with the echoes of those who misuse and misunderstand the Bible.  Put that garbage behind you and look at the beginning with pure eyes and simple faith.  Do not bring my orthodox view to the table and do not bring the progressive view to your reading and reflecting.  Set aside for that time your feelings and begin to talk with God and also to listen to God.

     And to the progressives of this Tribe who do not “feel like” they are gay, I want to say to you, “Leave the LBGTQ community alone, at least for a season.”  Whether we are orthodox or progressive, we are all broken–somewhere, at some place we are a mess.  My mess isn’t any neater than yours, nor yours than mine.  But this I have noticed about the nature of sin that lives in all of us.  We seek to find some means to justify our messiness, as if finding a justification for our mess makes it neat–or at least, less messier.

     The Bible still has authority over us in all matters of life, faith, order and action.  Just because the bullies and morons misuse it, or because progressives think the Bible is wrong on some points because it was put together by human beings doesn’t we can use our “reasoning ability” to come up with some other way where we can see with fresh eyes how that the Bible, with authority can help us answer the questions of faith, life, order and action in that way which helps us become the person God intended.

     And my final words of this letter to the Progressives and the LGBTQ community is this:  If you cannot find a way to understand Scriptures the way our Wesleyan heritage guides us, then perhaps it is time for you to part paths with the Wesleyans.  If you choose to leave, please know that I will not see your leaving with great joy–but even deeper sorrow than I feel now for our Tribe in this current storm.  Oh, and if some of you from the bully pulpit community are thinking right now, “Yes, go on and leave and good riddance”, shame on you.  If that’s how you feel, go join Westboro Baptist insane asylum, you’re not Wesleyan.  Jesus wept over the unbelief of Jerusalem, and we should weep for those who continue in the way of Adam and Eve as they set out on the journey of deception.  I frame and pen these words not with a sense of spiritual superiority or anal arrogance.  I frame my words most keenly aware of my own brokenness but also with an invitation to you.  I am broken but I am on a journey to wholeness, to restoration at the hand of God who has revealed His plan and His ways for all of us, and it’s known as The Holy Bible.

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The Americanization Of The Gospel

     Before I begin sharing my heart I must, in all honesty, begin with a warning and a disclaimer.  The warning is that due to the subject matter, some may find this offensive, even to the point of labeling me something I am not.  The disclaimer is that I am NOT being unpatriotic.  I fly our country’s flag at our home.  I stand at attention with my hand over my heart when the national anthem is being played.  I am very patriotic for many reasons–I appreciate the many freedoms we enjoy and I have a son and son-in-law who are combat veterans and they continue to serve in defense of our wonderful nation.  I am very proud of Matthew and Michael and every day I pray they will never have to go back into harm’s way.  With this being said, I want to share something with you that has been troubling my heart and mind.

     I am acutely troubled by the emotional climate that exists in our nation in this current election cycle.  I am seeing and hearing a lot of conversations that are soaked with frustrations, anger and fear, especially around this current Presidential election.  My deepest concerns are the words I see and hear from the “Christian” community.  Many of my friends are saying that this is THE sign that Jesus is about to return if the wrong person is elected.  Others are saying that America is doomed.

     I am left wondering, “Why so much concern about who sits in the chair behind that desk in the Oval Office?  Why does that thought create such anger or even fear?”  Regardless of who sits there, God is still God.  He is still sovereign.  He is still in control.  The waves and the winds still know and obey the voice of Jesus.  In a recent sermon it was something I said that both moved the congregation and inspired this blog.  It came from a series based on Ecclesiastes, that book where Solomon shares all the things he tried to find a life with meaningful purpose that would give us that deep and abiding peace with joy.  Of the many things Solomon tried one was the political process.  He described putting our hope on the political process was like “chasing the wind.”  During that message, here is what I said:  “The hope for the United States is not about who sits in the chair behind the desk of the oval office, but rules on the throne of your own heart.”

     I listen with all respect to the passion of the many voices who spend their time and energy on their desire for the United States to become once again a Christian nation.  There seems to be a lot of passion and energy as well as fear being expended in this idea that God, and thus the Gospel, wants us to create a Christian nation.  Now comes the offensive part so brace yourselves for you have been warned.  Jesus never asked us to follow Him in order to set upon this earth a Christian nation.  God hasn’t called us or anyone to create a Christian nation.

     If you, the reader, are among the many here in the United States that sincerely believe that God wants us to create and maintain this Christian nation and are now offended (and maybe even labeled me a heretical liberal), I have one word for you:  Good!  About a year and a half ago God turned my theology and understanding about the collective gathering we call the church on its ear.  Well, actually He helped me move from upside down to right side up, by reminding me the work of the collective body called the church is not about what we call church work, but Kingdom Work.

     Out of this has God has brought me back to a familiar verse from which directs my thoughts and words in this blog, and why I do not think God wants us to be so adamant about this being a Christian nation.  It is from 1 Peter 2:9-10 and I want to share it from both the New Living Translation and from the Message:

⁹ For you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  ¹⁰ “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.  Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (NLT)

^9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (The Message)

     The call of God is about more than a piece of real estate.  Notice Peter’s carefully selected word:  YOU!  We, who have been called out by God only because of His grace and mercy, are to be royal priests that are to be collectively formed, under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, to be this holy nation.  It is just like the church.  We never, ever go to church if we are doing it right.  WE are the church, not a piece of real estate.  The real church never has a single address, nor does it exist within multiple campuses.

     The church exists wherever you happen to be at that moment, that is, if you are have some clarity about the nature of the church.  And within our collective body our work is to be Kingdom Work.  Kingdom Work is about restoring people to what Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert describe in the book When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . . and Yourself as the 4 key relationships God intended in creation for us.  They describe these 4 key relationships as relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.  Poverty exists when 1 or more of these relationships are broken.

     One way that I see that we have Americanized the Gospel is in how we define and treat poverty.  In their book, Corbett and Fikkert point out because of our American bias, we define poverty as the lack of material substance.  So we treat poverty with material substance.  And be honest, how has this worked out?  IF poverty is the lack of material substance (which it’s NOT), then we should have solved the problem a long time ago.  Instead of solving the problem, people continue to live in broken relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.  Even we who call ourselves Christians experience poverty in one or more of these relationships.

     The Work of God’s Kingdom ever since the Fall of Adam and Eve has been to restore His most loved part of creation to those 4 key relationships.  It is in these 4 relationships that we reflect His nature, His heart, and His glory.  And it is within these key relationships that we begin to live out our created design and purpose.  And here is where I believe that we “American” Christians have forgotten something that should never be forgotten.  I am convinced that much of our dysfunction as a nation (notice I did not say “Christian Nation”) is that we have chosen to ignore this absolute truth.

     God calls us to proclaim the Kingdom right smack dab in the middle of the Enemy’s Kingdom.  Albeit the kingdom of Satan is temporary, still at this time he rules it.  Do you remember what Jesus said to Pilate when questioned about being a King?

Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.  If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36 NLT)

     If Jesus wasn’t interested in establishing an earthly kingdom, meaning “a nation”, then why are so many of us obsessed with having one in the United States?  Here is my thought:  We have forgotten that God has placed us in the middle of enemy territory for the purpose of spiritual warfare (and remember this warfare isn’t against people, corporations or governments, but the Evil one) to reclaim those whom God created in HIS image, but have been disfigured with the image of the Enemy.  I’m sitting here wondering if Christians in places like Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, and a host of other nations ruled by petty despots, are wondering, “Why are those Americans so up in arms about that election?  Every day we live under the threat of imprisonment and death and it hasn’t slowed the Kingdom down one little bit.  Truth is, God’s Kingdom is growing here but declining there.”

     I want to challenge you stop insisting that our job as Disciples of Jesus Christ is to make sure this great nation with so many wonderful freedoms turn back to becoming a Christian nation.  You may think I am dishonoring our Founding Fathers and their desire and intent.  Are you aware that some of our Founding Fathers were Deists?  Deists believe in a divine creator but not in the Trinitarian God.  Though they rejected the idea of Jesus, they understood the importance of freedom of thought, speech, and yes, religion.

     Let’s stop trying to “make” this a Christian nation and instead BECOME the nation God has called us to be.  A nation that exists, not on real estate, but a PEOPLE who faithfully live out as His priests, Royal Priests!  Forget Republican or Democrat priests–let’s be Royal Priests who serve not a political ideology or party or even flag, but The King of all Kings!  Would you love to see a culture shift in the United States?  A culture shift that moves away from political ideologies, from greed and selfishness, from that sense of entitlement, and from the idea that as Disciples of Jesus we are supposed to establish a “Christian” nation?  Then remember where your citizenship lies and under whose command you serve.

     Stop freaking out about Donald and Hillary and instead focus on your own brokenness in the 4 Key Relationships–God, self, others and the rest of creation.  And then step into the Territory of the Enemy and share your brokenness with others who are broken and say to them, “Let’s walk together out of our brokenness towards the only One who can restore us to who we truly are.”  Don’t worry about the nation–BE the Nation of people called out by God to walk through the Enemy’s territory with the light of His love, grace and mercy.  I was reading the other day but unfortunately I did not write down the source of it, but here are my closing words:  95% of Christians pass the test of adversity but 95% of Christians fail the test of prosperity.

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