What Now?

As many of you know by now I’m a United Methodist pastor. I’m actually a Licensed Local Pastor which means my connection is a little different than ordained clergy (elders) but for the most part, it is the same responsibility. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you probably know what is going on in our denomination right now. A big meeting was held to try and determine our church’s stance on the issue of ordaining LGBTQ clergy and allowing current clergy to perform same-sex weddings. If you’re here to find out what my stance is, you’re going to be disappointed. For the most part, I’m trying to keep my overall opinion off of social media, but I’d be happy to indulge in a personal discussion.

The reason I write though is this has been weighing very heavily on me. It’s weighing heavily because I have friends who are hurt and affected by all of this. Not just the decision that came down, but all of the stuff that happened before, during and after this conference. This got ugly. I actually saw posts in both a United Methodist clergy group and a Worship Leaders’ group I’m involved in on Facebook, that were so very unbecoming of people who are supposed to be following Jesus. To make matters worse, these are people who are called to ministry as pastors and leaders. The hatred, vitriol, namecalling, finger pointing, foul language and other behaviors that I saw were uncalled for, unnecessary, unChristlike and unworthy of the calling we have.

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Where do we go from here?”. I’ve heard a lot of talk about people doing their own thing or bailing on the denomination altogether. I’ve heard others say they’ll stay and fight for what they believe in. The talk around my own church is to recognize that people are hurting and to understand that the bigger picture is nothing has really changed for us and that we must continue to be the Church. It’s actually pretty good advice.

The question that comes out of all of this is, when did anyone get an inside track on the truth? People who are biblical literalists still ignore some things. People on the other side do the same thing. Everyone agrees that there are things in the Bible that are culturally relevant to that specific time period and not today. The question comes, where do we draw that line? Over history, we’ve seen many churches and denominations change their stance on certain societal issues. We’ve also seen some stick to their beliefs and choose not to change. So who is right or wrong?

What we have to ask is does it matter? Does it matter who is right and who is wrong? Is someone right and someone wrong and can we really know? When Jesus was pressed about what the greatest of the 10 Commandments was (remember, it was a trap) he answered: ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40

What we have to ask ourselves is this, is it important to be right? Should we be worried about being wrong? Or should we just do what Jesus said and love God and love our neighbors? I think this is where we are ALL messing up on this. We’re not treating the people we disagree with as Jesus would have us treat them. Jesus admonishes us in Matthew 5:43-48 to love our enemies because it’s easy to love people who are just like us. That means people who look like us, dress like us, talk like us, think like us, believe like us, love like us. See where I’m going with this?

In the midst of all of this, not just this issue in the United Methodist Church but even in American politics, we’ve forgotten to love our enemies. Can you imagine how all of this would be different if we allowed this to happen? If we actually, and I mean actually, engaged in dialogue, not to make sure our point is heard, but to hear the point of the other? To actually work, and I do mean work, towards peace and understanding?

I’m not sure where we’ll go from here. A lot of damage has been done. People have been hurt and continue to be hurt by post-conference rhetoric. I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I do know one thing: God is still God. God can and will work in the midst of this. My prayer today is that the church can continue its mission to make disciples, to love all people (even our enemies) the way Jesus did and does, and that we would listen to God’s Spirit, wherever it may lead…even if it’s across the aisle.

The Enemy Within

Last night after arriving home from youth group I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden was dead. It seemed like everyone was rejoicing over the fact that the U.S. had finally caught up with him. A decade’s worth of cat and mouse had ended. The cat had finally caught the mouse, and the mouse was dead.

I will admit that I am not mourning the death of Osama Bin Laden. He was an evil man filled with hatred. He was the very worst of religious zealots using his religion as an excuse to murder the innocent. He had blood on his hands without ever having to pull a trigger.

What disturbs me most is how many people seemed to rejoice not in the fact that he had been caught, but in the fact that he was dead. I do realize that there was no way anyone would ever take Bin Laden alive. In all honesty his dying was the best thing that could have happened for his cause and he knew it. In death he was no longer their leader, he was now their martyr.

The sad fact of the matter is that there are others in our world not so unlike Bin Laden. They may not start a holy war, but they use their religion as an excuse to hate others who believe differently than they do. They judge and ridicule all the while using their beliefs to justify it.

In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The problem with the war on terror is that too often we’re our own worst enemy. We’re too quick to take up arms and come out guns blazing. Shoot first and ask questions later, it’s unfortunately the American way. I’m not naive enough to think that people like Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein would ever be willing to work for peace. The problem is neither are we. Instead of solving the problem we tend to only escalate things with our actions.

The reason we don’t work for peace is because life is becoming more and more dispensable. We’re becoming so used to the wars and disasters and the death tolls that follow. We’re becoming numb to real life. We live in fantasy through video games and television. Unless something affects us directly we pause for a moment and then go on with life as usual. The technologies of 2011 finds us more able to connect than ever, yet ironically enough we’re a society that’s becoming disconnected from one another.

If our mandate from Christ is to love not only our neighbor but our enemy as well, then how is it possible for us to do so unless we truly know them? Lumping someone into a stereotype based on the little information we have about them does not count as knowing them. We can only get to know them when we make time for them. Think of all the time Jesus spent with people who the religious leaders of his day had written off. He didn’t ridicule or judge them, he simply spent time getting to know them.

I found a quote from an unknown source that says: “You learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry.”