Confession: Sometimes I don't write what I think or feel because I'm afraid...afraid of what exactly? Well, I guess I'm afraid of what people will think or say, who I might offend, that someone might take things I say personally etc. I don't want this to be the case, but recently it has been. I know I shouldn't be afraid, I mean hey it's my blog, if you don't like what I write then don't visit it lol. But somehow, I still fear. I'm tired of being afraid. So...this is me trying not to be afraid...
I know that it may seem like "church rants" are my thing, and I don't know maybe its one of my things, but its where I have spent so much of my life and I am very aware of things that go on in it.
Anyway, since last year's election I have been really troubled at how pastors and preachers try to speak about politics from the pulpit. From where I'm standing, mixing politics and preaching is like mixing oil and water...unsuccessful and unproductive. Last year, here in California, the "church" was very caught up on Prop 8 and on a nationwide level it launched its very own "anti-Obama" campaign. The church I happened to be at last year was very vocal about this stuff, it always made me uncomfortable. I believe we do need to stand up for what we believe in...but more importantly we need to be free to believe in whatever it is we choose to. Sometimes, blinded by ambition (and sometimes ignorance), pastors and preachers get what I call "Political-Pulpit Syndrome." [For the sake of typing less we will refer to this as PPS] PPS is the consuming idea that preaching one's own political convictions will somehow edify your audience or church members. PPS seems to be plaguing many of today's pastors, its unfortunate. Rather than unifying people, they alienate them; it sends the message that "if you don't believe in what I am preaching then you're in the wrong." The very idea that if we believe differently than a pastor we are "sinning" as though he or she knows what is right is just crazy. God gave pastors a platform to model and teach God's love and grace...and you are seriously going to get up there and tell me that if I drink, listen to "secular" music, dance, if I am gay, if I drink a brand of soda you don't support, if I don't agree with your political beliefs, or if I God-forbid register Democrat that God's grace will suddenly run out for me?! Sorry...this doesn't work for me. God gave each of us a mind of our own and with this mind we can be informed and make our own choices. I find it so ironic that in this country we are free to worship however we choose to, yet so often in the groups we choose to worship with there is way less freedom. We are not free to be who we are and believe what we believe...or at least not while we are in front of "church folk."
Here is why I believe PPS can be so dangerous: in addition to alienating people, it gives the illusion that in supporting political agendas publicly, you as pastor or preacher can be held responsible for the acts that other people with the same beliefs commit in the name of these beliefs. All throughout history there have been horrible crimes committed in the name of political beliefs...the greatest of these crimes is the heart of which they are committed; judgement and "un-love" (I feel hate is too strong of a word in this instance). Even recently I have found myself in situations where political beliefs are imposed at church and it so greatly grieves my heart. I'm not saying we need to stand up for nothing, I think its important to have beliefs and to support those beliefs; I just don't feel that church is the appropriate time or place to discuss them publicly. I think it is like playing with fire and sooner or later someone will get burned. Let me share with you what I believe:
I believe that instead of imposing political ideas and beliefs on others, we should adopt a policy of love and respect. We should love others and respect them simply because we are all a part of the human race...regardless of appearance, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or anything else that makes someone "different" than us. At the end of the day we are all citizens of humanity and from what I have learned...Jesus died for ALL of humanity so who am I to judge or disqualify someone because they may be different? I believe the cure for PPS is love...and let me say this: I do not love PPS, but I love the pastors who at times have a bad case of it. :)
What if we put our political agendas aside and just loved someone because they deserve to be loved? What if we didn't just "preach" love, but lived love? What if we used our platforms as pastors or preachers to love the unloved rather than judge them? What if The Beatles knew more about it than we give them credit for...What if all you really need is love? Can it really be that simple? Honestly...I think so.
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