Last night’s shameful “debate” confirms the inability of earthly nations and leaders to offer lasting hope, a compelling moral/ethical vision, or a way to understand the world in themselves.
Look to Jesus instead.
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We are in a season of confusion, disinformation, and distraction.
God’s Word incarnate, Jesus Christ, as revealed in God’s Word written, the Holy Scriptures, will be a lamp to light your next step.
There’s no reason to be afraid.
You won’t have all the answers all the time, but you can follow the one who is Wisdom in the flesh.
Read your Bible with an open heart. Receive the Sacraments with gratitude. Pray with a fervent faith. And love each other with the love of the Lord.
Keep your eye on the prize.
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The distinguishing mark of the Church
I wholeheartedly believe the church is meant to credibly model and offer a different way of life than what the rest of the world experiences.
In particular, the distinguishing mark of the church is radical love for one another, for the sake of Christ.
As long as Sundays remain mostly segregated…
As long as women are discouraged from exercising their spiritual gifts and demeaned when they do…
As long as children sense they are a burden in the worship service…
As long as singles don’t find a sense of real, every-day family in the household of faith…
As long as keeping the peace is more important than peacemaking in our communities…
As long as certain topics are “off limits” for fear of offense in our gatherings…
As long as we demand and are satisfied with worldly ways of leading congregations…
As long as we act as if our obligations to one another are met via an occasional check in the offering and pleasantries in the parking lot…
As long as convenience and preference are the determining factors for level of involvement and degree of commitment…
As long as we allow American partisan differences to sow demonic division instead of inspire biblical discussion…
…we are missing our vocation of radical love for one another!
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Keeping the peace or peacemaking?
I think there is a difference between “keeping the peace” and peacemaking.
In the first, tension is avoided for fear of conflict/disagreement destroying relationships. In the second, a certain kind of tension is actively sought out so that working through it together, relationships are strengthened.
In the first, a surface-level appearance of same-ness (not the same thing as unity!) must be maintained. In the second, a true and deep communion/knowing is desired even if that means acknowledging deeply embedded differences openly.
In the first, the status-quo is maintained, even when ultimately harmful or unhealthy. In the second, careful discernment leads to steady movements closer to the heart of Jesus.
In the first, discomfort is avoided. In the second, a kind of suffering is embraced.
The church in America continues to wrestle with things like how to realize racial reconciliation in our unique context, how to love one another across the political party divides, and how to present a distinctive and credible witness to the truth of the Gospel.
In order to move forward in ways that are faithful to Jesus and demonstrate true love between us, I believe we must renew our commitment to true peacemaking over and against keeping the peace.
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A dear friend, brother in Christ, and parishioner of mine passed away last week. This is how I can express my feelings.
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These are changing times, friends. Hard times, but not without some hope.
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Soundcloud is so aggressive in suggesting their pro option that I just moved everything over to BandLab, where I’ve been spending a ton of time lately anyways. Everything Soundcloud does for me, BandLab does about 10x better…and for free at the moment.
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15 years married to Amber today. She’s the best friend anyone could ask for, an inspiring parent, and an absolutely dedicated wife. Faithfully follows Jesus day in and day out. Works hard for the kingdom and her family and her friends. Teaches me about what’s truly important in life daily. Smartest person I know, too. I know I don’t deserve her. So grateful to be facing the future together.
