politics and churchinAlabama: a mostly benign rant

I hear your frustration, I really do. I know it myself, fought it and gave into it and turned away from it and gave into it again the whole time we were a part of religious life in the Bible belt. But here's the thing, my funny sweet friends that I love so much. Your disdain for what you see, for the discrepancy between what is said and what is lived in churchinAlabama, is, I think, good. I think it even comes from God, a type of holy discontentment for the religious status quo. But I disagree with your response.

It is GOOD to be frustrated with what you see. I hear you saying that you're sick to death of it, you desire SUBSTANCE and the power of God that changes lives, and that's a GOOD desire. But if you want to see that desire fulfilled, if you want to be a part of God's kingdom and not just churchinAlabama, don't look to other facets of the culture to satisfy your desire for God.

Politics aren't working; there will always be two parties, there will always be conflict, there will always be the politically oppressed. If you want a fight, politics will serve you well. But if you want to see people healed or living more meaningful lives, the legislature can't help you.

Literature and art (though I LOVE them dearly and continue to enjoy them) only describe the struggle ... they will help you feel less alone, but don't give courage or relief in the middle of the night.

If you're tired of what you see, if you're tired of rhetoric and facade, stop being surprised when the culture is lacking, or being frustrated when it can't sustain you. The only one with the power to heal and change us is Jesus.

Jesus was a radical; He would have rolled his eyes at us religious folks and would have slept on the couches of those who are never going to set foot in our churches. He would have hated the rhetoric and the Christian subculture. He cared about people - not about categories of people, but about the person standing in front of him. To the chagrin of his friends, Jesus was not interested in a political movement, and he only got into religious debates when provoked. Jesus loved PEOPLE, not ideas or causes. People.

Hypocrisy is the word of the day, and if I'm going to say all of this I have to say I'm not very good at following my own advice. I think I've said it before, but Jesus is hard. Politics, ideas, literature, art - they make me feel smarter, wiser, better than I am, and they give me definitions of "us" and "them". Jesus doesn't let me do that. He separates truth from lie, and exposes the gap between who I think I am from who I am REALLY. But He is also the only hope ANY of us - religious and sinner alike - have in life.

Love to you all.



You may begin throwing tomatoes at me .... NOW.