What should Christians think about disagreements of faith?

I had a lovely conversation recently with a young woman who was worried that her baptism "didn't take." Why? Because her new church told her that the specific words uttered by the Pastor were out of order and therefore, God would not receive her baptism as legitimate.

In response to this anxiety, she would like me to "secretly" go down to the river with her and get it right. As a Pastor who has spent a lot of time immersed in the recovery community, I am far more concerned with her shame, need for secrecy, and willingness to accept someone's word that her baptism was illegitimate. But these are not her concerns, and so, they cannot be mine. At least not on that day.

I took her to this scripture, out of the book of Isaiah.

And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 NRSV

I asked her to sit quietly and dig deep. When she was baptized, what was that experience like FOR HER? What did she think? How did she feel? What did she believe? What did she do about her baptism - as in, how did it change her life? And she knew, very quickly, that her baptism was one of the most real and true decisions she had ever made.

After she left, what remained was my hard, cold, judgy heart. What in the world was that guy thinking? I understand differences of opinions about the rituals of faith, but did he have to say, "Your baptism was illegitimate and until I fix this, you could go straight to hell if you die?" I judge this. And then I went to lunch and read a good book. Imbedded in that book I found my big open heart. Here is what I read.

The tender flesh itself will be found one day - quite surprisingly - to be capable of receiving, and yes, fully capable of embracing the searing energies of God. Go figure. Fear not. For even at its beginning the humble clay received God's art, whereby one part became the eye, another the ear, and yet another this impetuous hand. Therefore, the flesh is not to be excluded from the wisdom and the power that now and ever animates all things. His life-giving agency is made perfect, we are told, in weakness - made perfect in the flesh. St. Irenaeus (c. 125-c.210), translated by Scott Cairns

I'm not sure what St. Irenaeus had in mind when he penned this poem, but here is how my body, mind and heart received it. I moved away from judgment and marveled that a collection of eyes, ears and hands EVER agree on anything. And, if WE are made perfect in weakness - who am I to judge another's perfection?

Look, I wish the pastor had not said what he did to this young woman, who I happen to know has issues around the concept of "illegitimate." But I say dumb things all. the. time. And I never intend to say dumb things, but I have only one way of seeing the world - through one pair of green eyes, two ears that hardly work anymore, and impetuous hands - that are prone to reacting rather than responding. And yet, we are told, "His life-giving agency is made perfect..in weakness - made perfect in the flesh."

You probably do not need any suggestions from me, but may I offer one? "At the beginning the humble clay received God's art." And so it goes. We will struggle to agree on lots of issues from religion to sports (and don't even get started on politics). But maybe it will be helpful if we all remember that when we struggle, we have been provided much biblical commentary that is not all that complicated. Love one another. Forgive one another. Make peace with your brother. Make restitution when necessary. Care for the widows, orphans and vulnerable among us. This sounds like a pretty full day to me - and leaves no room for rumination over how others are experiencing God's life-giving agency.

What should Christians think about pursuing God’s will?

What should Christians think about pursuing (or following) God's will?

During my time in church, I have seen and heard a lot of people agonizing over decisions because they wanted to make sure they were appropriately listening for God's voice and responding to his call. Should I stay where I am, in the job I'm in, or should I pick up and move to Provo, Utah? What does God want me to do?

And we work ourselves in knots over this. The thought is, generally speaking, that any time we're confronted with a choice that there is a "correct" way to respond and an "incorrect" way to respond. If we do the former, we stay in God's will and good things will happen to us. If we do the latter, who knows what will happen, but at the very least we'll know that we weren't obedient and we should feel bad about ourselves (at a minimum) and understand that any misfortune that comes our way subsequently is our fault and we shouldn't expect anyone to give us any help in dealing with it.

I'll tell you this for free: That way of looking at things is pretty damn cruel. It places a tremendous burden on us, increases our anxiety, increases our shame, and prevents us from living the abundant lives Jesus came to offer. In short, my opinion is that this way of thinking is not only horseshit (which it is...might even be bullshit) but it also prevents people from living more faithful lives as opposed to supporting more faithful lives. And, if we're not supporting more faithful living, what are we doing, folks? Oh, and to top it all off, there is no biblical reason that I can see that supports this type of thinking.

What's the alternative? What're we going to do about all this? Let's start by taking a look at a frequently misused verse that is over-quoted when it comes to Christian decision making and God's will.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

~ Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

These words are often used to create the kind of anxiety I mentioned above. Despite what the words themselves say, they're used to get people overwhelmed about their futures. God has a plan, you need to figure out what it is so you don't screw it up so that you can prosper and have hope and so on. But guess what? God's plan for the people in Jeremiah required absolutely nothing of those people (And the things God did ask of them they never really completed). Even so, God did exactly what he said he was going to do, he pulled a portion of those people out of exile when he was ready to do it. And also, these words were a promise made to a particular group of people at a particular moment in time, they are not a prophecy about your and your life. God already lived up to his end of that promise: he brought of his people out of exile (a portion of His people, the subgroup of people he was speaking to in these verses...God wasn't even talking to all of His people in that time and place).

Why do I make this point that these verses are not about you and your life? Doesn't it seem like I'm also being cruel? Well, that could certainly be the case if you're used to drawing on these verses to comfort you in hard times and, in which case, I do truly hate to burst that particular bubble. It's not my intention. (And, for the record, I think we can draw hope from knowing that our God is the kind of God that follows through on his promises, provides for his people when they're in crisis, and so on and so on. There's plenty of hope here to go around). The reason I bring this up is because: you and I are not actually promised a particular kind of future.

Now, on the one hand, this could be bad news if all of our hopes are in the idea that God is going to bring us into prosperity. On the other hand, it can also be good news. If there isn't some hyper specific plan, and if each decision we make isn't in danger of destroying that hyper specific plan, we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing there is some flexibility in how we make our choices and in how we discern what it looks like to live within the will of God.

As we think about specific plans God has for people- there simply aren't a lot of examples of people having personal crises over what decision to make in the Bible. We see, from time to time, people not wanting to do what God has asked them to do. This could make us anxious. Or, we could recognize that hearing the voice of God or seeing an angel, or whatever, is not analogous to the decisions we make over houses or jobs. If an angel visits you and tells you to do something, or, if you hear God's voice tell you to do something. Damn well do it- because, if not, your life is going to get messy until you do. But, if that's never happened to you...then breathe another deep sigh of relief because, I've got good news, you're not in imminent danger.

This is the game that churches sometimes play with us. They rely on us believing that we're in imminent danger in order to get what they need from us. Maybe that's money, maybe it's volunteer hours, maybe it's a discount on furniture or equipment, maybe it's looking the other way when legal or ethical problems arise, and so on. But here's the not-so-dirty little secret: You're not in danger. You are not going to screw up your life or God's will by making a decision other people think is stupid. You are not going to screw up your life by making an "emotional" decision as opposed to a "logical" decision. You're not going to screw up your life by not tithing. You're not going to screw up your life by not volunteering. You're not going to screw up your life by watching too much television. You're not going to screw up your life by having too much sex (no pun intended). You're not going to screw up your life with substance use.

Now, of course, decisions have consequences, for better and for worse. Some of the above may even have consequences. There may be health or financial consequences. There may be feelings of shame or disappointment, and so on. Our decisions may take certain options or opportunities off the table for us. I'm not saying you can make any decision at all and still have the life of your dreams. I'm saying God isn't going to leave you because you make bad choices. And, I'm also saying that you can live a pretty clean life and not end up with the life of your dreams. Life is complicated, regardless of our choices, and no amount of effort or discernment or spiritual exertion is going to bring us closer to a happier and prosperous life. Some of you will have that kind of life, and some of you will not. In either case, God is here to comfort and support his people. He will support you regardless. He will continue to draw us near to him and He will continue to move near to us. Life will ebb and flow. There will be good times and bad. In either case, God is present.

So, with all that said: Fear not your life choices. God is going to work things out as he chooses, when he chooses.

Your choices are your own. You may want your choices to align with your faith. I want that for myself, in fact. That's quite a good idea- when I am able to do this it gives me the sense that I am on the path that I want to be on. And I believe that is what it means to live in God's will: living in a way that gives us confidence that we're on the path we want to be on.

At the end of the day, there is no easy button with faith that gives us direct access to God's desire for every decision. But that doesn't mean we're on our own. We have wants and desires and strengths and weaknesses and brains and muscles and friends and family (hopefully). It's okay to rely on all of these things. It's okay to consider what you want when you make a decision. It's okay to consider what your values are, it's okay to ask for advice. It's okay to make decisions other people think are dumb or irresponsible. It's your life- what you do with it is up to you. But, if you can find a way to make decisions that makes you feel like you're on the path you want to be on...then my guess is you'll start feeling like you're cooking with gas.

What should Christians think about human nature?

Are people basically good, or are people basically evil?

It's yet another age-old question. For Christians, the debate often gets settled with the notion of original sin. If people are born into sin, doesn't that make them basically evil? Well, it depends on what you mean by being born into sin.

Born into sin is actually a rather good phrase- biblically speaking. When people talk of original sin, it's generally thought that humans themselves are born inherently sinful- as if sin is part of our DNA (or perhaps hidden somewhere in the "soul"). These ideas are pervasive- and more the words of St. Augustine than the Bible, certainly not the words of Genesis.

Genesis speaks of humanity being inclined towards evil (6:5) from youth (8:21). Does being inclined towards something mean it's part of your genetic makeup and that it defines who and what you are? I think not. (Especially considering, you know, the word "youth" certainly does not refer to a newborn).

Let's also consider Genesis 4:6-7. This passage is the Lord speaking to Cain, prior to Abel's death. God anticipates something bad is going to happen and issues a warning:

The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’

It's my personal belief that this is the most overlooked verse on sin in the entire Bible. Sin is lurking at your door, it desires you, and you must master it. Slight paraphrase on my part, but this is the idea. I don't want to crush a metaphor with literalism, but why would something that was inside us at birth be lurking around us and trying to draw us in? If it was part of our DNA, it would need to do no such thing.

In this verse, sin is something external. It's outside of Cain. It's a force, trying to corrupt him. It's not the nature he was born with. And, in spite of this, God seems to think Cain has a choice about what to do in response to this force.

Alright I'm in danger of becoming too abstract to be helpful. So let me clarify what I'm implying here. Sin is not a part of our genetic makeup, passed on through our parents having sex, or whatever else we imagine. At least, there's no biblical reason for thinking this. To be born into sin is to be born into a sinful environment and, as we all know, we're shaped by what's around us. For humans, sin is all around us. It's our environment. It's a strong influence. But, here's something significant:

It's not our destiny.

It's not our destiny for a few different reasons. One, humanity was created in the image of God. There is something inherent to humanity that demonstrates God...just as there is something about our environment that attracts us to things that are, well, kinda evil. This is something we've emphasized quite a lot at NSC over the years, but it's not as common as you might think: Humans are born in the very image of God and, therefore, at a minimum, we've really got some potential!

The second reason is that God is in the process of giving us a new self. We are taught that, in Christ, we are new creations, the old is passing away, the new is coming (2 Cor. 5:17). The reason that God is doing this is because He loves his children and He wants His children to create a better world for all to live in. The way that He accomplishes this is through helping to make us the most forgiving, gracious, and loving versions of ourselves we can possibly be.

So, what should Christians think about people?

We're complicated. Our natural inclination is away from God, not because of our genetic material but because creation itself has been corrupted and we're influenced by it. And still- God's inclination is to draw us close. It's not intuitive to live as God lived, but we're born with the capacity to do it, albeit with God's support.

All you need to know about other people’s sin

What should Christians think about other people's sin?

I've learned a LOT about sin over the course of my lifetime. It turns out, shockingly enough, that many people are actually rather attached to it. It's like a guy told me last week during our Sunday discussion/message whatever-you-call-what-we-do on Sunday mornings..."Teresa, I NEED to pay attention to my sin. It's like a fire in my butt. It gets me going! It inspires me to trust in God's love and mercy." If we are that attached to our own sin, what do we think most of us feel about other people's sin? I'm going to get to that shortly, but first we need to revisit and unpack this unholy obsession with our own badness.

I have another friend who is equally attached to sin. He keeps telling me that he is SO BAD and what he has done with his life is SO BAD that he has accepted the fact that he cannot forgive himself. I am super curious about this perspective and so I ask, "So do you think God has forgiven you?"

He replies, "Well, yeah. GOD has forgiven me because he's GOD - it's kind of his job." I'm left to conclude that perhaps my friend has a bigger problem than he forgiveness seeing as how he thinks he knows more than God on the subject of his sin. There are many ways to read and interpret my friend's stubborn resistance to forgiveness, all valid I'm sure. But this is a pattern that I hear from folks with some degree of regularity. We assume that we are very, very bad and that's our primary problem.

It's almost as if we are afraid to let go of our assumption that sin is something we really need to focus on - without it, maybe we will get spiritually lazy or become ax murderers. Whether my friend with the fire-in-his-butt realizes it or not, I cannot help but notice: this inspired-by-shame theology is not getting him or anyone else great results.

He's really struggling and so are a lot of people - including pastors who regularly preach on the evil of sin in the world today while suffering with their own hidden compulsions. Did you know that a Barna research study found that 57% of pastors and 64% of youth pastors struggle (currently or in the past) with a porn addiction? But less than 1% of them thought it would be a good idea to share that with their congregations and I guarantee you 100% of them would tell their congregants - don't watch porn. We religious types are very, very incongruent with our approach toward sin.

My premise is this: we are very attached to this idea that we must be humble and contrite about our sin (especially if we get caught) AND we often go further when we consider the sin of others by becoming harsh and judgmental about their issues with sin.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." Matthew 7:1-5 The Message

I once knew a pastor who fired another pastor for watching porn on his work computer while the pastor who did the firing was having an affair with a member of the congregation (both married). The affair included sex - just to be clear. In this example, the pastor was able to mete out consequences for the sin of someone else without addressing his own culpability that was of a similar nature. I am not saying I know how to handle issues like sin, especially when it involves our pastors. But what I am pointing out is that just because we hate sin, and we clearly think sin is a shameful thing, it does not mean that we are sinning any less as a result of these convictions!

I once did a weekend workshop on the eleventh step of the twelve steps: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." Before the workshop I sent out a questionnaire asking people about their prayer and meditation practices. One hundred percent of the people responded with something like this, "I am TERRIBLE at prayer and meditation." All of the responses smelled a bit like shame. In fact, I do not know too many people who think they are awesome at any spiritual practice. Again, it is almost as if we believe that if we give ourselves much credit for doing something "good enough" that we will become spiritual slackers. Maybe we think that being constantly disappointed in ourselves is a spiritual practice of humility.

But that is not what humility is. Humility is defined by Brene` Brown as "...openness to learning combined with a balanced and accurate assessment of our contributions, including our strengths, imperfections, and opportunities for growth." (p. 242 Atlas of the Heart)

Here's what I would ask you to consider about sin - our sin, and the sin of others. We do it. We sin. This is an indication of our humanity, no reason to totally freak out. The scriptures tell us what to do when we sin, it does not require that we never do it or else God won't love us anymore. (I know you are thinking about that time that Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more. It's a valid point. But it's not the main point of the passage. If you want to be a super spiritual sleuth, go reread it and see if you can see a larger point in the narrative that may help us not use this as a misguided instruction to never sin.)

Sin is inevitable, but it does not have to be compounded through denial, projection or distracting ourselves with the sins of others. Sin is also an invitation. It offers us the opportunity to ask for help, to make amends, and to develop empathy for other humans who also sin. It can, if we let it, wipe that ugly sneer of judgment off of our faces. When we recognize it for what it is, we can be inspired to get curious about why we are making the choices we are making. Do we want to change? Why? Do we want to change because we know we are made in the image of God and this particular behavior is not reflective of our personhood? Or are we afraid that people might judge us if we get caught?

People change when they are surrounded by support and inspiration - not shame and embarrassment. They have the capacity to change when they are in touch with humility, not humiliation. If we want to be better people, hang out with people who don't judge us but instead inspire us, love us and support our growth. If we want to be the kind of people others want to hang out with, use our humility (not our shame) to guide us so that we become people who can inspire, love and support others. That concludes this message on sin, I promise not to bring it up again for another year! Go and sin no more and if that works for you - let me know!

What should Christians think about sin?

What should Christians think about SIN?

When I was growing up my parents were less then religious...whatever that means. But my maternal grandparents, who I lived with in the summer (for as long as I could get away with) were SOUTHERN BAPTISTS and every Sunday we went to church. I paid strict attention. These folks were my haven, my safe place. Whatever they were doing with their life - I wanted to emulate. Here is what I learned:

1. I loved white grape juice but the crackers were always stale (Sunday School snacks do not change).

2. My grandmother cared very, very much about how she dressed and noticed how others dressed too - she always "won". She made her winter coats, her suits - all of it - and those clothes were amazing. This gave her discretionary income for matching hats, shoes, gloves and jewelry. She was a stunner.

3. My grandparents had one kind of relationship with the folks at church and a completely different kind of relationship with their friends - who they regularly played poker and drank A LOT with on Friday nights - which often resulted in what I called "Silent Saturday" - no talking allowed in the house.

4. I learned what a tithe was. Until my grandmother's dying day she sent a crisp $5 bill in her tithing envelope to that church - even though she moved away to live with my mother for years, never returned for a visit and the church itself forgot her (not willing to host her funeral).

5. I learned sin was bad, very bad, and if you did it, you disappointed Jesus - a white man with a long beard who after all died-for-me-on-the-cross-and-by-god-I-should-be-GRATEFUL that I still had not been smitten by the strong punishing arm of God seeing as how I had killed Jesus pretty much single-handed.

6. I came to learn that six pastors IN A ROW that they hired ended up running away with someone (church secretary, choir director, babysitter) which cost them their jobs and required yet another search committee to find the next pastor who redoubled his efforts - bigger, louder, more certain - that SIN was very, very bad.

That's a lot of a kid to take in and process. Especially a kid like me, in search of safety and love and affirmation. But I believed it. I believed sin was bad. In fact, I believed with such conviction that when the rare sermon would turn to God's love, grace and mercy - I thought, "What in the world are we talking about love for? LOOK AT ALL THE SIN. That'll be a fine sermon once all this SIN IS ERADICATED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH."

Another thing happened to me while I was hiding out at my grandparents' home. One Saturday, when my grandmother left my grandfather and I unsupervised so that she could get her hair tinted blue and "set" for the week - an amazing thing happened. In a complete act of self-will and rebellion, my Papa bought me an encyclopedia set of books about the Bible from a door-to-door salesman. They were expensive. My grandmother was extremely, extremely frugal. She was madder than a hornet but I was the happiest little girl on the planet. I may have murdered Jesus, but at least now I could learn more about how to make it up to him.

Every summer, for the rest of my childhood, I spent every free second reading from Book 1 to Book 13 (plus the bonus books) about God. Included in this beautiful set of books was art - the amazing work of artists of old who tried to capture the majesty of God on canvas. The first books were written for children and I whipped through those - David and Goliath, Moses, Abraham and Sarah, all the basics. The writing became more challenging as I plowed through them, requiring me to slow down and grab a dictionary. I still have those books.

Here is what I learned, although it took decades to actually understand it. The Bible has a LOT to say about God. It is after all, his story. But what the Bible says and what humans report out about what they say the Bible says, are often two very different kettle of fish.

I am still like that little girl who slowly, carefully, navigated the history, convoluted sentences and majesty of God that I found in the encyclopedia of the Bible. I am still a gal who wants a world that is safe, loving and affirming except now my desire is on behalf of my children and grandchildren and....you. Through a series of unlikely fortuitous circumstances, I have been given the gift of knowing that much of what I was taught was wrong and that what is true is far better than I could have imagined. Basically, there is a lot I do not know.

But here is what I know. Sin is a complete distraction from the point. Sin is a gnat that God bats away with his mighty hand - gently of course, without malice. It's like this. God is totally in control. He doesn't need muscle. He doesn't need shame. He doesn't engage in manipulation and coercion to try to get us to love him more. The point, it turns out, is that love, grace, mercy, humility, justice, and lovingkindness - those are the points.

This makes it possible, therefore, to end up with a series of very human pastors who could not keep their zippers zipped without having to throw my faith away simply because these guys acted badly, very badly. We can smile gently, lovingly, at the vanity of my grandmother AND appreciate the fact that this depression-era woman found ways to give every single week to her church and not kill her husband when he bought his only granddaughter a set of expensive books (that would set the course of my life). We can look with compassion at that little girl who totally bought into the white Jesus who she possibly killed before she was even born AND trust that if you seek after God, he will not hide from you. I don't really know what to tell you about sin - except it happens. And of course, it matters. But it is not the main thing - not even close. And just so you know too - Jesus is not white.