words speak the story...

night cross at mo-ranch

Lest we forget the journey to the cross....
it was paved with accusations, threats,
and words filled with anger.

Seems these very things...
these very words...
are part of the journey,
then and now.

The Bible...
Jesus...
God...
did not,
does not,
and will never
desire
that we talk to each other
with disrespect
and hatred.

In response to General Assembly actions
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
as reported in the
Presbyterian Outlook,
these words
and emotions
continue
to tell the story
of the journey to the cross.

And they shouted:

"leave the hedonists to their naval gazing antics"
- Glen from Wellsboro, PA

What the Bible says: ...
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mt 22:39

How does one love him or herself?
It requires digging deep down,
looking in the mirror...
not only to see what our hair looks like
but to see what our heart looks like.

This requires a certain amount of naval gazing.
Naval gazing is that task of self examination...
asking God and yourself:
Who am I?
What am I called to do?
Why does God love me?
Why should I love myself?

When that moment comes...
when we can look into the mirror and
understand
why God loves us....
and then profess
love for
our
self....
then
and only then
are we ready to love our neighbor.

It is not wrong to look at our self.
It is not wrong to reflect on our own life.
It is not wrong to spend time discerning why
God loves us
and it is not wrong to love our self.

Loving self
is
in
one of the only
COMMANDMENTS
Jesus offers.

Self reflection,
naval gazing
is not wrong.
It is a mark of faith.

And the crowds yelled:

"We have lost half our members because of actions of the General Assemblies that seek to change the majority opinion."
- Ben from Chapin South Carolina.

We have lost half our members because of death....
and
because our young people
have opted not to stay
in our church.

Look around the church.
Where are the young adults?

They are present in some churches.
But in most of our churches the young adults
have abandoned our pews.

And yes....
The journey to the cross is exactly about the majority opinion.
The majority opinion
fueled the crowd....
when they yelled
"Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

Sometimes the majority opinion
is not the best...
is not the wisest...
is not the direction we need to go.

And the crowds yelled:

If you want to change, please make a case for it. I am more than happy to engage you in open, honest debate." - Stuart from Nashville, TN

Jesus didn't debate.
He offered questions
to a question.
He offered stories...
we call parables...
stories left
for us to ponder.

Change in the church...
in our life
has more to do
with the questions
we ask of our selves
and each other....
rather than the
debate we have
become so skilled
at offering.