Letters To The Family: Anna

Letters to The Family, We The Church One comment

Y’all, I’m so excited to introduce you to B&B’s very first guest blogger, Anna. Anna is a high school student and one of my role models. She is absolutely one of the sweetest souls you could ever hope to meet, and her smile and accompanying nose scrunch is just the greatest! She is the embodiment of not letting her youth hold her back from setting an example in life and godliness. She brings much to the table and adds important thoughts to the discussion of faith. Anna

In her own words, Anna is a perpetual learner with a passion to fight against the injustice of violence and poverty across the globe. She does her best to live wisely and wholly in the grace of King Jesus. Some of her favorite things include being outside, theological conversation, sweet tea, and laughing so hard with friends that her body aches and eyes are streaming tears. To spend a week with Anna would be filled with excessive amounts of singing, care taking for her 5 younger siblings, watching murder mystery shows, and nonsensical daydreaming.

To the Church, the Body, the Bride of Christ:

Last week I visited my parent’s small group. One of the members, a lady fittingly nicknamed “Rabbi”, spoke something that has not since left my mind. I will paraphrase and add in my own thoughts on here, but it’s the same idea:

The modern church has started to promote love as being synonymous with tolerance, specifically of sin. We are so set on putting the “What” into action that we forget about proclaiming the “Why”.
Are we scared of people thinking we are forcing God into their lives? Because they can’t say we are if it is in the form of personal testimony: “I am choosing to love you regardless BECAUSE of what JESUS did for ME.”

Justification from Paul the apostle…

“So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth IN LOVE, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up IN LOVE.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)

Notice the words like “builds” and “grow”. Both having to do with getting bigger and expanding. As in, the Body of Christ. Us. And what better way to grow the Kingdom than share stories of His love shown in our own lives also? (And they have conquered satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony… Revelation 12:11a)

Think of Jesus when the people tried to keep Him from leaving them. He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for THIS PURPOSE.” (Luke 4:42-43)

Oh, dear Church, are we not to be like Him?

Or what about this:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you– unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4)

Or us being SENT by God to go and make disciples? (Matthew 28:19-20)

Church, let’s stop the “Do what makes you happy”. Go deeper than surface-level. People could mistake our intentions of loving the sinner/hating the sin for encouragement to keep on keepin’ on. The Jesus-kind-of-Love is different than society’s view of love. So, if we are not secure in what His word says Real Love is, we could be unintentionally loving people straight to hell.

Don’t worry. I thought it sounded pretty intense, too. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it is just crazy-sounding enough to be true.

That is why, when Erin sent a message asking me if I’d like to write on her blog with one of the questions for the topic being, “If you could say one thing to The Church, what would it be?”

…my answer is this: Please Church, let’s Love. Like, Real Love.
I was hesitant at first, thinking it might be too cliché of a response. I prayed to God over it, asking Him to give me the right words to say. He told me that for His Love to be cliché is not possible. Because True Love can never be and will never be. He is too unique and mighty for such a commonplace reputation.
Love is important. It’s a pillar of all things good. God is the very essence of it (1 John 4:16).
Love is trusting in the faithfulness of Him.
Love is being brave.
Love is taking action for justice.
Love is being kind.
Love is being intentional and purposeful.
Love is desiring wisdom to make the right decisions.
Love is how we grow.
Love is resisting temptation.
Love is choosing.

Love moves mountains.

I could go on, but I’ll only say one more:
Love is preaching the Gospel.

So, Church, next time we are being driven by a love, let’s use God-given discernment to make sure it’s the one that is founded by Him.

A City Broken Open

Current Events, We The Church One comment

Baltimore. Another city in the trenches of heartache. A heartache that could no longer be contained in her chest. Another young man, dead at the hands of those who have sworn to serve and protect. Another reason to doubt the system. Another reason to look out for yourself.

But, what is right? What is wrong? And in this moment, is that even the question we should be asking?

I don’t think so.

No, I think we should be sitting down with humans who have experienced different lives than us. We should be meeting them out in the streets. We should be asking what life is like for them. What breaks their hearts? What makes them feel safe? Loved? Valued? What makes them afraid? Angry? Insecure? What have the ones, who are not like them, done to hurt them? And what can we do to help them…to help each other?

Because in truth, we are like them. We have different experiences, different cultures, different insecurities. But we all fear. We all bleed. We all want to know that our world values us. If you are like me, you have had plenty of chances to speak all of that into the world. “I’m here and I have something to offer.” But not everyone has had that chance. And some who have, have not be given the tools to seize it when it comes.

You and I are not better than. There is no us and them. At least, there shouldn’t be. But there is, right?

Jen Hatmaker posted this video on Facebook and as I watched, I wept. I wept in wonder at the men and women moved to action in brokenness for their city. I wept in wonder at the words spoken, admitting that the church has failed. I wept, wondering if I would have the courage to do the same should it be my city. Would I leave the safety of my pretty church walls to link arms with the angry, hurting, brokenhearted? Would I place myself between the “us” and “them” and be an ambassador of peace? Or, would I wonder if the wisest thing to do would be to move to someplace where everyone looks the same and the chances of us and them are slim?

This video is long, but I am pleading with you to find time to watch it in its entirety. It is important. It matters. Don’t turn away.

I live in the suburbs. Truth is, I can’t get much further from this reality. But my faith should move me toward the brokenhearted, not further from them.

To the clergy who gathered that day to be in the midst of the mess, you were most like Jesus on that day. You left the comfort of home and stepped into the middle of a battle that was yours only because you chose to make it yours. You were willing to walk alongside those who do not think as you do, who do not act as you would wish, and to say to them…no, to show them that you love them no matter the cost. Thank you for teaching us what it looks like to be present, to be The Church God intends, in the midst of a messy conversation about race and trust.

And to those of us who claim Christ as our Lord. We cannot call Him Lord if we are not willing to do what He asks. I cannot say it any better than Jen Hatmaker. Here is her heart for the church in the midst of this insanity. “Church, this is what we do. We come together like this, we SHOW UP. These spiritual leaders are not at home condemning the desperation and anger. They are walking the same wounded streets, hand in hand, mourning with those who mourn while demonstrating peace and unity. I am both moved and broken open by it.”

How will I show up? If I’m honest, I’m trying to figure that out. But I will not look away. And I will ask, when the opportunity arises, what it is like to be you. In fact, I want to know. Please share. Leave a comment…a novel even. What is it like to walk in your shoes?

And now, how about you? How will you show up?