In Response to the Newsweek Article "Christianity in Crisis" by Andrew Sullivan

While I agree with the spirit of Mr. Sullivan's article that basically states that religious doctrine and the militant attitude of many Christians today conflicts with Jesus' teaching in the Gospels, I do disagree with him on several points. His article was well written and very thought provoking. It made me question some of my motives and challenged my beliefs on the role of the church in our society. After careful consideration, I have come to the following conclusion.

I agree that Christianity is in crisis and the reasons today are the same as why God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years...sin. The problems with society today are the same as they were with Adam and Eve, the inability of us humans to rely on faith in God instead of our own abilities. The inability to discern between our needs and our wants. Unfortunately, we use the Church, the Bible and even pervert Jesus' teachings as tools to attain what we desire. The problem is not the Church, it's sinful humanity living in a fallen creation.

History, as he pointed out, has left us with a list of many transgressions of the Church which cannot be erased. I agree with Mr. Sullivan in that evil men have used the Church as a political power to control a population, extort wealth, justify murder and genocide and a myriad of other sins. The one thing we cannot forget is that all of these things are the result of sinful people. We humans are sinful, thus the entire reason for Jesus' ministry, death and resurrection. Unfortunately, walking in the doors of our churches does not miraculously change that fact. To the contrary, we bring our sin with us into the Church just as we do with every other aspect of our lives. Sadly, in all of our attempts to piously manage our houses of worship, we fail repeatedly to truly represent Jesus' ministry in the way he intended.

Jesus came for some very specific reasons: fulfill the Old Testament prophecies, fulfill the Old Testament Law and to die for our sins and be the final sacrifice. He also came to institute his Church and ministry. He called twelve men to be his disciples, he told them, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Matthew 18:20 ESV Gathering to worship him is by definition a church. Most of these men became the first pastors of his Church and from the very beginning there were doctrinal differences among them. These differences have multiplied over the centuries. Yet, every true Christian acknowledges Jesus' teachings about love, compassion, forgiveness and salvation. We mostly disagree on our means of grace which are the tools we use to nurture our faith. This is why the Church is so important and the implication in your article for Christians to turn their backs on it could actually escalate the crisis instead of rectifying it.

A friend at my church said in a Bible Class one day, "I don't come to church because I am good, just the opposite, I come to church because I'm not." Similarly, a very wise man once told me that if I wanted to become a better tennis player, I had to practice with better players. The comment was very insightful because, for starters, I don't play tennis. Yet, both points were very clear. Humans, because of our sin, are incapable of becoming better at anything alone. In most cases, Christians, although they are true believers, struggle daily with trying to live a faithful life. It usually takes two things; the Holy Spirit moving and motivating a person and regular fellowship with other Christians. We need help to face and work through our daily temptations of the flesh. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17 ESV This is where the role of the Church becomes most important, because the love, support and counsel we give each other helps us carry that over to the other aspects of our lives.

The church plays other crucial roles in the life of a Christian. Sadly, most of us do not study our Bibles or pray regularly. In most cases, the only time some Christians are exposed to any of the Word of God is in the Church. Whether you believe the Bible to be the living, breathing Word of God or an inspired collection of historical documents and spiritual teachings, it is important for Christians to be exposed regularly to its teachings. It is the document that spells out what we believe. It is also important to study it in the company of other Christians so that our understanding is kept in check by the Holy Spirit. This is where we learn God's expectations for us, our inability to live up to it, Christ's promise of Salvation through him and his commission to spread the word.

Another role of the church is the institution of the Sacraments. The Sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion, even though they can be performed by lay Christians, are more meaningful when managed by the clergy. These are not only means of grace for the individual, they are communal celebrations for all Christians in fellowship with one another. The sanctity of these very precious gifts of Christ should always remain under the authority of his Church.

The Church also does much work in the communities around the world. Churches combine resources to send missionary teams to help poor villages in remote areas of the world, open free health clinics, provide free meals and shelter to the poor, open and run schools and many many other works of compassion and love. These things are happening every day without any desire for attention and headlines. Yet, without the combined resources of individual congregations and denominations, much of this work would not be happening. These things are absolutely the essence of Christ's teachings.

Mr. Sullivan's assessment of the role of the Church in the political arena is rather accurate. All we have to do is look at the role of the Jewish Temple during Jesus' earthly life and the role of the Catholic Church during the majority of the Middle Ages to see how poorly that combination works. I agree with two of his statements:

"The crisis of Christianity is perhaps best captured in the new meaning of the word “secular.” It once meant belief in separating the spheres of faith and politics; it now means, for many, simply atheism. The ability to be faithful in a religious space and reasonable in a political one has atrophied before our eyes."

and

"When politics is necessary, as it is, the kind of Christianity I am describing seeks always to translate religious truths into reasoned, secular arguments that can appeal to those of other faiths and none at all. But it also means, at times, renouncing Caesar in favor of the Christ to whom Jefferson, Francis, my grandmother, and countless generations of believers have selflessly devoted themselves."

I have a Pastor who states, "We are of this world not just in it." I agree, we have to be able to live in God's creation in communion with believers and non-believers, although remaining constantly vigilant for opportunities to fulfill Christ's Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Yet, we have to keep in mind that Jesus never challenged the Roman authority during his life. He ministered to Roman soldiers. His example should be followed today. Contrary to most Christian's understanding, this country was not founded as a Christian country. It was founded on the principle of freedom. Freedom to worship being one of those guarantees. Jesus made it abundantly clear during his trial that he had no earthly kingdom: "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.' " John 18:36 ESV So, how can Christians claim the U.S. as a Christian Nation? We can't, but because of the freedoms we enjoy, we can be in defiance of laws that place us in opposition of God's Word.

Paul writes: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Romans 13:1 ESV

and when on trial: "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than
men.' " Acts 5:29 ESV

This is where many Christian's have difficulty finding balance in submission and defiance. Peter and the other Apostles were being told to stop preaching, which was in opposition of Christ's Commission. So, we as Christian's have a responsibility to voice our opposition to laws and policies that place us in opposition of God's Law.

While Mr. Sullivan is right that Jesus never spoke on abortion, Christian's acknowledge that Jesus upheld the Laws of the Old Testament and fulfilled them, he challenged the Jewish traditions and became the final sacrifice to abolish the Laws regarding the Temple. Yet, he upheld the importance of the Ten Commandments and admonished followers on occasions about breaking them. Murder is a violation of the Fifth Commandment. The question becomes, when does life begin? For Christians, they rely on Jeremiah 1:5 ESV "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born  consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Therefore, we are suddenly in opposition of God's Word if we are placed in situations in which we are financially, socially and politically required to support abortion.

The same can be said about any number of social issues. The reason Christians tend to “hot 

button” certain issues and not other ones is based on a doctrinal  misunderstanding about 

sin. Most Christians acknowledge the doctrine of no levels to sin. In other words, there is no 

sin greater than another, yet somehow that understanding is lost when it's applied to drug 

use, homosexuality, adultery, murder, etc. If Christians would approach these in the same 

manner they do with other every day sins, with prayer and good counsel, I feel that they 

would find a more loving approach to formulating debates and finding meaningful solutions.
Jesus didn't come to abolish sin, he came to forgive it. I think we tend to forget that.

                   In conclusion, Mr. Sullivan is right in that we need to remember who Jesus really was and what he means to us. In short, he is our Savior and the only path to eternal life. While his teachings are to be honored and followed as much as humanly possible, it was his love for us and personal sacrifice that we cling. It does sadden me to hear attacks on Christianity, while many are justified, they are based on the perception that Mr. Sullivan used when writing his article. That perception is from a public and political perspective of religious leaders with a platform and an agenda, it's not indicative of the interpersonal relationships that take place every day among the Fellowship of Christ.

Unintended Consequences

Today I had an epiphany. I thought about decisions in general (be it government, organizational or individual) and their unintended consequences.  For instance, how government subsidies created a dependent faction of our culture or how discovering oil in the Middle East has led to a myriad of political problems. 

I made the decision to please a lot of people and to try and become something I am not, the unintended consequence was to become something that I did not like. 

Many times we allow ourselves to believe in what others tell us without measuring our full commitment to the plan.  I fell victim to that. 

I try to do a good job managing my business and during the process, I have impressed some people along the way.  I never really desired being promoted but I began to believe that path was for me.  Yet, I have never been one to do exactly what I am told. 

Most of the time I am being too cynical and seeing propaganda for what it really is.  In this process, I tend to buck the trend and look for more efficient ways to get the job done even if it means being outright defiant at times.  These are not the qualities of a "yes man" in a corporation. 

When it all crashed, I think I actually may have sabotaged myself even though I didn't realize it at the time.  I just came under so much stress that I just wanted it all to go away but did not want to be viewed as a quitter or a failure.  So, I self-destructed in a magnificent way.

In the end, I had enough people on my side to actually save my job, but the additional responsibilities were taken from me because I "did not demonstrate the characteristics of a leader".  Actually, in that instance they were right.  Yet, I have made ammends with my peers that I felt obligated and found out that I still had their respect and support.  That means more to me than being respected by some people I barely know.

I have actually came away feeling more free to pursue the interest I truly desire.  My hope is that I will somehow find the balance between work and other interests to keep work in its proper perspective.  Basically, its what I do to feed my family.

Dealing with Anger

I have come to understand that I am inherently an angry person.  I deal with stress, perceived threats and the inability to control a situation or others actions toward me with anger.  Fortunately, God has given me a strong command of language, therefore my outbursts are typically verbal and have never erupted into a physical confrontation.  Otherwise, I would have probably hurt someone by now.

James 4:1-12 NIV  says:

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble." Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"

There is alot of truth in what James wrote.  Anger is an outward emotion built on my inability to control the actions of others, not being able to achieve the things I desire and coveting the situations of people I perceive as "not worthy" of having them.  God finds a way to bring us back to humility when our ego and desires begin to turn our focus from him.

In most cases, for me, I have always tried to be self-reliant in everything I do.  I want to live my life on my terms, with my beliefs by my own rules.  When I feel those things challenged, I internalize my frustrations until something triggers that anger.  Recently, I took on more responsibility than I should have, then had it made more difficult to manage by some unforseen complications.   I expected some people to help me manage through the difficult period, but instead, they complicated the situation by causing more stress than actually relieving it.  Finally, failures began to occur, and I thought that I don't fail, instead of us just accepting the responsibility, finger pointing began.  In the course of all of that, I was given a huge disappointment.  When it all piled up, one individual did something that was completely disrespectful to me and that was the triggering event.  I exploded into a fireball of rage and expressed all my feelings and opinions about that person in a very inappropriate manner.    It almost cost me everything.

By the grace of God placing a forgiving spirit in the people I'm accountable too, the reprucussion were humbling, but not career ending.

In the aftermath, I know God has a plan and purpose for me.  I'm just confused and unsure of what they are.  I tried so hard to follow a path that I felt was his direction for me only to find wasted time and emptiness.  In the end, it was my desires ahead of his purpose. 

So, I start over.  Prayerfully.  Using the tools he has given me.  Reassessing my place and purpose in God's plan.