When I was younger I was invited to a mainstream denominational church who was putting on a "sort of haunted house." At the time I had no idea what it was, but now I commonly refer to it as a "Hell House" which some churches put on around Halloween. After arriving, we were funneled together in groups and ushered throughout the church. Children and adults of all ages were packed in. The first room came which began a story about two teenage boys. One of them had gone to church and believed in Christ while the other had not. In the second room the boys wrecked a car killing them both. Our group was then led into hell where the boy who did not go to church went. It was a fiery, hot, loud place where people shouted, yelled, and were tortured. I have to admit it was uncomfortable watching it. Next we moved into heaven where the other boy was. It was pristine white, with angels, and anything and everything you ever wanted. Finally the story finished asking what would you choose. We were led into a room and asked if we had accepted Christ into our hearts. There were ministers standing by to recite words with you if you had not. I quickly moved on getting out of the place. Throughout the whole production I found myself angry. I was upset because I felt like the whole event was used for scaring people into Christ. I had been taught that God was love. In my mind no one should ever have to come to God by way of fear. I realize this is a common practice among some churches which I do not agree with. Here is a similar story out of Relevant Magazine. I think many people have pushed away from religion because of these types of practices. Let's take a closer look at fear based practices, hell and how fear impacts us. Fear Based Programs Scared Straight and Boot Camp programs have been around for decades. They advertise getting kids to make better decisions so they do not end up as delinquents. However what most people do not know is that these programs are discouraged by the Juvenile Justice System and have been since the late 90's. If you don't believe me click here. These programs have been found to actually cause more harm than good leading to further trauma or more offending behavior. An important part of this is kids make decisions in the moment and in adolescence kids are at a low point in thinking about the consequences of their behavior. Biblical Hell Gehenna was a ravine outside of the southwest wall of Jerusalem. It's modern name is the Valley of Hinnom. In early days this was the place where the Kings of Judah sacrificed their children to fire causing it to be a cursed place. The commentary by William Barclay states, "When the valley had been so declared unclean and had been so desecrated it was set apart as the place where the refuse of Jerusalem was burned. The consequence was that it was a foul, unclean place, where loathsome worms bred on the refuse, and which smoked and smouldered at all times like some vast incinerator." This physical place became a symbol for "hell". Now some scholars do not agree with Barclay's suggestion of Gehenna, as a physical place. Explaining the differences in interpretation might come because the idea of Gehenna changed. It was specifically a place where physical bodies went to burn and through time changed to a place where souls went. So are Gehenna and Hell the same thing? Various theologians argue since there was a change in interpretation they have different understandings and hence are not the same. On the other hand there are theologians who think they are. Further exploration of the term is needed for you to identify what it is you believe. I would encourage you to look through other commentaries such as Moody's, Barclay's, etc. I think it is always important to use historical context when seeking understanding of scripture because it reshapes our thoughts. Exploration of terms which are sometimes messy, deepens our faith. However in today's society these messy terms are used inappropriately to produce fear instead of focusing on the gospel message. No Fear in Love “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” 1 John 4:18 I have to ask isn't Jesus' story compelling enough? Isn't love the essence of Christianity. Jesus' showed perfect love to those around him. The compassionate love he shared captures and continues to capture people. It seems that scaring people into Christ doesn't really help them come to know love. Their decisions are based out of fear of what may potentially happen. Fear traps us into actions that we may not fully want to participate in, actions that do not really capture our hearts. This produces guilt, regret, and bitterness in our lives which can fester. Shouldn't love be what we lead with? Shouldn't love be our goal? Love does cast out fear! Have you ever experienced a "Hell House"? How did you feel about it? What experiences have you had with organizations instilling fear into others? What do you think or believe about Hell? When is a time love has overcome fear in your life? I feel blessed for all those reading out there! This week contemplate how fear lives in your life and how you can use love to cast it out.
0 Comments
Many years ago I went to a talent show at a family church camp (Reunion). There was lots of talent among the participants but what I remember most is a song sung by a 7 year old little girl. Her voice echoed in the outdoor shelter as the room quieted so much you could hear a pin drop. The prophetic, touching words floated into the hearts of everyone listening. She sang, "There is so much love in this world, how did I get put in a place without any." The perspective of a little girl not having someone to love her shook my core as well as everyone else's in attendance. I share this story because so many times we do not feel loved or worthy of being loved preventing us from experiencing the genuine, wholistic, healing power of the Holy Spirit. Our own personal blame, guilt and shame causes us to fade away instead of stepping into the loving communities before us. Let go and know you have worth. There is a community waiting to love you for who you are the beloved child of God. Worthy of Being A year or so ago, I watched the Brene Brown TED Talk talking about the power of vulnerability. Brene Brown is a social worker who does qualitative research to determine connections between individuals. She was really trying to understand why some people feel love and belonging and others do not. Part of her studies showed that many times the feeling of shame came from the fear of disconnection with others. In other words people feel “I’m not good enough.” As she continued to categorize all the research and stories she had received from people, she found only one thing separating those who had a strong sense of love and belonging and those that didn’t. Those that had a sense of love and belonging feel they are worthy of being loved. Have you doubted or are continuing to doubt whether or not you are worthy of being loved? Do not give into those false perceptions. You have inestimable worth and are loved beyond measure. What would it mean if you truly believed this? Being the Beloved This summer I was introduced to Henri Nouwen's Sermon about Being the Beloved. It's an incredible sermon with 8 parts. I wanted to share a part of it with you because he authentically illustrates how we are God's beloved sons and daughters. Below is the 2nd part of his sermon. If you have time I encourage you to watch all of them which can be found on youtube. I love how he says everything we do is from the knowledge that we are the beloved of God. Our identity is being lived as the beloved. If we live this out in our daily lives how would we change? our families? our communities? I believe Nouwen is challenging us to deeply believe we are worthy of being loved. What live performance has impacted you? When have you felt loved? Do you truly believe you have worth, that you can be loved for who and what you are? What does it mean to be the beloved child of God? Thank you all for following along! Please share our blog website on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. We want all to hear the message that they have worth!
The other day my two boys and I were at the grocery store picking up some ingredients to make homemade salsa. As we were leaving, I lifted my 3 year old out of the cart and somehow he bumped his leg against the side. A little cut, a cm long appeared over his right knee as he started crying. I held him and wiped away the dot of blood that was forming. In that moment he was feeling physical pain and discomfort. As I walk my hurt son to the car, I educate him on the healing process of our body. I lift him into the car and with his lip out he points to his knee and says "Daddy its healing, but healing hurts." It was in those small words that I saw the profound wisdom of the moment. Healing Hurts! It does, its a process sometimes a long process. Especially when we are talking about healing our hearts and relationship with God through our faith community. For those of us who have scraped our knees we know the moment will pass and we will move on. When our faith is shaken it's much harder to move forward. There are many ways in which faith institutions have caused harm to others. In this post I am just going to briefly touch on a few below. Hurt by Relationships There are many who have been hurt by institutions of faith. Places who say they love all people but yet do not allow others to fully participate. Where would Jesus draw a line in the sand at in this day and age when it comes to someone's wholeness? How are you lifting others up in a way that affirms who they are? I believe faith is meant to be lived out with others. It is in others whom we encounter God. And through that community growth happens, and our faith deepens. When others hurt, judge, or minimize us, it makes us not want to participate. This too can cause our faith to falter and we distant ourselves from community. Hurt by Scripture For some faith communities scripture has been used to prove points and satisfy desires to be right. Others use scripturally literally, as fact without any thought or discussion otherwise. And some use scripture to justify actions which produce injustice and hurt in this world. The use of scripture in these ways inevitably causes division and harm to some of God's beloved children. I included Doctrine and Covenants 163 7a-d below because it states the meaning and misuse of scripture very well. Doctrine and Covenants 163 7a. Scripture is an indispensable witness to the Eternal Source of light and truth, which cannot be fully contained in any finite vessel or language. Scripture has been written and shaped by human authors through experiences of revelation and ongoing inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the midst of time and culture. b. Scripture is not to be worshiped or idolized. Only God, the Eternal One of whom scripture testifies, is worthy of worship. God’s nature, as revealed in Jesus Christ and affirmed by the Holy Spirit, provides the ultimate standard by which any portion of scripture should be interpreted and applied. c. It is not pleasing to God when any passage of scripture is used to diminish or oppress races, genders, or classes of human beings. Much physical and emotional violence has been done to some of God’s beloved children through the misuse of scripture. The church is called to confess and repent of such attitudes and practices. d. Scripture, prophetic guidance, knowledge, and discernment in the faith community must walk hand in hand to reveal the true will of God. Follow this pathway, which is the way of the Living Christ, and you will discover more than sufficient light for the journey ahead. Hurt by Inaction There are people who have been hurt by their faith community not acting quickly or decisively enough. The world changes daily. There are injustices happening all around us and yet faith communities are sometimes slow to meet the needs of the time. Churches can no longer live in the past, or focus on internal happenings, but must live in the community in which they are. Actions need to be thoughtful, thinking holistically about how others will be impacted. The book Toxic Charity by Robert D. Lupton describes how our actions can have unintended consequences if we do not think them through. Having courage to take action is when faith is lived out. Discerning and identifying what action to take is what is difficult. What action have you been thinking about taking? Where can you be involved in your community? How can your passions affirm another person? Every change starts somewhere, and being stagnant is not an option. One thing I like about Community of Christ is the focus on the present and what we can do today instead of dwelling on the past and what has been. Closing So as my 3 year old said, healing hurts. Whatever it is that hurt you in the past know that your healing started right then and continues today. Maybe you feel like you just started or maybe you are much further down the path. Wherever you find yourself, continue searching, asking questions, and growing individually. Maybe one day you will find an immense joy through this experience. You may also find the strength to be courageous in living your faith out with a community. My prayers are with you on your journey. Thank you for all those reading along! Please comment below with a thought from the blog whether its something general or specific. I would love to have some discussion so we can all expand our viewpoints and look at things differently.
|
Please Note The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Community of Christ. We believe individuals should be allowed to have their own opinions and be at different places in their faith journey.
Categories
All
Archives
June 2021
|
Emporia Ministry
c/o Midlands Mission Center 7615 North Platte Purchase Drive Kansas City, Missouri 64118 Phone: (816) 221-4450 |
Copyright Midlands Mission Center 2024
|
International Headquarters
Community of Christ 1001 West Walnut Independence, Missouri 64050 Phone: (816) 833–1000 or (800) 825–2806 |