I share this heavy and hard weight and my stomach clenched yet again this week by more news of accusations and the resulting defenses. It shouldn't be this way and some days it makes me feel hopeless. But you're right, there is a certain amount of comfort in knowing there are other people on the same path. Just like some days I feel hopeless, there are still some days that I can believe change is coming and it won't always be that way, although truthfully those days are getting less frequent than they used to be.
I read a piece recently in the Washington Post about the use of "I am a Christian" as a disclaimer for all the non-Christian things people have done, especially in politics. I join you in the collective disappointment in what we are seeing in churches, faith groups and in politics today. At a lunch I had with an old Jewish friend yesterday, I said I cannot any longer claim to be a "Christian" since that term has been coopted by so many people and movements that its meaning has been corrupted. I prefer to be known, and to grow in my knowing, as a "Follower of Jesus."
Thanks for this. At 60, losing both parents last year, this resonates. Taking a break from "church" at the moment after asking my pastor how successful the "church" is... and why no one will speak out against the political weaponizing of faith... no real satisfactory answers...
All I know at this point is as I find people and I try to pour into them and love them... more than that is beyond my scope at the moment.
I share this heavy and hard weight and my stomach clenched yet again this week by more news of accusations and the resulting defenses. It shouldn't be this way and some days it makes me feel hopeless. But you're right, there is a certain amount of comfort in knowing there are other people on the same path. Just like some days I feel hopeless, there are still some days that I can believe change is coming and it won't always be that way, although truthfully those days are getting less frequent than they used to be.
Walking and hiking in the woods always soothes my heart and soul!
I read a piece recently in the Washington Post about the use of "I am a Christian" as a disclaimer for all the non-Christian things people have done, especially in politics. I join you in the collective disappointment in what we are seeing in churches, faith groups and in politics today. At a lunch I had with an old Jewish friend yesterday, I said I cannot any longer claim to be a "Christian" since that term has been coopted by so many people and movements that its meaning has been corrupted. I prefer to be known, and to grow in my knowing, as a "Follower of Jesus."
Thanks for this. At 60, losing both parents last year, this resonates. Taking a break from "church" at the moment after asking my pastor how successful the "church" is... and why no one will speak out against the political weaponizing of faith... no real satisfactory answers...
All I know at this point is as I find people and I try to pour into them and love them... more than that is beyond my scope at the moment.
I walk the same path you do.