There is so much I want to say.
So many comments I’d like to make.
More questions I’d like to ask than anything else…
But the Christian community is extremely sensitive. We–I include me in the we–are so sensitive! [don’t use an exclamation point unless you mean it!] What are we so scared of?
It’s like anything we disagree with or anyone who disagrees with us is immediately blacklisted and deemed a heretic or apostate or, dare I say, liberal!!!????!
Scott Sauls, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church Nashville, tweeted on February 12
“I am too conservative for liberals, and too liberal for conservatives.” – Everyone who follows the whole Jesus
2,400 people retweeted. I can only assume it’s because more persons don’t know who Scott is.
Point being, yes. This is an amen deep in my soul. One of the hardest aspects of doing ministry of any kind in the South is being pigeon-holed by others, feeling like there’s a mold one has to fit into, and then fearing the backlash of not fitting in.
I get diplomacy, I do. But what if the prophets of the Old Testament had been diplomatic? Would they have been prophets? No. They wouldn’t have been thrown into cisterns or killed. They probably would’ve been…wait for it…promoted.
Prophets speak.
They are a voice.
They ask.
They tell.
They prod.
Subsequently…
They are isolated. Lonely. Blacklisted, ignored, imprisoned, fired, demonized, etc.
I guess what I’m saying is, can we Christians–bought with the blood of Christ and freed from the strictures of this political world–be truly free? Can we refuse the titles and categorizations that the world requires in order to make enemies?
Why the titles, the categories, the sides? Because we have to know who’s wrong, right?
Following the whole of Jesus really leaves us as misfits. We can’t be contorted to fit into any one corner or box. Too liberal. Too conservative. Can’t be nailed down. Enemies on every side. Sounds like Jesus.
Here’s the thing. If nobody is upset with you. If nobody is frustrated by what you say. If nobody is really bothered by you. You’ve picked a box. And turns out it’s a perfect fit.
patrick mitchell 