“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. – Jesus (Matthew 22)
Okay, friends, here’s my challenge: How do I post about what’s critically wrong with the “public face” of Christianity… without losing my objectivity and – in turn – becoming one more contributor to (and example of) what’s wrong, and possibly making it worse?
(I guess this is a discussion with implications regarding the fundamentals of what I’m about as a “faith-based” writer. And I’ll admit that I’m far from objective! )
CASE IN POINT: This week I learned that some of the higher-ups in the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) got all bent out of shape when a pastor in Newtown, Connecticut participated in the community “Inter-faith” prayer service that helped the small town deal with the horrific shootings at the local elementary school.
According to Reuters, Pastor Rob Morris (God bless him) was forced to make a public apology.
The president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Pastor Matthew Harrison, wrote a letter to church members saying he had requested an apology from Morris for his participation in “joint worship with other religions.” (Edith Honan, Reuters)
RESPONSE: What upsets me is the huge public slap-in-the-face such narrow-minded exclusivism gives the cause of the Gospel of Love. I took a long look at many of the comments Edith Honan’s article generated after it was posted at NBCNews.com, and it’s evident not only that the world is watching, but that the world very often makes the decision to reject faith in God based on the behavior and pronouncements of “Christians.”
My (tongue-in-cheek) response when I first saw the article (on facebook) was this:
Like Jesus was always saying, “They will know you are my disciples by the way you judge one another…” or something like that….
WE’RE CALLED “THE BODY OF CHRIST” FOR A REASON: Shortly after Jesus defeated death, God removed the physical presence of the man Jesus (The Ascension). Consequently – and according to plan – the responsibility for face-to-face ministry shifted to the Followers of The Way.
The bottom line here is that God has chosen (is choosing) us to share the Gospel of Love with this broken world via the day-to-day witness of disciples living gospeled lives.
That would be me, and it would also be you.
I believe we have a lot of work to do, you and I (along with the faith communities where we worship) if we are to make up for the tragic mess so many in the religious community are making of the assignment.
So I’ll repeat the words of Jesus once again, maybe more loudly this time:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS HANG ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS.
- ALL THE LAW. ALL THE PROPHETS…
- EVERY ONE OF THEM…
- THE WHOLE BALL OF WAX…
- CAPISCI?
– DEREK
The arrogance of those who “know what is right” is both frightening and sad. I believe in Jesus and his teachings with all my being, but who I am to question how God presents himself to others? While I can guess why Pastor Morris made his apology, the circumstance that made it necessary is very troubling. If we cannot come together in a moment of shared grief & acknowledge God amoung us, we are lost….
I understand the frustration but also know the denomination after serving with LCMS Chaplains in the Air Force for 26 years. Their denomination is crystal clear about the zero tolerance policy in terms of sharing worship with other Christians outside of the LCMS let alone the interfaith arena. As a supervisor, I guarded this right of conscience and Second Ammendment issue carefully. Unfortunately this young pastor was placed in a no-win scenario… Did the leadership in the LCMS need to be so Pharissaic in their response? Should there have been more grace? This is why I am humbled to be a Christ-follower who is also a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Thanks for the good words, Michael.
– DEREK
Capicia? Yes, I understand, but you may want to go back and re-read your post. There is a lot of anger in it, and it is not all coming from one article. Capici?
Not following the anger thing, Earl? But I do read a lot of commitment to the imperative of love, and much sadness regarding the spectacular failure of so many when it comes to the way Jesus is presented to this broken world.
It is so sad that someone would be chastised for leading a group of people into a conversation with their Father. I sent an email to the Missouri Synod expressing my feeling. Maybe we all should. Below is what I said and the website for the email link.
I went on to the Missouri Synod website and found the “contact us” and this is my response.
After reading the article in the USnews.nbcnews.com I am saddened that a President of a congregation would chastise one of their own for participating and leading a closing prayer for such a tragic event at Newton Elementary School. We are all created from the same God, that would mean that he is our Father and I commend Pastor Rob for leading even the non-believer in a conversation with their Father. There are so many good things that could/wold come from his actions. However another black eye from the christian community for saying to their own that you can’t associate with those who don’t believe like we do. I’m grateful that Jesus didn’t teach us that .
contact us: http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=704
Well done, Gerard!
I believe I may follow your good example.
– Derek