Beautiful post Andy, - as a fellow sojourner leaving our western cult of individualism and the claustrophobic world of WASP imperial religion, I say a wholehearted ‘amen’ - may God grant us the humility, the wisdom and the courage to rediscover and to embrace the gospel.
I am sure you will agree that it is not an ‘either’ ‘or’ gospel, ie - either a deeply personal and individual one, or a communal and global one. To truly change the world, we must be changed within. Without doing our ‘shadow work’, embracing ‘ego death’ and ‘taking up our cross’ daily, we will inevitably become a part of the problem.
I believe in a ‘personal Jesus’ - but in my experience, evangelicalism and Protestantism in general has so constrained and corrupted that relationship that we have created an insular, self absorbed pseudo-spiritual reality where very little light can penetrate - love and truth will always challenge us, expand our horizons in love, and shatter our illusions.
‘It was for freedom that Christ has set us free’ - and that ain’t never ‘comfortable’, for sure.
But, as we learn to trust, it gets more and more exciting.
Beautiful post Andy, - as a fellow sojourner leaving our western cult of individualism and the claustrophobic world of WASP imperial religion, I say a wholehearted ‘amen’ - may God grant us the humility, the wisdom and the courage to rediscover and to embrace the gospel.
Thank you Sam. The disentanglement is an improvement, not without some disillusionment. I also want to bring others who are on the edge to a new place of abundance (not the greedy kind) but without losing Jesus.
Andy, I too am searching… myself, first, but also my community, politics and more. I do love being a part of a faith community that is taking a strong stance against injustice, including severing a financial tie to the current administration (related to immigration aid). I appreciate your thoughtfulness, which provokes but in the best way. Not judging, but asking the right questions.
Thanks Elizabeth. And yes, my current faith community is all about the Micah text so re-alignment has been helpful. And I don't judge anyone. This is my story as much as "a word!" But I can't go back. And who would want to. It's much much more interesting hanging out in places I wasn't supposed to be growing up.
Beautiful post Andy, - as a fellow sojourner leaving our western cult of individualism and the claustrophobic world of WASP imperial religion, I say a wholehearted ‘amen’ - may God grant us the humility, the wisdom and the courage to rediscover and to embrace the gospel.
I am sure you will agree that it is not an ‘either’ ‘or’ gospel, ie - either a deeply personal and individual one, or a communal and global one. To truly change the world, we must be changed within. Without doing our ‘shadow work’, embracing ‘ego death’ and ‘taking up our cross’ daily, we will inevitably become a part of the problem.
I believe in a ‘personal Jesus’ - but in my experience, evangelicalism and Protestantism in general has so constrained and corrupted that relationship that we have created an insular, self absorbed pseudo-spiritual reality where very little light can penetrate - love and truth will always challenge us, expand our horizons in love, and shatter our illusions.
‘It was for freedom that Christ has set us free’ - and that ain’t never ‘comfortable’, for sure.
But, as we learn to trust, it gets more and more exciting.
Thanks be to God.
I can't agree more brother. I appreciate your words here in so many ways.
Beautiful post Andy, - as a fellow sojourner leaving our western cult of individualism and the claustrophobic world of WASP imperial religion, I say a wholehearted ‘amen’ - may God grant us the humility, the wisdom and the courage to rediscover and to embrace the gospel.
Thank you Sam. The disentanglement is an improvement, not without some disillusionment. I also want to bring others who are on the edge to a new place of abundance (not the greedy kind) but without losing Jesus.
Andy, I too am searching… myself, first, but also my community, politics and more. I do love being a part of a faith community that is taking a strong stance against injustice, including severing a financial tie to the current administration (related to immigration aid). I appreciate your thoughtfulness, which provokes but in the best way. Not judging, but asking the right questions.
Thanks Elizabeth. And yes, my current faith community is all about the Micah text so re-alignment has been helpful. And I don't judge anyone. This is my story as much as "a word!" But I can't go back. And who would want to. It's much much more interesting hanging out in places I wasn't supposed to be growing up.