Dear Church,
You are dying because you've been applying band aids for a far deeper problem. You are consistently doling out superficial remedies for surface wounds when the source of pain lays untreated.
When hurting people walk through
your doors, you play the positive thinking guru and dispense quick fixes with
inspirational quotes. You provide cheap grace and empty promises that are
driving people out your doors.
You
have traded in a revolution for a scripted life.
Why do you insist on being sanitized? Why are you so afraid of the mess? We want you to point us to the God who is not afraid to enter the messiness of our humanity.
Looking outward we see unspeakable violence perpetrated against the weakest among us. We see mass destruction of trees, animal species driven to extinction, and waters polluted by human greed. We see nations fighting, people persecuted, and children dying of abject poverty. Looking inward we find our own feelings of loneliness, isolation, powerlessness, and guilt. We are confused, afraid, and hurting.
Why do you insist on being sanitized? Why are you so afraid of the mess? We want you to point us to the God who is not afraid to enter the messiness of our humanity.
Looking outward we see unspeakable violence perpetrated against the weakest among us. We see mass destruction of trees, animal species driven to extinction, and waters polluted by human greed. We see nations fighting, people persecuted, and children dying of abject poverty. Looking inward we find our own feelings of loneliness, isolation, powerlessness, and guilt. We are confused, afraid, and hurting.
But we do not come to you carrying that much
pain, just so we can sing some feel-good songs and be sent on our way. You have missed the mark on addressing a deep, felt need to be meaningful. We want to speak the truth about
how truly messed up we are, in your sanctuary: a safe haven. Safe to be real,
safe to hurt, safe to lament. A safe place to figure it all out with other
broken people.
We don’t want the band aid: we
want to air out our wounds in an atmosphere inviting true healing. We need to
feel the extent of our pain so we can be driven to find the root causes. We
want to share our wounds with one another, because when it really, really
hurts, it matters to know we are not alone.
Help
us wade through these deep, dark waters of anxiety; together in the diminishing
numbers of communities which are hobbling forward by faith. It hurts to dig
deeper. It’s painful to get inside of our anxieties and face them full-on.
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