I grew up in a conservative church. I was taught the Bible was literally true. I learned "I'll be a sunbeam for Him..." "Jesus loves me..." and that a wise man "builds his house on the rock." I grew up learning that Jesus loved the least of these, that taking care of the poor was our obligation as a Christian. I remember learning about missionaries who went to bring Jesus to the poor masses who didn't even have 1 church in their whole country! (It didn't matter that there were plenty of churches in those other lands, because if they weren't members of our particular brand, were they even truly Christians?).
My point is, I believed it. I believed the words of Jesus when he gave his sermon on the Mount that the meek shall inherit the earth. I believed it when James taught us that "true religion that is blameless before God is to visit the widows and orphans and take care of them in their distress."
Confession: I still believe that. I believe that Jesus was teaching us in the parable of the Good Samaritan that it is our job to help, not to question. It is our job to heal, not to hurt. But something happened along the way....
Something has happened to this "church" I thought I knew. It's become cold and hard. It's become fearful of the world. It's gone from following Christ to following political leaders. It's gone from giving to Ceasar what is Ceasars, to questioning which Ceasar, and never leaning into God for wisdom. There are so many rationalizations out there. God Guns and America has overtaken "In as much as you've done it to the least of these..." The sermons are loud, the accuasations are plenty. And I feel like, somewhere along the way I blinked and lost sight.
My heart hurts for it. I am not sure the Church in N. America, or my heart, will ever recover.
The Church I thought I knew is gone. I don't think she will ever come back.
