When it comes to being a Christian. I am out.
I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ‘Christian’ or
to being part of Christianity
Ann Rice (2010)
_______________________________
Sometimes I wonder why I stay
Here I am!
With my theological degrees.
My ordination vows
My “call”
And sometimes I wonder why I stay
So many are leaving
We hear all about the great resignation
Of pastors leaving for a myriad of reasons
He is tired
She is minimized
They are judged
There is too much secondary trauma
There are too many demands
There is too little support
Sometimes I wonder why I stay
When people I consider friends leave and wander off to
another church
When the pews are no longer full
When I wonder if I still have anything to say
When Christianity as a faith system can be so screwed up
And full of hate and exclusion
Rather than love and inclusion
I guess I stay because I believe
In what?
In Jesus.
In his teachings
In his priorities
In his presence
That after all, is what Christianity should be all about
Believing in Jesus
Believing Jesus
I can’t prove God
I can’t prove that Jesus was the incarnation of God
But I can experience God
I can encounter Jesus
Like Paul on the road to Damascus
Blinding light!
Stunning
Transforming
Filling
What is this?
NO!
WHO is this?
Ah!
And so I stay
Encountering this Jesus
Whom I meet over and over again
And who is always new
And so I stay
Hoping
That Jesus can remain real
Alive
Free
Even within the confines of a church
That acts less like the living body of Christ
Making Love real in this world
And more like a prison
From which Christ must be set free
And so I stay, hoping to join with others
Who move past ritual and creed
To encounter
To communion
To transformation
To service
So I stay
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