A second welcome...

My last post seemed to have issues with html, so in the event that you could not read it, this post will summarize the last one.

Basically, I've noticed a trend in church, that being the buildings where people gather like sheep on a Sunday morning, mindlessly sing the same songs over and over again, fight to stay awake through a middle-aged man's lecture on morality, and then go eat at McCallister's and essentially forget the whole experience. This is where people go to be shunned, rejected, ostricized, and emotionally beaten to the ground. Those who have suffered the pain and heartache of divorce are called adulterers. Teenage girls who gave themselves away in a moment of weakness are branded as harlots. Men who have tatoos and piercings are labeled as rebellious youth and quickly told to dress better for "God's house." Those who think the Bible and evolution might actually work hand in hand are targeted like traitors. And if anyone wants to join a denomination they weren't necessarily raised in, they have to be baptized again, whether they were truly born again or not.

I don't think this is what Christ had in mind when he said, "To the ends of the earth, you will be witnesses." In fact, the only examples I see in scripture of people being ostricized for not fitting the mold are when the Pharisees were doing the ostricizing, and Jesus called them a "pit of vipers." He called tax collectors to be His disciples, associated himself with Samirtans and lepers, and defended prostitutes against self-righteous men. While He took the outcast in, the church today seems bent on turning them away.

So, I've created this blog as a way of trying to get back to basics. I want to look and see who Jesus really is, not necessarily what the church says He is. I want to be able to openly discuss things like baptism, evolution, denominational differences, and social taboos without having this fear that I'll be humiliated for not going with flow. I want to be the one that befriends the divorcee and the pregnant teen, and in time letting my love for them point them to Christ instead of lecture after lecture of how they are depraved sinners and "need to be more like me....er.....who I am in Christ."

I'm not advocating watering down the truth. That would be just as much if not more wrong than ostricizing someone. And I'm not suggesting we should make a new church. That would only further perpetuate the problem. What I am saying is that a lot of groups calling themselves "churches" need to re-evaluate how close to Jesus they really are. And I am begging those of you who say, "I am not a Christian because of Christians," don't label all of Christ's followers the same as those people. Give me a chance to show you who Jesus really is, and then make your decision.

Feel free to comment on any of these posts; tell me what you think about what I talk about and what I say. Email me, message me, whatever, and we'll talk about whatever you want to discuss. But most importantly, don't take my word for anything. Read the Bible for yourself and see if what I say lines up. But at least give me a chance to restore some of the good will that has been lost for Christ's church.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. My first post will be up within a few days.

Keep Soaring,

B