An Open Letter to Christians

   The presidential election season is always difficult for Christians. Every fourth November the Facebook posts start flowing in, telling us how "X" party is communist, socialist, Muslim, anti-Christian, etc. We get the bad chain emails from our crazy uncles telling us how gay marriage is going to be the downfall of America and how biblical prophesies prove that Obama is the Anti-Christ.


   While our friends and fellow church-goers start to advocate for "The Christian Party," the CNN articles begin to surface. You know the ones I'm talking about. From Todd Akin's poorly worded statement that women won't get pregnant from a "legitimate rape." Or Arkansas rep Jon Hubbard saying that slavery may have been a good thing. Or Richard Mourdock saying that pregnancy from rape is "something God intended." 

And we wonder why people think that Christians are a bunch of hateful bigots, racists, and homophobes?

  This is the party of God? This is the message that supposed Christians are sending to voters? It's no wonder that people hate the church and are antagonistic to The Gospel. We can't blame them. We are literally driving people away by turning the Bible into a political pundit.

   For the record, I am by no means "pro-abortion." I, personally, would never end the life of an organism that is living inside me. And I, personally, have no plans on entering into a homosexual relationship anytime soon....or ever, but I will never, ever alienate or denigrate a person who does.

   Why? Because I am broken. I have failed. I have committed every sin in the book. And I have been loved. I have been loved by friends, Christian and non-Christian, gay and straight, who have stood by me when I didn't deserve it. And despite all of the stupid things I have done, I have been showed grace. And if I fail to pass that grace on to others, I am a hypocrite.

  I believe that I have one calling as a Christian, and that is to love broken people. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us:

"There is no one righteous, not even one." - Romans 3:10

and in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" -Matthew 7:3

...and what about the book of Luke where Christ says,

" Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven " - Luke 6:37

...or in the book of Romans where Paul says,

"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his disputable matters."

 - Romans 14:1

   At what point did Christians forget these commands? At what point did we start preaching a gospel of legalism and condescension, and, more importantly, at which point did Jesus pick up a picket sign telling his followers to vote for the more "conservative" Caesar? Jesus never asked us to legislate morality. Jesus never told us to build Christian beliefs into the Constitution. He called us to love. He called us to show grace, even to people who are different than us. And he called us to recognize our own flaws before calling out others for theirs.

  I have heard too many Christians complaining about Obama's reelection, and, to be honest, it makes me sick. Firstly, because the Bible makes it clear that we are "aliens and strangers in this world." (1 Peter 2:11). And we are to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." (Mark 12:17). We are not called to define ourselves by our party affiliation, because politics are ephemeral. Eventually everything fades, so to attach our faith so staunchly to a worldly institution is a waste of time. I am not a democrat. I am a Christian. My goal is to make believers of all nations, and I believe that I can do that regardless of who is in office or what legislation comes to congress.

  Secondly, we have to remember that there are Biblical principles being reflected in both parties. The Republicans, for the most part, are well intentioned people who are trying to make a positive impact in the world. But they by no means are the only ones trying to encourage Christian principles. The people you see wearing the "Christians for Obama" pins are not voting against their faith. 

Jesus was very clear that we are to:

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."

- Luke 12:33

God makes it clear that all of our blessings come from him. They do not belong to us. At no point does The Bible say, "Keep all of your money because you earned it."

  Pastor Rob Bell sums things up very well in his book Jesus Wants to Save Christians:

"Exile is when you fail to convert your blessings into blessings for others...God doesn't have a problem with eating and drinking and owning things. It's when those things come at the expense of others having their basic needs met - that's when the passionate rants of the prophets really kick in." (p. 45-46)

He also reminds us that:

"Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day. The Roman Empire, which put Jesus on an execution stake, insisted that it was bringing peace to the world through it's massive military might, and anybody who didn't see it this way just might be put in a cross." (p 17 -18)

"In an empire of indifference, as it becomes harder and harder to understand the perspective of others, it becomes easier and easier to confuse blessing with entitlement. Entitlement leads to immunity from the suffering of others, because 'I got what I deserve" and so, apparently, did they." (p. 124)

It is time to end the empire of indifference. And I truly believe that the current administration is attempting to do that.

  I can't claim to speak for God. And trust me, I don't have it all figured out. And I realize that my human nature makes it impossible to know the surpassing grace and brilliance of the Lord. But I know one thing: God doesn't believe in American Exceptionalism. And I can almost guarantee that Jesus didn't cast a vote yesterday. So maybe it's time for us to stop attaching our politics to our faith, because they're dragging it down.

   In C.S. Lewis' book the Screwtape Letters, the main character, a high ranking demon, tells his nephew, a lower ranking demon, about the dangers of religion and politics. He says:

"Let him begin by treating Patriotism as part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the state at which the religion becomes merely a part of the “cause,” in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent argument it can produce….Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing." (p. 53)

Politics, when given priority, can kill a man's faith.

   I am insanely, wonderfully blessed to live in a nation where I can participate in the political process. I am so lucky that I have the right to voice my opinion. I am thankful that I am able to openly and fervently practice my religion without fear of persecution. And I am grateful that we have the right to discuss, debate, and challenge one another. And I am thankful for my Republican friends and family who force me to deeply evaluate my beliefs. 

   So, Christians, if we really want to fulfill our calling to make disciples of all nations, maybe we should drop the picket signs, pick up our crosses together, and show love instead of judgment. We are all in this together. We were all made by the same Creator. So perhaps it's time to stop the partisan squabbling and start living The Gospel like we were told to.

I leave you with two of my favorite songs:

"Give Me Your Eyes" By Brandon Heath

"Give me your eyes for just one second,

Give me your eyes so I can see,

Everything that I've been missing,

Give me your love for humanity."

"Let us love like we were children,

Let us feel like we're still living

in a world I know is burning to the ground."

Swing, Swing

   I've never really considered myself to be an adult. I feel that maturity is generally a waste of time, and I fully plan to maintain a child-like, spontaneous, goofy, free-spirited approach to life for as long as I possibly can. Perhaps it was that sense of juvenile excitement that drove me to the swing set at River Grove Park.

   I went to the park for admirable reasons: go running in the nice weather, hang out with my family, take the dogs out for some exercise and play time. Sounds like a safe and wholesome good time, right? Wrong.

   Within 2 minutes of arriving one of the people in our party (I won't say which one), tripped in a cleverly camouflaged hole in the ground, twisting her ankle. Then, about 10 minutes later, one of the dogs started mysteriously bleeding. We never did find out how or why, but let me tell you, it's terrifying seeing a border collie whose mouth and nose are drenched in fresh blood.

   However, we made the best of it. I pushed forward and had a lovely run through the woods, (Which invariably makes me feel like I'm fulfilling my childhood dream of being Max from Where the Wild Things Are.)

"Let the wild rumpus begin!!!"

  After my run, I met up with my family at the kids' area of the park which has a jungle gym, parallel bars, and a swing set. Well, no better way to cool down after a workout than by playing on the playground, right? So, like any logical grown-up, I got onto the swings. Now, to be honest, I've had issues with swings in the past. I have a tendency to over-commit and I generally end up losing my balance, jumping off too early, and landing so hard that it makes my shins feel like they've shattered into 1,000 pieces.

  Today was no different. I had pretty much reached terminal velocity and an altitude of 35,000 feet when I realized that, perhaps, I hadn't thought this idea through. I tried to slow myself down by dragging my feet along the ground, but in the process, I displaced my weight and felt myself sliding forward. I leaned back, attempting to correct my weight distribution, but apparently I over-corrected, causing me to fall out of the swing. I fell out of a swing. That happened. You win again, gravity.

   I wish I could say that I was alone when this happened. But I definitely wasn't. There were people around. A lot of people. For a brief second I thought that maybe nobody had seen me until I heard a five year old kid yell, "SHE FELL OFF THE SWING!!!" Thank you, dear child. Sadly, I'm sure your swinging skills are far more advanced than mine.

  I took stock of my situation, still laying on the ground. There was sand in some uncomfortable and inconvenient places. My hand hurt like hell, and...yep...I definitely broke a finger. (When I got home I realized that I also strained my shoulder) So, I got up, dusted myself off, and faced the awaiting judgment from my family and onlookers, at which point, my beautiful mother said, "I think it's time to go." Uhhh. Yeah.

  Unfortunately, this is fairly typical of my life. Self-inflicted injuries are a normal fixture in my daily routine.

Some may recall "The Car Door Debacle of 2010":

Or the "I Was In a Hurry and Opened My Closet Door Into My Face Catastrophe of 2011"

Or the "I Flipped Headfirst Over My Handlebars Disaster of 2011"

Or the, "I Bruised a Bone in My Knee Coming Out of The Stairs At School Fiasco of 2012"

   So, sadly, this is nothing new for me. At this point my life is pretty much a series of awkward moments and humiliating demonstrations of my lack of coordination. But, you know what? I kind of like my penchant for falling, tripping, dropping things, and generally making an ass out of myself. Why? Because it has taught me how to laugh at myself, how to get back up even when my bones (or heart) are broken, and how to brush off people's judgment. But most importantly, I've learned not to be afraid of looking stupid, not to be afraid of making mistakes, and not to let past embarrassments and failures keep me from having a good time and trying again.

So, even though today was a disaster, I'm never going to stop swinging.

Packing My Bags and Giving the Academy a Raincheck

  Just over three months ago I was standing on a beach in Thailand. It was the last night of the most incredible journey of my life. After a little bit of wandering and more than a little bit of trespassing, my travel companions and I found ourselves standing at the foot of the Indian Ocean. It was nighttime and yet the full moon's reflection off the incoming tide lit up the beach, like the pillar of fire ready to guide us home. We all stood in silence, hyper-aware of the ephemeral nature of the moment. There was no need to talk. We all just stood there lost in our own thoughts and reflections.
  As I stood with my toes in the sand feeling the tide creep closer to my feet, I was struck with a sense of life, purpose, and clarity unlike anything I'd ever felt in my life. The ocean in all of its constant, powerful, ever-changing beauty seemed to wash away an old part of myself. And while I stood in wonder of the most vast and deep force on the planet, I was terrified. I wondered to myself, "Is this the best it's going to get?" I knew that when I got home I would be returning to classes, comps prep, dissertations, and a love life that could most accurately be described as a disastrous and painful clusterf**k.
  Then a voice came through my headphones telling me, "This is not the end, this is not the end of this. We will open our eyes wide, wider." Just in case you're interested, here's my full Thailand playlist.

 Later that night my beautiful, wonderful, brilliant travel companion slash best friend told me she had a similar experience. But, I mean, how could you not be moved when looking at this:

  The girl who stepped onto the plane in Phuket, Thailand was not the same girl who got onto the 777 to head to Europe and Southeast Asia. I had seen things like this:

...and this...

...and this...

  I had witnessed firsthand the fallen nature of humanity and all I wanted to do was to change things. To make them better. To help. To advocate. To cry for the tragedies that had gripped the world in both the past and present. And I didn't know what to do about it. Until I went on another trip.

  Go to Springfield for a conference, they said. It will be fun, they said. And, hey, why don't you take a car that's leaking transmission fluid? This is an awesome idea. NOT! Spoiler Alert: This is how the trip ended:

Pretty much a metaphor for my life: Stalled in an intersection not knowing which direction the rest of the journey was going to go.

  During what I would later deem "Murphy's Roadtrip" I got an email that said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "You need to go to your adviser and tell her the following things: When are you going to graduate? What are you writing your dissertation on? What do you want to do as a career? How many books are you going to publish? What are you going to do with your life?"

*insert panic attack here*

  And then I felt it. This wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to spend the remainder of my twenties in graduate school. I didn't want the publications, the articles, the conferences. I wanted life. I wanted adventure. I wanted to help people.
  A terrible image flashed through my mind. I'm standing at the foot of the throne of God being called to account for my life. I look upon the glory of the Lord and I pull out a folded piece of paper that contains every tangible achievement in my life, and I say, "Here's my CV, God. Look at my books! Look at the conferences I went to! Look at my PhD, God!" I don't know if Heaven has crickets, but if it does, I'm pretty sure their chirping would be the only response to my life's work.  So I was faced with a choice: Continue on the path that I'm on or veer into the wilderness of The Great Unknown. One route offers security. The other offers...something else. The title of this blog should give you a hint as to which path I'm choosing.
  So I got home and immediately told my professors that I think I'm being called to switch to the master's program, to graduate in May, and then to serve people. Terrifying.
  I don't know where I'm headed. I have no idea what the next year is going to bring. But for the first time I feel at peace knowing that I have the chance to escape the rat race and to do something bigger. So it looks like, in the words of my future husband Andy McMahon, "I'm dropping out into the So Unknown" and I am excited as hell.