Christian Church (myself included): Get your priorities straight!
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, school has been substantially more difficult in the fall than it was in the summer. It turns out seminary is pretty hard! My apologies to those of you hoping for more consistent updates. As you know, I tend to write when the spirit moves me, and lately it’s begun to do so again.
2 Things to talk about today!
Lately I find myself growing in ways I didn’t expect. Seminary causes you to stretch in ways that aren’t immediately obvious, and generally, have nothing to do with your classes…much like college. As you’ve probably deduced from prior posts, I’m not a typical mainstream Christian, at least I don’t think so. For that matter, I’m not a typical human, I have a slightly different perspective on things, and it usually leads to some interesting conversations.
Since I’ve been here I’ve begun to talk more and more about my future plans for ministry, since that is the standard question among seminary students. My dream, and the area I believe God has called me to, is to reconcile people that have been burned by the church. There are many ways to go about this, but for me it means beginning with the addiction community.
Historically the church hasn’t done a very good job of welcoming addicts in with open arms. Generally speaking, though churches might have an Alcoholics Anonymous group, or an AL Anon group, they’ll rarely allow a Sexaholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous group to meet. Even if they do let them meet, it’s generally as late as possible, because God forbid they should come into contact with “normal” congregants.
The church also rarely talks about things like addiction and recovery from the pulpit. These are issues that are affecting enormous amounts of people every day, and yet the church is so silent.
My goal is to start a church similar to Mercy Street in Houston, TX, a church that places recovery and addiction central to the idea of Christianity. I believe we’re all addicts. I don’t mean that to be clever, and I don’t mean it symbolically, or metaphorically. I mean actually addicted and in desperate need of treatment. Whether we’re addicted to crack, money, porn, power, sex or religiosity and moralism, we’re in desperate need of recovery. In fact, quite often, the substance abuses are significantly less serious than addictions to power, religion and morality. It’s easy to tell you’ve got a problem with a substance, and people will often tell you. But few people will tell you when you’ve got a problem with power, religion and morality…and if they do, chances are you won’t believe them because your reality is dependent on them.
So when I say addiction is central to Christianity I mean it. We are all desperately addicted to our own form of sin. For each person it’s different. Our addiction takes us away from Christ. The only way we can get better is to work our best at growing closer to Christ, and to seek legitimate treatment. Praying is not enough. God doesn’t just want us to pray and trust that God will make it all better, God has specifically created a world where we are capable of receiving help from others.
Seek therapy. I can’t emphasize this enough. The Christian church has always been terrified of supporting psychology, for a multitude of reasons. Psychologists will often attempt to tell us that religion is fake, though when they do so, they are generally just injecting their own biases, rather than providing any concrete evidence. If we truly believe that God created humans, then we must believe that God “created” psychology. Obviously god didn’t create it as it exists today, but when we study psychology, we are studying God’s creation. Psychology is a window into divinity, into God’s design.
We must embrace the healing powers of psychology in cooperation with strong Christian faith if we hope to recover from any serious trauma that life sets before us.
This being said, I’ve noticed something recently in my own life. It has to do with the way I’ve been integrating myself into Fuller’s student life, and life in general. Needless to say, I’m an eccentric person with equally unique goals and visions for life. I will accept nothing less than the best for what God has called me to do, and I do not tolerate mediocrity. As a result, I am very intentional in my discussions with people. I often joke with people, only to quickly transition into a deeply theological and heady topic.
I’m more serious than I seem. I care very deeply about very serious things, and I’ve come to realize that sometimes this is hard for people to reconcile. During the past 3 years living in New York City, I came to realize that my life has been given a special purpose. I’m not simply here to live out my own desires and wishes. Now, I knew this before I went to New York City, but it evolved to an entirely new level of meaning in my last year in New York.
It’s hard for people to reconcile a joker like me, with someone so strong-willed and passionate about tough issues. Few people thoroughly enjoy talking about addiction, it’s a sticky subject, and this can lead to a sense of being on the outside.
I’m always trying my hardest to be myself, and sometimes, after having a rough day or getting snubbed by someone, I’ll begin to worry about not fitting in with the “cool” crowd; or getting to be friends with the “right” people. I’ll begin to wish that I was more hip, or whatever it takes to be a part of “their world.”
But then I realize what I’m saying.
I’m basically saying that, I am more concerned about what other people think, than the calling that I should be focusing on. Despite what cynics may say, life is not a popularity contest, and there’s no prom king or queen. It’s these times when I stop, slap myself and say,
WAKE UP! THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN BEING IN THE “IN” CROWD!
The ironic thing is, I’m already a part of the only inclusive group that’s worth being a part of, Servants of Jesus.
We need to stop worrying about what other people think, and start living with the fire and passion that God has called us to embody.
This world isn’t going to change itself.
So if you see me walkin’ along all mopey about something stupid, feel free to slap me and tell me to “Get Your Priorities Straight!”
(Though don’t be surprised if I’m grumpy that you hit me…)
Praise God!
Amen.