Okay, so I was a bit cranky in the last post. I will concede the point that most churches are good places with good people. In the bigger picture, there are some pretty horrendous and evil things in this world. We all know that at times, the church has participated in its share of cruelty; however, by and large, churches are sharply skewed toward the side of good on the evil-goodness continuum. Even the inward-focused churches - I can think of worse things those people could be doing with their time. Just look around, there are plenty of people engaging in those worse things.
But to split some hairs on good side of the continuum for a minute, there are different visions out there across churches. I am needing to align myself with a group with a compelling vision, at least compelling to me. This is to take nothing away from the church we left or the churches we will visit and choose not to join. Grace, peace, and godspeed to them. We are on the same side.
But I have chosen sides. I choose love, mercy and goodness and their author.
The other night, instead of sitting in someones living room with a small group of people just like me, being vulnerable with each other and talking all night, I spent my time listening to podcast updates from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders). I heard updates and stories about Sudan, Burma, and Zimbabwe. Did you know that there is a raging cholera epidemic going on right now in Zimbabwe? (an easily treatable disease, something as simple as clean water will save a life). I heard parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo talk about two of their children who have been missing for several months. They got separated while fleeing in the dark of night from the violence of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, who has been committing unspeakably evil acts on innocent civilians across that country.
As I was listening, I thought to myself, Does anybody give a shit about any of this? I feel pretty certain that none of this was part of the conversation of any of the small groups who met in living rooms across our city the other night. As I visit new churches, I wonder if there are people there that do. I am looking, but it is not apparent. I want to give a shit and I want to hang with others who do. As dispair was sinking in the other night, I recognized that there were people who cared and were talking about it. MSF had a team of 200 in Zimbabwe. Now that would be quit a congregation to hang with. They need water and sanitation engineers. I wonder what kind of training I would need. Perhaps an apprenticeship?
2 comments:
mark, dont you know that cussing is bad form? haha. but, i think you are on to something, because from the little you do hear about it, there are terrible things that go on in africa everyday. snippets like hearing about darfur or watching a movie like blood diamond offer some insight.
why noone cares or does anything about it is beyond me. i guess that it boils down that africa has no real political or economic clout in the world, but it still is amazing to hear what goes on in those countries and nobody does give a shit about it.
Some say it is a sin, but its just words - bad form, yes, but words nonetheless.
Sometimes a certain word communicates better than another. I could have said "...give a hoot" but I don't think that would have captured my sentiment as well.
There are no easy answers, but it is grievious, heartbreaking. Maybe that is the point. We should let it break us - out of our little pink houses. We need to appreciate the contrast between goodness and evil in our world.
As Pink Floyd said:
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell
Blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail...
We've got to choose sides.
As my man, the godfather of grunge said:
You've got to turn on evil,
When it's coming after you,
You've gota face it down,
And when it tries to hide,
You've gota go in after it,
And never be denied,
Time is runnin' out,
Let's roll.
Let's roll for freedom,
Let's roll for love,
We're going after satan,
On the wings of a dove,
Let's roll for justice,
Let's roll for truth,
Let's not let our children,
Grow up fearfull in there youth.
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