Seeing the image of God in everyone...

We're living in a divisive time. Truthfully, our world has always been divisive. We've just been better at hiding it before. But now with the onset of social media and 24/7 news, many of our divisions have come out of hiding and our prejudices, privilege and quick opinions are no longer hidden. Unfortunately, the click baiting, name calling and anger have probably only just begun. I get it. A lot of what I see and read infuriates me, too. People of every viewpoint are--at the very least--peeved about something.
For people following Jesus, we should get mad. Jesus had moments of anger. If we don't get angry at injustice in the world, who will? But Jesus also said for us to turn the other cheek and not only forgive our enemies (7x70 times mind you) but love them. That means each and every time we see someone type, say or insinuate something that causes us pain, anger or frustration, we do not forget that they are a person divinely created with gifts by our Creator. Each and every person who has and will ever walk on the earth is made in the image of God. That means God created them in love. Nobody can take that away from me. I can't take that away from anybody else. Thanks be to God for that.
So if any of us are serious about following Jesus, the public degradation that we do to our fellow sojourners does not reflect the God we are seeking to serve. That does not mean that we don't hold each other accountable, learn from each other or seek to provide other viewpoints, but it does mean that we see no person as anything less than someone made in God's image and designed for eternity. Hillary Clinton ins made in the image of God. Donald Trump is made in the image of God. Nobody can take that away from them. Democrats reflect God's image. Republicans reflect God's image. The LGBTQI community is made in God's image. The conservative evangelical community are bearer's of God's image. Pro-choice people rest in God's image as do the Pro-lifers and all those in between. This is God's grace toward us. That even as lost as we may get, we never lose the initial marking of God's blessing. That image is what defines us.
Our culture makes it very easy for us to crucify each other. After all, the people who voted to crucify Jesus thought they were in the right and yet He clearly says, "Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do." That's who we are called to be. Let's not join the scoffers, but the people who proclaim forgiveness and mercy. That doesn't mean we don't stand for what we believe to be true and right. The point isn't to avoid what is right, the point is to not lose ourselves in the process. The point is to do what God has called us to do and to do it with love. That as we find those along the path who we think are totally off base, hypocritical and an all-around jerk face, that they are still bearers of God's image and in need of the same love that we all desperately need. 

An open letter to Dr. Ben Carson, Pastor Mark Burns, Jerry Falwell Jr, Franklin Graham, The Robertsons, and other evangelical leaders

Dear Evangelical leaders,
I am grieved. I know you are too. Some of our grief overlaps, but, sadly, a lot of it does not. My grief hit a crescendo this morning as I discovered that Dr. Carson compared Hilary Clinton, the presumed Democratic Nominee for President, to Lucifer, the enemy of all our souls. A direct comparison. I want to make it clear: I do not fully support nor endorse Mrs. Clinton. As a follower of the cross of Jesus Christ, I find some of her beliefs and certain behavior antithetical to the Gospel. I also agree with her on several points and can appreciate the good she has done in our world, but that does not lead to full support.
Dr. Carson's points were that as Mrs. Clinton endorses pro-choice and marriage equality she is akin to a baby murderer and destroyer of traditional family values and therefore akin to Lucifer. Not only is this public shaming but it is something Dr. Carson should be called to repentance, as well as the other Evangelical leaders who have publicly bashed Mrs. Clinton. It is perfectly fine to disagree. While I do not associate with the Evangelical right's method's of the pro-life movement, I am, generally speaking, pro-life. I believe that aligns with Scripture, although in our contemporary world there are a lot of gray areas for sure and difficult situations. I also am aware that male privilege is at play with my views and that more listening needs to be done from males such as myself. Still, that's a story for another day. What I am saying here is that neither party's pure views, especially those which Donald Trump has largely brandished, are in line with Christian teaching. Neither political party is fully in line with Scripture and as national leaders you need to stop pretending that they are.
Pastor Mark Burns proclaimed that the democrats as their enemy. Personally, I believe the Apostle Paul when he wrote "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."--Ephesians 6:12.
I don't fear Mrs. Clinton. I fear people who manipulate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fit their political agenda, which is what I see you all doing and it greatly saddens me. Any Christian can certainly lean left or lean right politically. It is up to your individual preferences which I suggest praying about.
Mr. Trump has made his views about immigration abundantly clear. His idea of building a wall has been one of his campaign's biggest selling points. And yet one of the biggest themes throughout all of Scripture is to welcome the stranger. As a follower of the cross, you cannot hold your anti-immigration status when there are refugees across our world dying daily. Our Samaritan brother and sisters are dying, and if we ignore their cry, we are ignoring Jesus. Let us also not forget that Mr. Trump has used derogatory language against Muslims, racial minorities and women. These are just inexcusable. For all of Mrs. Clinton's faults, she has never publicly called out specific groups of people.
Let's also talk about "traditional family values." Could you cite that in Scripture for me, please? Is it when Ruth and Naomi stuck together? Or perhaps when Paul lauded celibacy in singleness? What about, you know, our savior Himself Jesus who by all accounts was single his whole life. When we talk about traditional family values, we are referring to 1950s America, a time many people feel more comfortable (if you are white, at least). I can understand how same-gender couples and families are new to you and that it makes you uncomfortable. I can also understand your convictions from Scripture, even though I have come to a different conclusion. But to believe that someone who supports same-gender couple and LGBTQIA rights is a Lucifer impersonator, well, that is like saying you can't eat a pot of chili because one of the beans on the bottom of the pot may be burned. Maybe you're right about your views on sexuality. In that case since you have a high view of Scripture, you can also not deny the importance of welcoming the stranger and loving your enemies.
So, what's it going to be? Are we going to follow political ideologies or a God who died for us while we were His enemies. He died for the people who were yelling to crucify Him. The candidate you are supporting and claiming as "God's man" isn't even willing to ask for forgiveness for anything.

In grace,
Brian Steele

Why privilege matters for making disciples of Jesus Christ...

For the past three weeks we've been doing a sermon series on Amos, one of the lesser known or talked about prophets. To give the spark notes version, Amos was a small town shepherd who went into the metropolis cities and told all the rich Israelites that they were going to hell in a handbasket. To me, it is one of the great social justice manifestos ever written. Not only does it promote social justice and equality, but the more research and studying I did on it, the theme of privilege also came up. "Privilege." That's a loaded word these days. White privilege. Male privilege. Straight privilege. These are not terms that straight white males like myself are comfortable talking about. But we need to. Badly. Especially for those of us who have committed to following Jesus.
While I am not going to get into the evidence for these privileges in this post (the scholarship and evidence is out there and explains it better than I could as I am still learning), but what I am going to talk about is the importance of this for the Gospel. Unfortunately, the rhetoric of today has been telling us that this idea of "privilege" is a liberal agenda. It has become politicized and because of that many people in evangelical circles have turned their ears and even hearts off to this idea. What Christian leaders need to do is Gospel-ize this idea of privilege and shine a light on the dark corners of society. We cannot expect to be transformers of our world if we do not acknowledge the reality and brokenness of our world.
Why is privilege a Gospel issue?
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."-Galatians 3:28
We are either all equals or we aren't. Christians cannot claim something like #AllLivesMatter (even though, literally speaking, of course all lives matter), and see how our country as a whole does not believe #BlackLivesMatter when people of color are continually more and more likely to be killed and incarcerated.
The United Methodist mission statement is to "Make disciples for the transformation of the world." If we are to truly make disciples, that means we become equals. We are all equal at the foot of the cross. Therefore, when we see inequality across our world, we stand against it. We seek equality. We do not say to anybody that they are welcome to follow Jesus with us, but we're only going to allow you to be a partial member. If we desire to make disciples of all people--and all means all--then that means we do it as equals.
Amos came and told privileged Israelites that what they had done had oppressed people and has put them on the path toward destruction. Our social lives and the beliefs and paradigms we support, impact our spiritual lives. You can't separate your social beliefs from your spiritual beliefs. That's not how Jesus works. If that were the case, I think our churches would be a lot more filled than they already are. If you could follow Jesus without sacrificing anything, well, then more people would be doing it.
Personally, I'm not where I need to be yet. I still need to die to myself more. I still need to acknowledge and come to grips with my privilege more. Fortunately, there is grace. Loads of grace. But God's grace may not come unless I'm willing to accept it and what that means. If I'm not willing to carry my own cross and continually pour myself out in humility, then I'm not making room for God's grace to work. When we make room in our lives for God's grace to work, the end result of that is more of Him and less of me. That means owning and seeking to bring death to my privilege.
Privilege does not mean any of us are bad people because of our privilege. I am not a "bad person" because I happen to be male, white and straight. But It does mean that I have some inherent societal advantage that my LGBTQI, female and brothers and sisters of color do not. In order to become a full disciple to transform the world alongside them, that has to change.