June 14, 2026

Living in the First Century

            It has been in the news this last week about the gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the step that they took toward passing a denominational constitutional amendment that would forever ban women from teaching scripture or preaching to congregations within the denomination.  While not every Southern Baptist is supportive of this, reflecting the fact that multiple congregations have left the denomination after debates on this issue, still, it is strongly supported by the denomination.

Albert Mohler, who serves as the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, and who wrote and introduced the measure, argues from the standpoint that this idea was founded in the New Testament scriptures.  He noted that his amendment is also aligned with the convictions of 17th-century Baptists. 

After a brief time of comments, 75% of the more than 8,000 voting delegates approved the amendment and advanced it to the next step in the process.

Now, let me say that I recognize the right of each religious tradition, Christian or otherwise, to set their system of beliefs and practices.  And it is the choice of their adherents to remain committed to those beliefs and practices, or to move beyond the situation, as some of the Southern Baptist churches have done.

The issue for me is not their right to do this, but rather their rationale for doing so.  To base everything we do in the 21st century solely on texts that were written 2000 and more years ago, or even on decisions made in the 17th century, excludes any sense of applying the wisdom of those biblical texts to the modern-day cultures and living situations we find ourselves in.

And yes, one can argue that we in the church are not supposed to be conformed to culture, that we are somehow to stand out above our cultures, but we live in these cultures, and the people whom we hope to touch through the ministry of our churches, live in these cultures.  Yes, there are some cultural norms that we might hope to transcend, but others reflect the nature of humanity these 2000 years after Jesus walked the earth.

My own denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has a saying  -  “Where the scriptures speak, we speak.  Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.”  When I grew up, I grabbed on to that saying.  It simplified life.  The answers were in the scriptures, or they weren’t.  All I had to do was to follow what the scriptures said.  Simple, and yet rather naïve in our day.    

One of the denominations that shares historical roots with mine is the non-instrumental Church of Christ, which doesn’t use pianos or organs in their worship. This results in having some wonderful singers because everything is sung a cappella.  But how does a group decide to ban pianos and organs because they are not mentioned in the Bible, when they weren’t even created until long after the texts were written?  To support their tradition, they also quote other historical sources across the centuries.  Now, again, I support their right to make such choices, but I just don’t agree with the rationale that they choose to use.

            Jesus himself, in the famous passages recorded in Matthew, wherein he says, “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you…,” doesn’t negate the previous teachings, but he invites people to go beyond them, such as extending the injunction to love one’s neighbor to the more difficult loving of one’s enemies.  If Jesus could adapt things, if Jesus could speak into the events and culture of his day, why can’t we? 

            In some ways, it seems to me, the question comes down to the fundamental way in which we receive the Bible.  For some, it is a rule book, set in stone.  “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”  But what does the Bible say?  How do we understand what it meant in the times when the texts were written?  How do we understand it in the context of the culture of 3000 years ago, and in the cultural context of Jesus’ life 2000 years ago?  We tend to read it with our 21st century perception of things, and yet there is definitely a clash of cultures that takes place in reading the Bible.

            Scholars offer a multitude of ways of understanding the texts of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, usually offered based upon their own particular theological standing.  For me, the Bible is a record of people’s relationships with God, of their struggles with faith and their struggles in life, and of their trying to understanding life in relationship with God.  For me, the Bible is not a rule book, but an offering of stories and teachings and insights that are meant to help us to figure out our own relationship with God. 

            I pray that your encounters with the Bible are ones that lead to experiences of grace in your life, and that lead to expressions of joy in your relationship with God.

May 29, 2026

Challenges to our belief systems

            I recently read two disturbing articles online.  The first had to do with a woman who desired to be baptized, but who was denied that celebration because her Baptist church didn’t like the idea that she was a gay woman.  The other article concerned a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, and his Muslim family in Uganda cut off his hands as a punishment for his decision.

            If I were not a follower of Jesus, and committed to the things that he taught and the way that he lived, I would likely forsake Christianity and not even consider Islam as a replacement.  I understand how so much of both of these religions are rooted in scripture, whether it be the Bible or the Koran.  I understand that many people, in both religions, take the scriptures seriously and interpret them literally.  I also know that these and other scriptures were recorded many centuries ago, and that the world has changed significantly since then. 

            I recognize that for those who take their scriptures literally, those scriptures are forever set in stone and inviolate.  The sentiment is often that God has never changed and that the scriptures are to be received forever in the form that they have come to us.  My question comes, are the scriptures truly the words of God and of God’s servants, or do they instead reflect people’s experiences and understandings of God, and reflect as well the cultural understandings and values of those long-ago times?  I do not doubt that people wrote down what they believed to be the words and directions of God.  I just doubt that everything that was written down was indeed what God would have had people hear and then do.

            I do not pretend to know much about Islam.  I do know that most Muslims are fine, wonderful people, with a deep commitment to Allah and to their faith.  I do understand the law that requires certain things in certain situations, but I also do not understand how love for other people, in this case family, can be tossed aside in order to uphold an ancient law.  I do not understand.

            I also do not understand how a Christian pastor can treat someone with violence because she is different than who he has been taught is acceptable, acceptable to him, to his church, and the message is, acceptable to God.  And no, this was not physical violence as in the other incident, but this was spiritual and emotional violence that no one should suffer as well.  Again, ancient scriptures are used, often misused, to uphold a statute of a church, which leave me unable to understand the abandoning of love in order to uphold a law.  And since Jesus never once condemned anyone for being gay, and indeed went beyond so much of his own traditions in order to extend love and grace to people, I would encourage those who condemn to reread the Gospels and to ask Jesus, not just the Jesus who they were taught about and have enclosed in their hearts, but the true spirit of Jesus, what he would have them do if he was sitting in their church.

            Some churches are declining, and they think that it is the fault of society, but often it is their own narrow-mindedness and shallow theology that either rejects people or forces people away to flee before they get hurt.  Some churches are growing, dependent upon a highly literal interpretation of the Bible, thus allowing members to define themselves as knowing the answers and having a ready response for every situation.  It feels to me that neither situation really captures the true spirit of Jesus. 

            I am certainly not perfect, and my church is not perfect either.  But I do believe that we strive to embody the love and grace of Jesus, and thereby the love and grace of God as well.  For me, love and compassion and acceptance are the hallmarks of who Jesus was.  I will always want to walk that pathway, rather than others that are available to us.

May 22, 2026

Considering Change in Our Beliefs

There are ways in which it can be more difficult to adapt to change in our spiritual journey, to adapt to changes in our belief system, than it can be to change a job or move to a new home.  Or so it seems to me.  Often, though not always, we are excited about the prospect of a new job with new opportunities.  Likewise, unless we have been somehow forced from our home, the new home holds promise for us as well.  But to adjust our belief system in some way, to make a change in something we have been taught and always believed, that can be a major source of disruption in our lives. 

Part of the reason for this, I believe, is that our faith, our beliefs, our long-held practices, form a foundation in our lives.  We don’t want that foundation to be washed away like the sand in Jesus’ parable.  We want what we have known, what we have believed, to always remain as that foundation of rock for our lives.

But if we learn something, if we objectively examine things and this new insight does indeed answer questions and provides us with a truer path, shouldn’t we want to move in that new direction, even if it requires more searching on our part? 

Sometimes I think that we feel that if we do make changes, then somehow we are denying the past, or even negating the past.  But if we accept that we have always lived our lives with certain beliefs guiding our way, and we have made the best choices possible, given what we have known, then there should be no reason to feel badly about what we have believed and done.  We have been faithful to what we have known.

To change is not somehow to negate everything we have believed or done.  It is just to say that I have been faithful in the past, with the knowledge and understanding that I had, but now, now with new insight and knowledge, now I am prepared to make new choices.  And indeed, if we stick to the old way, rather than honoring the new knowledge that we have received, aren’t we doing an injustice to ourselves just in order to preserve what has been?

Our faith, our belief system, I think, should always be open to fresh knowledge and insights.  God hopes that we will always continue to grow, and through growth to flourish.  I know that for some people the Bible is set in stone, and that faith declarations are set in stone.  I actually grew up with that understanding, and that approach to my faith.  Now, after a number of decades of struggling with faith, of continued reading and rereading of the Bible, with the availability of insights from a wide range of people from varied perspectives, I am open to learning new things, seeing things in new ways, choosing to believe that change and growth are good.

May 16, 2026

Change is Difficult

If there is one thing that I have learned along the way, that is that change is difficult for most people.  We become comfortable with where we are, what we do, and who we are.  Whether it is our faded, slightly torn favorite chair that is so comfortable, but that our spouse or partner wants us to replace, but that we fight the change for more than the chair is worth, or it is the comfortable jeans we own, or the great tennis shoes that are actually falling apart, or it is something deeply significant like the beliefs that we have based our life on, change is difficult.

But it isn’t just change that is difficult.  It is even the consideration of change that is difficult.  To think about something, and to consider that we might need or want to change something, is so disruptive because it somehow calls into question who we have been or what we have believed.  It can be something as basic as living centuries ago and fearing the unknown sea and the idea of falling off the edge of the earth, or the consideration of the beliefs that we grew up with and the question of whether those beliefs still satisfy our search for truth.

When I left home to attend seminary, I had this general idea of learning all about the Bible, of studying church history, of learning to be a minister.  From the very first class that I attended, I realized that part of what seminary was about was to challenge all that I had learned previously, to consider that there were other perspectives from which to look at things, and to then reframe my outlook with a combination of long-held beliefs, new revelations, and an openness to seeing and exploring more in order to more fully understand the Bible, the church and my relationship with God.

In some ways, this was a disruptive process, disruptive to my belief system, and disruptive to my spirit.  But in other ways it was a freeing process, because I was being given permission, and the tools, to examine my faith more deeply than I ever had done.  While it was not always a comfortable process, it led me to be open to new ways of seeing, and it led me to a faith that, while I am still searching for some answers, allows me to feel fully grounded, having a foundation that I know will never crumble, even though at times I am still feeling quite challenged by new ideas that I encounter.

Change can certainly be disruptive, but it can also provide fresh life and vitality to us.  I will explore this more in my next blog.

May 8, 2026

Challenges to Our Faith

It has been a while since I have posted a blog.  In fact, it has been longer than I recalled until I looked at the last blog.  The Lenten season got increasingly busy, and the post-Easter time has remained so.  But it has also been, and continues to be, a challenging time for me both theologically and spiritually.

I have no doubt that Jesus died a cruel death at the hand of the Romans.  I also believe fully in the Resurrection of Jesus.  And I enjoy reading and reflecting upon the post-Resurrection stories in the Gospels.

My challenge comes with the traditional belief and proclamation that God required the death of Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of people, so that we might be saved and go to heaven when the time comes.  I was taught this theology growing up, and certainly by people who genuinely believed it and thought that they were giving me good news in telling me this, but I long ago started questioning this teaching of the Church.

I do not believe that God, at least the God whom I know in my heart, would require such a thing.  So, this belief affects how I preach and lead worship.  I do proclaim the Resurrection in all of its mystery and power, but I do not speak about God requiring a sacrifice.  I purposely do not choose hymns that specifically reinforce such sacrificial theology, because for me it is totally wrong.  And while this has been a struggle for me for many years, it somehow came full force to me during this Lenten season.

I have been reading extensively, allowing the research and perspectives of others to inform me, while also continuing to search for answers in my heart.  I recognize that this theology of the spilled blood, and people being washed in the blood of the lamb, is ingrained for many people, and that it speaks to them.  I do not try at this point to challenge their beliefs, because I am not an ultimate authority in this area, but if someone asks me directly about my belief, I will use that opportunity to share more deeply with them.  But, as I said, I also do not preach and teach in ways that would reinforce a theology that I do not accept.

My searching will continue.  I thank you for sharing in this journey with me.  I will be posting again more regularly.