Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Trends in American Christianity are very clear. The Christian Church is in decline; it has been for nearly 60 years. Trinity has been able to buck that trend for decades, but the pandemic has accelerated change. The pandemic has accelerated the move to online shopping, grocery delivery, a cashless society, online school, work-at-home offices, and further detachment from organized religion or service organizations. I tend to think that there will be a terrible price to pay in society, as our citizens engage in community without ever actually coming face-to-face with live people.
Will the church survive? Of course, the church will survive. It may not look as it has, and its favored position in our society will surely continue to wane, but if we stick with Jesus we will survive, serve, and thrive. In the second chapter of Acts, we have a description of the church in its purest form. There were no buildings, there were no church professionals, they simply stuck to Jesus. They attended the Temple in Jerusalem, that is what good Jews did, but they also met in homes, shared their possessions, recalled the teachings of Jesus, cared for any that had need, and found favor with all people. They kept it simple and stuck to the teachings of the one they followed.
This past week, the Church, once again, got it wrong. The Roman Catholic Church, in an attempt to protect the one who hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners, announced that they would not bless same-sex unions, that homosexuality is a choice, and that God “does not and cannot bless sin.” The breaking news quickly moved down the news feed, because the church is becoming a noisy gong or clanging bell. The Church got it wrong again this week and it will only accelerate what has been happening for decades.
If all else fails, can we just stick with Jesus? Love your neighbor, love your enemies, love those who persecute you, do not judge lest you be judged. If all else fails, can we just stick with Jesus? So, let’s look at what Jesus said about homosexuality and same sex marriages – NOTHING. Not a single verse or word from Jesus condemning the LGBTQ community. So, can we just love and leave all the judging to Jesus – who wants the job of judge when we all have so many skeletons in our closets?
The Church got it wrong this week; old men at the Vatican forgot to check with Jesus. Some of my best friends are Roman Catholic, this is not in any way a condemnation of the faithful of any denomination; this is simply a reminder that if we are to be the church of Jesus, then we must be the church where everybody’s welcome. Let us share the good news of Jesus, lest we become a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.
One day closer!
Pastor Jim
