“My faith guides my vote.”

This is a phrase that we often hear the closer we get to Election Day.

The thought behind this statement is that “MY” vote is the “RIGHT” vote because I’m a person of faith and “GOD” directed me to vote for “THIS” candidate.

I generally hear this phrase from folks who have an idea that I may have voted for a candidate other than their preferred candidate. This is an attempt to justify ones vote by saying, “I mean, I know this candidate is not ideal, BUT GOD…” or to say, “If you voted for the other candidate, you must not really take Jesus or the Bible seriously.”

When I hear “my faith guides my vote,” I often reply, “Yep, my faith also guides my vote.”

So, here we have two people, who may have voted for different candidates, both claiming that their faith guided their actions in the voting booth.

Now we have to ask, “Is one person right and the other wrong?” While we all want to respond, “Of course, I AM RIGHT,” the more appropriate answer is “who knows?”.

Both people have strongly held convictions shaped and guided by their faith traditions, prayers and understanding of their sacred text. Both people came to different conclusions. How can this be?

Within my theological heritage, we use something called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to help inform our understanding of a wide variety of topics. By searching Scripture, tradition, experience and reason, we do our best to come to conclusions that will honor God. At times, we revisit some of our understandings because of access to expanding information that sheds new light on our traditional understanding.

So, yes, both people proclaim that their faith guides their vote. And, both people are most likely being honest when they make that proclamation.

However, those two people just might interpret Scripture and tradition differently. Both people may have had different experiences that shape their understanding and elevate the importance of some issues over others. Both people take what they know, take what they believe, spend time in prayer and study and arrive at different conclusions.

Who is right? Who is wrong? Who knows?

What we seem to have lost in this search for who is right and who is wrong is the ability to have civil conversations. When we find out that one of our Christian friends has a different political stance, we engage in arguments. Sometimes, we even question their faith. I have experienced that firsthand.

We unfollow, unfriend and block them from our social feeds – almost eliminating their existence from our daily lives. We turn them into the enemy. We’ve seemingly lost the ability to “agree to disagree.”

I am terrible at this. I often find myself asking, “How can someone who claims to be a Christ-follower vote for someone like that?” I become dismissive. I become arrogant. I become rude. I add to the division and vitriol that is so prevalent in our world today.

Maybe my neighbor who votes differently than me really is being guided by his or her faith? Maybe I don’t need to judge and dismiss them because I see things differently. Maybe I can find a way to engage in civil conversations, not to dismiss them, not to convince them to see things my way, but to better understand where they are coming from.

“We’re looking for a church that preaches from the Bible.”

It’s a statement that pastors have heard countless times. Whether it’s from someone visiting for the first time, someone you strike up a conversation with in a social setting or a critique from someone exiting the congregation, most clergy have heard this statement.

Now, I’ve been a professional Christian for about 25 years. In those twenty-five years, I’ve yet to visit or work at a church that fails to “preach from the Bible.” I’ve yet to meet a pastor who fails to “preach from the Bible.”

In fact, even when I think back my 23 years as an amateur Christian, I can’t remember ever attending or visiting a church that failed to “preach from the Bible.”

Recently, I’ve heard a few people say they’ve had friends, colleagues and acquaintances say they are searching for a “Bible-believing, Bible-preaching” church. Again, even when throwing “Bible-believing” into the mix, I’ve yet to encounter a church or pastor that fails to pass this litmus test. I mean, even the ones who interpret the Bible in much different ways than I do firmly believe in and preach from the Bible.

When I hear this phrase, I often think of The Princess Bride, when Inigo Montoya says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

After having the words of Montoya run through my mind, I find myself making some general assumptions about this persons theological perspective. I stereotype this person as being more conservative and more Evangelical than the average United Methodist. Again, this is a stereotype and not limited to one side of the conservative/liberal coin.

I also come to the conclusion that this person would not find what they are looking for in any of the churches I have served. Well, at least not while I’ve been part of those congregations.

What is generally meant when this comment is made is, “I’m looking for a church that will preach sermons that won’t challenge my strongly held religious and political beliefs.”

You see, when pastors preach sermons that challenge us and make us uncomfortable, we are tempted to dismiss it by saying, “that’s not really Biblical, that’s political.”

Often, what has been said by the pastor really isn’t political, but is actually Biblical. We just don’t like what it says because it just might reveal that our primary allegiance is our preferred political party, not Jesus. It’s easier to say, “The church has become too political” or “The church just isn’t preaching the Bible,” than it is to say, “I will not allow my political allegiance to be challenged by my faith.”

What we’re really saying is that we want to find a church that will allow us to remain comfortable holding whatever views we happen to hold.

So, when you hear someone say that they left a church because they didn’t preach the Bible or they were too political, don’t assume that whatever church they last attended did not preach the Bible.

Most likely that church did preach from the Bible, they just didn’t like what the Bible had to say.

In the song, “Englishman in New York,” Sting encourages us to “be yourself no matter what they say.” I believe these are wise and important words.

Yet, too often, we are tempted to shy away from being ourselves.

When God spoke to Joshua, the Lord said, “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). In other words, “Be yourself no matter what they say.”

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the importances of churches (as a whole and as the individual clergy and laity making up unique congregations) being themselves.

Churches, much like individuals, get into the comparison game. And, too often, when we compare ourselves to others, the comparisons are apples to oranges, rather than apples to apples.

On a recent Rainer on Leadership podcast, the Rainer’s shared that 92% of churches have 250 people or less. So, most churches are small to mid-sized.

Yet, most churches compare themselves to the megachurch down the street. Are there things to learn from the megachurch down the street? Absolutely. Should the megachurch down the street be the ruler by which we judge our ministry? Absolutely not.

It’s a natural thing to do in the church world. We’ve created the platform for this type of comparison. When pastors and laity go to conferences, the featured speakers are from the “largest” and “fastest growing” churches around the globe. I can’t remember the last time I went to a conference where the featured speaker was from a church experiencing rapid decline, stagnation or mediocrity. The featured speakers have book deals, hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms (and probably pay a social media assistant to manage their accounts), personal assistants, stylists, and celebrity status within the Christian bubble. When this is what is being featured, that’s what we’ll be tempted to compare ourselves to.

We tend to compare ourselves to the wrong things.

Of course, I’m convinced that a church of 250 doesn’t need to compare itself to a church of 250. A church of 80 doesn’t need to compare itself to a church of 80. A church of 2-3 doesn’t need to compare itself to a church of 2-3. A church of 3,500 doesn’t need to compare itself to a church of 3,500. Comparison is a game that we were never called to play. We should measure our own fruit. We should measure our effectiveness of fulfilling our mission.

Sure, we can learn some “best practices” from others, but comparison is not a game I’m interested in playing.

I’m fully convinced that comparison is a killer. Comparison has a tendency to produce feelings of inadequacy. When we compare ourselves to the church down the street, we are generally only comparing ourselves to that congregations successes. When we don’t see the rapid growth, the number of people in the pews, the kind of giving or the missional impact within the community, we can be tempted to throw in the towel.

At the same time, comparison can produce pride. When we aren’t comparing ourselves to the success of the congregation down the street, we’re comparing ourselves to their failures. Or we look for the churches that aren’t quite at the same level we are.

Listen, pastors are bad at this…When we gather together, you can hear people ask “how many did you have in the congregation on Sunday?” Again, we are conditioned for this…at least in my denomination…where each week we are asked to fill out a form that doesn’t exactly ask for stories of transformation and missional impact. The form asks for the numbers – how many in worship…how many online…how many in small groups…how many in children’s church…how much money did you bring in. These are important things to be tracking because they can tell you about the missional impact of the congregation. But, it’s also tempting to then compare yourself to those around you. After filling out the form, we can click a button that says “see the reports” and you can see the numbers from churches throughout the district, conference and denomination…well, you can see the numbers from churches that have filled out the form. This can produce competition, pride and feelings of inadequacy.

The majority of small, midsize, large and shrinking congregations are being served by faithful and hardworking clergy and laity (not all- lazy pastors kill congregations faster than scandals; disagreeable and stubborn congregations can stunt growth, stall momentum and kill congregations- in many cases, selfishness that is the problem). When we waste time in the comparison, those faithful and hardworking clergy and laity can feel inadequate, hurt, lonely, and begin to question their call.

Rather than comparing ourselves to the church down the street, we should celebrate the church down the street! Celebrate, don’t compare. God didn’t call you to be like the pastor down the street. God didn’t call your church to be like the church down the street.

Instead of comparing ourselves to others, what if the church simply strives to “be yourself no matter what they say?” What if the church simply works to become a place of true respite and renewal, a place of healing and hope, a place that leaves us feeling better about ourselves, our community, our world…

What if churches were guilt free zones, judgment free zones, comparison free zones…

Pastors of small, mid-sized and large churches, be confident in who you are. Be strong and courageous. Do your best where you’re at, with who you’re with…whether it’s a full stadium or an audience of one. Our call isn’t to be like anyone else…well, we’re striving to become more and more like Jesus…but no one else. Our call is faithful obedience to the way of Jesus.

Laity of small, mid-sized and large churches, be confident in who you are. Be strong and courageous. Do your best where you’re at, with who you’re with…whether you are surrounded by a few or hundreds or thousands. Your call isn’t to be like anyone else…well, do strive to be like Jesus. Your call is faithful obedience to the way of Jesus.

Maybe if we stop comparing ourselves to the church down the street…or the church on the other side of the country or the other side of the world…we will start bearing the fruit God planted us to grow. Maybe it’s when we stop trying to keep up with the latest trends and gimmicks and are confident in who we are that we will see our churches becoming transformed into communities of hope that are loving God and loving people by serving together.

Church, listen to Sting. “Be yourself no matter what we say.”

Church, don’t be like Sting. Drink coffee instead of tea (if you are familiar with the song, you’ll understand that!).

One of my favorite places in the world is Silver Bay, NY. I’ve had the privilege to travel there for gatherings of folks doing Christian ministry in and through the YMCA. The Silver Bay YMCA is a beautiful, sacred space of peace. Nestled on the shore of Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains, the hiking and scenery are awe-inspiring.

One of the regular highlights of my journeys to Silver Bay is a hike to Jabez Pond (or Jabe’s Pond depending on which sign you read and who you are talking to!). You hike to the top of the mountain and there it is…an incredibly beautiful and clear pond!

The last time I was there, we took the scenic route back to the lodge. This lead us to a point called Sunrise Mountain. We happened to arrive at Sunrise Mountain about the time the sun was beginning to set. Our group posed for pictures and took in the breathtaking view. Caught up in the splendor, I found myself clapping in awe. It was a strange and unexpected reaction.

While our group made our way from Sunrise Mountain back to the lodge, we talked about the beauty of what we just witnessed. At some point, a member of our team said, “You know, if it was that amazing at sunset, imagine what Sunrise Mountain must look like at, you know, sunrise!” Our group made plans to gather at the flagpole near the lodge at 5am in order to give ourselves time to get back to the top of Sunrise Mountain.

It’s amazing how 8-12 hours can drastically change what we see. As the sun began to appear above the mountains, the darkness quickly shifted to light. Colors that were muted at sunset came to life. Things that were unseen at sunset were illuminated by the sunrise.

While we were looking at the same view, the position of the sun revealed different things. The beauty and grandeur of the mountains and lake were the same and yet different. The location of the light greatly impacted our view. As the sun rose, I once again found myself clapping in response. I guess it was my way of saying, “Well done!”

In order to take in the beauty of the sunrise, we had to wait. On our first trip, we arrived at Sunrise Mountain when the sun was behind us.

I believe there are times when we get ahead of the light. When the light is behind us, we might miss some of the beauty hiding in the shadows.

Have you ever found yourself at a point where the sun, the guiding light is behind you? Maybe you need to turn around in order to follow the light? Maybe we just need to wait for the sun to rise?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. ~ John 1:5

Warning: The following blog will be a little religious rambling…

I like to think of myself as a student of culture – mostly religious culture – well, mostly Christian culture – because that’s the world I live in. As a student of Christian culture, I’m noticing two interesting shifts.

One of the shifts getting a decent amount of attention within the Christian subculture is deconstruction. Depending on your particular theological perspective, deconstruction is either seen as a positive or negative practice.

From the negative point of view, folks view deconstruction as trading in Christian moral values for secular ideals. In other words, you can’t be involved in deconstruction and be a good Christian. This point of view is built on the foundation of absolute truth – and unchecked authority of fallible human leaders. Questions, doubts and searching for answers outside the approved platforms is seen as a threat to the institution.

From the positive point of view, folks view deconstruction as peeling away those unhelpful things that have been added to the Gospel message of Jesus. Folks find themselves questioning things that have been sold as “absolute truth.” They find themselves questioning the unchecked authority of their leaders. They find themselves questioning, doubting and searching for answers that lead them to resources outside the approved platforms.

I, for one, benefited from deconstruction over 25 years ago. Through a series of questions, doubts and searching for answers, I discovered that the heart of Jesus and the foundation of His message is simple…Love.

To get to that point, I had to weed through a lot of the legalistic values that were drilled into my understanding of faithful religious practice…”don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew, don’t go with girls who do, and don’t dance.” While these rules made us well-behaved Christians, they really missed the heart of Jesus – and took some great interpretive liberties with Scripture. You see, I found myself in a spot where the messages I was hearing conflicted with the message of Jesus I was discovering in the Bible.

The process of deconstruction was very lonely. I didn’t feel comfortable talking about my questions and doubts because everyone around me seemed so certain. I didn’t talk about some of conflicts I saw between the Bible and the religious practice of the American Church because everyone seemed to just buy into it. I felt like there was something wrong with me.

Then, in the late nineties, I attended a conference and heard Brian McLaren address some of the very questions, doubts and conflicts I was wrestling with. I felt a certain freedom and immediate community with others who were attempting to scale back a great deal of the unnecessary baggage that had been imposed on Christianity. A couple of years later, I sat in a hotel suite with Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones and Andrew Jones (we were in a suite because the convention center for the conference was maxed out on space…the whole experience was a trip…as Doug Pagitt gave his seminar while relaxing on a king-size bed), and found more kindred spirits. At last, I felt the freedom and permission to pursue Jesus without all of the strings attached.

Today, many evangelicals are working their way through the process of deconstruction. The last 5-8 years, especially within American evangelical Christianity, have revealed the unhealthy joining of political platforms and religion. Many devoted evangelical leaders have convinced their followers that allegiance to a particular political party trumps all other allegiances (including, but not limited to, Jesus).

Pair this with the moral failure of far too many evangelical “celebrity pastors” (which, that whole concept is problematic), the narrow focus on “absolute truth” (which is defined by fallible humans), and the desire to hold positions of power (and control), the movement has unintentionally created the perfect platform for deconstruction.

And, that just scratches the surface of the deep dive many deconstructionists are taking.

There’s a metaphorical story that is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, and has been retold by countless theologians and missiologists, that compares the Gospel to a diamond on a dung hill. So, the diamond sits on top of the dung hill and begins rolling down. Eventually, there’s more dung than diamond. But, underneath all the filth of the dung, there’s still a diamond. At some point, someone comes along and cleans the dung off the diamond and discovers something beautiful.

Deconstruction should not be feared. Deconstruction is the practice of cleaning the dung off the diamond. Through deconstruction, people are able to get back to the heart of the Gospel and discover that so much of what we’ve added to our religious practice has been more harmful and hurtful than helpful. When the excess is removed, something beautiful can be rediscovered.

The other shift is in response to deconstruction. As American evangelical leaders see folks rejecting what they have created, as they see folks questioning their system, as they see increasing numbers of folks walking away from the faith, they have doubled down.

Rather than using this rise in deconstruction as an opportunity for inward reflection and institutional evaluation and renewal, far too many are simply adding to the legalistic expectations of their folks. They are calling for stronger ties to political platforms, as they believe the long-term sustainability of their institution is directly tied to the success of their preferred political party. In many ways, they are attempting to smear more dung onto the diamond.

For those evangelicals deconstructing, here’s a suggestion from an old dude who began his season of deconstruction over 25 years ago…find a mainline congregation in your neighborhood. Listen, I know that mainliners have been viewed as “wishy washy” Christians, but let this be a place of healing and hope.

You see, while the style of worship will most likely be incredibly different than what you are used to (because, let’s be honest, if there’s one thing the evangelicals do well, it’s offering excellent contemporary worship), the theology, doctrine and commitment to both personal holiness and social justice will be refreshing. The commitment to creating a safe and welcoming place for all people will be refreshing. A focus on love and grace over legalism will be refreshing.

I believe there is hope to be found in Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Mainline churches (and any other churches I failed to mention).

I believe God can and does use all kinds of Christian churches (conservative, moderate and progressive) to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

But, I just want to be sure that those going through a season of deconstruction know that there are safe and welcoming places for you. Much of what I hear my friends deconstructing their faith say they are looking for can be found in existing congregations. You aren’t alone. You don’t have to start from scratch. Having a supportive community around you while you go through this journey is important. There’s nothing wrong with questions and doubts…that’s often how we grow.

There’s nothing wrong with getting the dung off the diamond.