Sometimes I feel righteously indignant… often I feel merely sacrilegious. Usually, I hover somewhere between the two, confusing myself (and often others) with pesky questions and protests against the Christianity I have been enmeshed in all my life.
This battle came to a head last month as I stood on the outskirts of a prayer circle in the heart of downtown San Francisco - one day before the famous Pride Parade would take place.
I was there with a group of 35 Christian high school students. We worked in soup kitchens and homeless shelters, and went there in part to experience the pit of “sin city” USA.
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2 comments:
"Too often offensive for the wrong reasons"... I think you've got that exactly right on.
Trust the discernment you've been given!!
Yeah, I'm afraid there isn't much Christlikeness in loud, public prayer like that. In fact we're told pretty blatantly to not do that by Christ himself because it's a pious "look at me! look at me!" thing to do, and even if our hearts are in the right place doing it...as your observations describe, it doesn't have the effect it's meant to have.
The offensiveness comment is definitely right on. The gospel is not an easy message to accept, but we as Christians often see ourself as offensive to nonbelievers and think we're doing the right thing because you know, "blessed are the persecuted" and all. Complicated. I wish we could just share the beautiful story. I wish the reasons Christians are so hated WERE the right reasons. I commend your ability to be honest with the kids, yet not trash the others who were leading the group. That's always a struggle for me when I'm working with teenagers.
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