It's been nearly a year since I last wrote a blog and it's been over two years since I've been consistent with it. The reason has been due to how consuming it is to produce weekly podcasts. If you haven't checked out 2 Pastors And A Mic on all platforms, what are you waiting for?
I love podcasting and blogging but I had no idea how many conversations and messages I would receive from people who have loved our podcast, been curious about faith again, and set free from religious bondage. However, I was not prepared for the backlash, misunderstanding, and accusations of many people because of my own journey with Jesus.
I love Jesus more today than any other time in my life and I'm thankful I get to do what I love. I have so appreciated the support of the many people who have had my back and have had to defend me from slander. You know who you are and I value you so much.
Now for the purpose of today's blog...
I've been posting short clips of our podcast to social media platforms for several months now. I was not prepared for what happened over the last several weeks.
My first kind of viral video hit 15,000 views and the feedback was great. None of my previous videos had exceeded 3,000 so it was fun to watch that video increase in views over a couple days. My most recent viral video has been viewed over 106,000 times and most of the feedback has been positive. There are still some people who make wild assumptions and conclusions. People don't usually get upset by what you say. They get upset by what they think you are saying.
But the viral video I posted a couple weeks ago took me a lot longer to digest emotionally. I posted about a 40 second clip, and in the video I quoted John 5:22 which says, "The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment unto the Son..." I was not only surprised by it being viewed over 69,000 times, but I was not prepared for the several hundred negative comments and DM's. There were several very good rebuttal's but I quickly recognized dialogue wasn't really what people wanted. What I've learned most about social media - it's not the place for conversation, at least an educated one. It's also NOT real life.
Some of the words strangers used to describe me included, "blasphemous, heretic, false teacher, wolf in sheep's clothing, wrong, ignorant, uneducated, purposefully leading people astray or to hell, etc."
Some of my favorite comments were the people telling me to READ THE BIBLE - which always means - "you need to make sure you interpret the Bible just like me..."
But which Bible are we referring to?
The KJV bible had 80 books
The syrianic version had 61 books
The Coptic version had 75 books
The Roman Catholic version had 73 books
The Charismatic version had 76 books
The Ethiopic version had 81 books
The Orthodox version had 86 books
The Greek Orthodox had 76 books
The Protestant version (popular one today) has 66 books. But are we going to talk about the thousands of different denominations who translate this Protestant version all differently?
For the record, I love the Bible. I don't know many people who love it more than me. I just don't worship it. I worship the God who is revealed in it. And that God simply talks about loving others well. If you need a book to hear from God, what did the Church do for the first 1,500 years before that book was massively produced?
I'm okay with disagreement. In fact, you grow in faith when your beliefs are challenged. But the way people challenge faith conversations online is more damning to Christianity than we may be aware of. Even the way we challenge faith conversations in person is damning. Very rarely does the American Christian use curiosity in conversations around biblical disagreement.
In all honesty, I wanted to quit as a Pastor this past month. Not because people disagreed and voiced their disagreement. Not because people called me names - I've been called names before and it really doesn't bother me. Not because I think I was wrong in the video (the podcast episode itself unpacked all the Scriptures people were using in the comments which I know they didn't go and listen to). And not because I can't be corrected or challenged (although, I used to believe all the things people said who disagreed with the post).
The reason I wanted to quit is because I'm not so sure I want to be associated with people who call themselves Jesus followers. If the comment section proved anything, it proved to be the reason why many people have walked away from churches.
I received one inbox from a friend who has walked away from faith. He said, "I love what you had to say. I went and listened to the whole podcast and it made me curious about faith conversations again. But that comment section makes me not want to be apart of the Christian community."
YUP!
The Christian community, in all its denominations, have some of the most vile, hateful, gossip-filled, argumentative, dogmatic, accusatory, and unloving people on the planet. Which is ironic because...
John 13:35 - by this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Galatians 5:6 - the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Acts 10:28 - But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.
If you only knew those 3 verses for the rest of your life, I promise you will live one of the most fulfilling and beautiful lives there is. If you lived those verses, many people would be attracted to our Christ.
The comment section made me sad. No wonder many people are turned off by the regurgitated Christian thought that loves bad news more than good news. No wonder our society doesn’t feel the love of Christ from Jesus followers. Apparently what Jesus said he finished isn’t finished. Apparently the free gift of righteousness must be earned. Apparently God’s judgment is not mercy. Apparently your life choices only matter for a future judgment and not because you understand your responsibility in the present kingdom of God. For those saying the message I teach is dangerous and only causes people to continue in sin - you’re not listening. Grace is what empowers us to say no to sin (according to Titus 2). Until you experience God as Father, you’ll always assume you’re in a court room instead of a living room.
I'm beginning to understand why Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
But Christians are “my people” and I will continue to disrupt any type of belief that paints God as unloving.
Selah