Things the Church Should Stop Doing: Judging

Everyone seems so willing to pass judgment these days. The conservatives judge the liberals, and vice versa.  The two sides of the abortion debate have succeeded in dehumanizing each other.  People seem almost as divided by race as ever.  Immigrants in every nation, whether there legally or not, are scorned and ridiculed.

As a Christian, it saddens me that we the church have become such a judgmental crowd. I wonder where we get the notion that it is our job to judge the world?  Jesus, our perfect example, didn’t come to judge the world – the only people he ever judged were the hypocritical religious leaders, the ones who were weighing down the people with rules and more laws.  Yet we are constantly looking outside the church, railing on whatever particular sin is the flavor of the day.

The apostle Paul, whose ideas about church are still applied today, wrote:

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways.” I Corinthians 5:12 (emphasis mine)

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote that

“God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor?” James 4:12 (emphasis mine)

When Jesus sent his disciples out into the surrounding country side to spread the good news, did he tell them to go into each house and make a list of what those people were doing wrong? No. He told them to “first bless the house.”  In other words, pay them a compliment.  Encourage them.

Why are we the church so critical?  Why don’t we bless anyone’s house any more?  The diminishing relevance of many churches does not surprise me when viewed in light of how they enter people’s houses (metaphorically speaking).

But it’s easy for me to “judge” the wider church. What’s hard is for me to look at my personal life and admit that I, too, judge people…based on how they look, or on their political views, or their religion.  Why?  Why do I do this?

When judging takes place it always has a partner: fear.  Whenever we judge an idea or a person or a religion we do so at least partially out of fear.  But in the book of John it says that “perfect love casts out fear.”

How can I love perfectly, or at least try to? How can I rid myself of these petty fears?

The Difference a Year Can Make

Last week was our family’s annual trek to the mountains: my parents, three sisters, one of their boyfriends, one of their husbands and 8 kids (4 of which are mine).  We stay at this huge cabin with plenty of room for everyone, and there’s a small lake to swim in.

We stay up late playing games, Maile and I take turns sleeping in, and naps are the order of the day.  And swimming.  And eating.  And more naps.  But this year something felt different.

After a few days I realized what it was: my phone wasn’t ringing off the hook.  Last year at the mountains I was still a painting contractor, still taking phone calls from customers and foremen and our advertising agency.  Every morning I would wake up with a churning stomach, nervous that something would go wrong while I was away.

This year my phone didn’t ring once.  That was the difference.

Last year I was running a business I didn’t care for, going deeper and deeper into debt, wondering how we would ever change directions.

This year I am writing, doing what I love, and we’re slowly digging out.  We live in the country, have a garden and have time to eat dinner together almost every night.

Finding yourself in a rough patch? Hang in there – the next year will go quicker than you could possibly imagine, and who knows where you’ll be or what you’ll be doing.  A lot can happen in a year.

For a similar post, check out “What Can Change In a Year” by Kristen over at The House Studio

A Changing Church

Church is changing these days.  The post I wrote a few weeks ago about sin has had me thinking about ways the church needs to change to better communicate its message with a new generation.

If you go to church, what changes are you excited about?

If you don’t go to church…how would the church have to change to interest you? Different service time?  Different location?  Different message?  Different planet?

Throwing Stones and Crossing Roads

Don’t forget to check out yesterday’s post to find out how registering for the Fireside Writer’s Conference could win you a free stay at the Ellmaker House B&B.  Now on to our regularly scheduled programming…

When we encounter someone in the middle of screwing up, do we accuse them, ostracize them, bring their shortcomings into the light, and make sure they understand how they’re messing everything up before consoling them?  Do we start kicking around for the right sized stone to throw?  Or do we stand between that person and the religious crowd, challenge the crowd with their own hypocrisy?  When the crowds disperse, do we turn to that person and lovingly tell them  “I’m not accusing you either – just go, and don’t miss the mark again”?

When we meet someone for the first time and somehow find out that they’ve had a rough life, been into some stuff that hurt themselves or others, do we talk to them about religion or do we talk to them about living water?

We come across someone who, after making some dumb choices, is wounded and bloody, lying in a gutter.  Do we cross to the other side of the street, tell ourselves that if we help them out they won’t experience the consequences to their actions?  Or do we take whatever action is necessary to restore them to health, no matter the reason for their destruction?

I throw too many stones.

I talk too much religion.

I cross to the other side of too many roads.

What do you do?

Fireside Writer’s Conference-Contest #1

The Fireside Writer’s Conference is only 2 1/2 months away and registration is now open!  I am still looking at various venues, but the final location will be somewhere in Gap, Paradise or Strasburg.

So, our first promotion is here!

The first 20 people to register will be entered in a drawing to receive a free night’s stay at the Ellmaker House in Gap, Pennsylvania. It’s a beautiful bed and breakfast, and the innkeeper, Verna Fisher, is as friendly, hospitable, and knowledgeable of the area as they come!  So get your Fireside Writer’s Conference registration filled out and mailed in.  You can find it HERE.  By registering now, you can also take advantage of the discounted rate of $110, good for those who register before September 1st.

There’s also been a few questions about how many people will be attending. My goal is to provide an intimate gathering of artists where interaction between attendants and speakers actually happens in a spontaneous and informative way.  We will probably need to cap attendance at around 100 people.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Where Do You Find Peace?

My apologies to those folks whose comments on Thursday didn’t show up right away – I was on vacation last week, didn’t have access to the internet, and apparently my spam blocker was on high alert.  So head back to Thursday’s post if you have a minute.  There were some great blogs highlighted.

Last week I stayed in a cabin in the woods with 16 family members. Maile and I took turns sleeping in – on the mornings I had to get up early with Sam, he and I usually walked out into the living room, sun streaming through the large windows.  It was completely quiet and peaceful.  On the mornings I slept in, I usually woke up to the sound of 8 kids under the age of 8 running in frantic circles after eating grandparent-supplied bowls of Captain Crunch.

The week supplied some much needed relaxation – late morning naps followed by lunch and swim time followed by late afternoon naps and dinner, then board games long into the evening.

Mostly I was reminded that sometimes we just need to get away.  I didn’t think I had time for an entire week off – lots of major (self-imposed) deadlines looming, too many projects that weren’t getting enough of my time.  But I needed that week.

And the world didn’t collapse.

I think last week was also a metaphor for my daily life – I’m not taking the quiet time I need EACH DAY to get refreshed and focused.  Just as taking an entire week to relax helped get this year back on track, perhaps taking 30 minutes every morning would do the same for each of my individual days.

What do you do to stay focused?