Trigger caveat: this post will include some words about my relationship to Christianity and to the Christian Church. I know some people are a bit squeamish about such things, so if that’s you, feel free to move along.
I come from a long line of God-fearing, church-attending, Christian faith-professing people. I did not know any of my great-grandfathers or great-grandmothers, so when I say “long line” I’m talking about as far back as I have personal knowledge. My grandparents, maternal and paternal, were people of Christian faith, and attenders of Baptist and Presbyterian churches. When I was born, my parents were regular attenders and volunteers at their local Southern Baptist church, and I was probably in church as soon as my mother felt comfortable taking her newborn out and about (I am the oldest child in my family of origin). I have never known life without the Church as a significant part of it. All of this is simply to establish that I was raised in an environment rich with faith influences and teachings and habits. And for the record, I am very grateful for that family heritage.
This is not to say that my relationship with the Church has been unchanged throughout my life–the shape of my faith today might be unrecognizable (and perhaps even a matter of fervent prayer) for at least one set of my grandparents, were they still alive. There has been a shift in my thinking over the past couple of decades, a significant shift, from a very conservative faith, formed in fundamentalism and cultivated by the evangelicalism of the 70s, 80s and 90s, to a more progressive (some would say, derogatorily, “liberal”) faith that involves significantly less certainty about biblical interpretation and increasing acceptance of a mystical aspect to my faith that was seldom even hinted at during my faith-formative years.
I’ll probably detail more of my theological journey at another time, but all of the above is simply background for my simple answer to the question of the day: what is my mission? I take my mission from the teachings of Jesus, who taught that two commandments essentially encompass the whole of the Mosaic law: the first is to love God wholeheartedly, and the second is to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. Put more simply, my mission is twofold: to love God and to love others.
While it is true that some of my more conservative Christian critics might accuse me of having fallen onto a “slippery slope” of liberalism and some might even suggest that I have departed the “true faith,” I would counter that my decidedly more progressive views on certain social issues, and my approach to the interpretation of the Scriptures are informed not by “liberal” influences, but rather by the teachings and example of Jesus. If it is true that I am more of a liberal today than thirty years ago–and I won’t deny it–it isn’t in defiance of my Christian faith, but rather precisely the result of my faith in Christ and my desire to live a more Christ-like life.
I haven’t specifically referenced politics thus far in this post–my comments concerning liberalism vs. conservatism have been primarily about theology. I will not deny that there has been a shift in my political leanings, as well, but that shift has not been because I have loosened my grip on the gospel of Christ–it is because I have begun to take Jesus more seriously.
In some respects, though I have professed belief in Jesus since the age of eight, I feel I am still barely scratching the surface of what it means to live in this world as a disciple of Jesus. But in spite of my failings, my mission remains clear, and it is one I intend to cling to until my last breath.
###
(Posted in response to 1/9/2024 prompt)
doug heacock: words 