Hot Mess!

Photo by Peter Herrmann on Unsplash

In a conversation about the mission of our church, I expressed my sadness that so often I see comments about the Church on Facebook that say things like, "I won't go to church because they are a bunch of hypocrites."  As much as I don't like to admit it, it's true.  Churches are full of hypocrites.  One of our church members noted that all of us are a hot mess.  Soon we'll see a message on our church sign that captures this conversation.  "We're a hot mess.  Come and join us!"

The truth is that none of us are perfect.  I feel sad that people perceive the church as a place where church members all think and act like they are perfect.  So far, I have never been in a church that felt this way.  Perhaps I am lucky.  If anything, quite the contrary.  I've found churches to be full of people whose lives are a hot mess.  That's why they are in church.  Those of us who go to church are there seeking God's help.  We know that God offers the soothing balm of unconditional love and the church is a place where we can find it.  

It's common knowledge that one of the reasons people call us hypocrites is because we claim to be welcoming, and we often aren't.  For the last forty years denominations have wrestled with whether we can welcome the LGBTQIA community into our congregations, especially into leadership roles.  We've seen churches divide and decline over it.  Meanwhile, those who need a place where they know they are safe and loved have felt pushed aside.  They aren't the first group to go through this.  Sadly, the church did the same over the ordination of women to offices in the church.  Some denominations still won't welcome women.  Slavery divided the church during the Civil Rights Movement, and today, the Church remains highly segregated on Sunday morning.   We are a hot mess.

The good news is that God continues to call us into the unconditional welcome Jesus showed us.  Morals and ethics always stir things up inside churches.  Much of what the gospels show us is that Jesus dealt with moral and ethical standards in his conversations with religious leaders.  What is right and what is wrong?  How do we understand biblical teachings?  For us today, we have to ask similar questions.  What is right and what is wrong?  How do we understand biblical teachings that were written thousands of years ago to people with a different world view?  Some take a more literal approach to the Bible, others see the Bible as not having any authority at all - all within the Church.  I live in the middle where understanding the context of the biblical story is essential to discerning a moral and ethical code for today.  I understand the Scriptures to be an invitation to listen to the stories of those who have gone before us as they sought to understand their relationship with God.  I live in the questions.  What does this story tell us about God?  What can we learn from it?  How can it guide us as we discern God's leading in our lives?  Scripture is not a black and white operating manual for every issue that comes our way.  All of this means that I live in the hot mess.  I can't offer a precise code for every issue.  I have to dig into the mess, listening to the stories of those who are ostracized from the community and to the voices of religious leaders who have gone before us.  What have I found?  I have found Jesus, standing in the messy places reaching out a hand to pull me into his unconditional care.  He doesn't pull me out of the mess, but walks with me through it, giving me the courage to stay a while and find a pathway to wholeness without judgement, but with a love that I can't fully comprehend.

I was blessed with the extraordinary gift of serving as the pastor to the hymn writer, Jane Parker Huber.  Once she and I  talked about the hot mess of the church and how I addressed current topics from the pulpit.  Her comment has stayed with me as a guide for ministry.  She said, "No matter how difficult the issue you're talking about, you always put yourself in the boat with us."  That has become an ethical code for my ministry.  I have often used the tag line, "a friend for the journey."  More accurately, I should say, "I am a hot mess like the rest of us."  Yes, I am certain that I am a hypocrite.  But the church has been a place where I have been able to wrestle with my mess, sort myself out, and set my eyes on seeking God's pathway with others who are on the journey of faith.  It is my prayer, that as a pastor, I help create a safe, welcoming place for everyone to bring their stuff because it is God's unconditional love that is most important.  Come, enter the mess and find God's peace, love, and welcome.