You Are Loved (Micah 6:1-8)

 Welcome to our 77th anniversary worship celebration! It was on the last Sunday of January in 1946 that Bixby Knolls Christian Church had its first worship service. 

77 years later, we gather today for our 4,019th consecutive Sunday worship service, and I’m so glad you are with us, and get to be a part of that.

A lot has changed in 77 years. Even the map of our neighborhood has changed - quite a lot. Have you ever looked at old maps of our neighborhood?

  I love looking at maps. Old maps, new maps. They’re all fascinating.

Even as a child, I loved looking at maps. One year, my aunt gave me a great, big coffee-table sized National Geographic book titled Our Fifty States, which included a map of each state, along with short articles and pictures. I poured over those maps, memorized what the symbols meant, and spent many hours looking through that book. 

The next year, she gave me the second book in the series: Our World. This time it was maps of different countries that I was looking at. And the year after that, I received Our Universe, which included some wonderful maps of stars and planets.

And then she gave me a subscription to National Geographic Magazine. The best issues were the ones that had a full-size map folded up and tucked within its pages.

In Mr. Tada’s high school social science class, we had to draw and label our own maps, and I don’t think it’s bragging much to say that mine were real works of art. Everything was labeled correctly, and each country or state had a different color that I outlined and shaded in with a different colored pencil. 

Often, just for fun, I drew a little sea serpent out in the ocean, something some of my classmates started copying after they saw my maps posted on the classroom bulletin board where all the best assignments got posted.

For one brief moment, I thought my mapmaking artistry might even help me move up on the popularity list, but that didn’t happen. It turns out that drawing maps isn’t really what helps you be popular in school. 

But that didn’t stop me. I kept studying maps. I learned that there are different types of maps. Some maps focus on political boundaries. Some focus on geographic features. Some maps display population density, or rainfall amounts, or public transit.

In some cities, the subway map alone is a genuine masterpiece.

When I prepare to travel to someplace, I will often look at a map of where I’m going before I get there. I look at the map, and try to figure out if there’s a coffee shop near where I’m staying, or a hiking trail, or some other point of interest. What is there within walking distance? What would require me taking a car or taxi or subway to? 

When Ginger and I went to New Orleans last fall, we used the streetcar to get around, and I made sure to look at the map first so I knew where the streetcar stops were, so we’d know where to get on and when to get off…

See, maps are so helpful, and provide a tremendous amount of knowledge. And yet, there is another level of knowing a place that a map just can’t give you.

To really know a place, you need to go there. In fact, you need to live there awhile. A few days at a tourist hotel won’t cut it; you need to live there long enough to experience grocery shopping once or twice a week. You need to learn that even though the map may show that route A is the shortest distance, route B usually has less traffic. You need to sit in a coffee shop and listen to the conversation, and watch how people interact with one another…

Things like this help you know a place. This is knowledge that doesn’t come from a map. With a map, you can know a lot about a place, but by living there, you come to know the place.

Some years back at our regional assembly, Lori Tapia was the guest speaker. Lori Tapia is the National Pastor for Hispanic Ministries in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). And she taught us that, in Spanish, these two types of knowing are represented by two different words. 

The first word is saber. Saber means “to know.” The second word is conocer. Conocer means “to know.” 

The difference between these two words is the difference between the knowledge that comes from a map - saber - and the knowledge that comes from actually living somewhere - conocer.

When it comes to knowing the Bible, some people know it one way, and some people know it the other.

Some read the Bible, over and over, until they have a great many parts of it memorized. And they are able to quote a good number of verses on demand. For every situation, they know a Bible verse that seems to apply.

This is map-knowledge. This is saber. And it is quite impressive, in the same way that someone who can rattle off all the stops of the Metro Blue Line in order, and who even knows that the Metro Blue Line is now called the Metro A Line. That kind of knowledge is impressive. 

But sometimes, despite all they know about the Bible, it seems that they don’t really know the Bible. They haven’t lived in it, with it; they haven’t wrestled with it, the way a person actually living in southern California has to wrestle with things like traffic and sigalerts how long the drive-through lines are at In-N-Out.

In Isaiah 43:18, God says: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” God doesn’t say, “Do you not see it?” God says, “Do you not perceive it?” 

Author Stephanie Tait points out that anyone can see; but to perceive is to understand, to grasp the significance. God is about to do a new thing. Now it springs forth! Do you not perceive it? Do you not understand its significance? Do you not KNOW what is happening?

That’s that deeper kind of knowing. To perceive is to really know.

Jesus encouraged his followers to engage in this kind of knowing. People sometimes quoted to him a line of scripture - they knew it well, word-for-word, by heart. They knew what it SAID, but not necessarily what it MEANT. 

And then, Jesus would tell them a story - a parable - that would help them SEE in a new way, and KNOW the scripture in a deeper, more intimate way. 

Because it’s not enough to just recite the scripture by heart; you need to KNOW the scripture, and what it means.

The leaders in Micah’s time knew the scriptures - especially that part of scripture we call the Torah. They knew what the Torah said. They could recite its words. 

But they did not always know the Torah. They knew the Torah, they didn’t know the Torah. The words of scripture found a home on their tongue, but not in their heart.

The Torah talks about loving God and loving one’s neighbor; the Torah talks about justice and kindness; the Torah talks about worshiping and honoring and glorifying God.

And the leaders went to worship and they recited the verses they had memorized; but they did not know them, and they did not live them. 

 And God was not happy. God said: “I have a controversy with you.” Basically, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

Micah, speaking for the people, responded: “Why aren’t you happy, God? We worship you, we glorify you; we recite the scriptures. What more do you want?”

And God said, “I want justice. I want kindness. I want you to walk humbly with me, your God.”

See, if we know, deep down in our hearts, what it is that God commands, we won’t just go to worship and recite prayers and quote scripture without really taking these things to heart; they won’t just be words that live on our tongue but not in our heart… We will know! 

And, knowing, we will act with justice and with kindness towards one another. We will live out teachings of scripture because we will know the teachings of scripture. They’ll penetrate to our heart, and affect how we live. Everything will change, because we will know what it means to truly seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God…

I told you once about the students I taught, who were given a unique assignment… The assignment was to come up with a non-profit to help meet a need in the community. They worked in pairs, then they got together in small groups, then they put their best ideas on the whiteboard and the whole class voted on the one idea they thought was the best…

…which was, to create a nonprofit dedicated to letting LGBTQ youth know that God loves them.

And it made me so happy that this is what they came up with, since that is, in fact, one of the things we are trying to do here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church: let LGBTQ youth - and everyone else - know that God loves them.

But lately, I’ve been wondering: Why is it that these youth never heard that message from the church? Why have they never heard that message, that God loves LGBTQ youth, from Bixby Knolls Christian Church, or any other congregation? Why do they feel there needs to be a new organization created just to share that message?

Is it because we in the church have failed to adequately share that message? Have we kept too quiet, keeping it a secret, not doing enough to tell those who most need to hear it, that God loves them?

Is it because, despite how much we say that God loves everyone, we haven’t yet let that message penetrate all the way into our hearts? It’s easy to say God loves everyone, but as some of you know, it can be much harder to show love to every single person. 

Yet love is what we are working on, every day, because we do know how important it is. God is love. The greatest commandment is to love. The gospel is love.

And that kind of love can make a huge difference in a person’s life. That kind of love can save a person’s life - if there’s someone who can help them know - truly know, in their heart - God’s love.

This year is our 77th anniversary, but it is also the tenth anniversary of us being an officially open and affirming congregation. 

It all has me wondering what we can do to let those youth know - and let everyone know - that God loves them. If we truly believe with our whole heart that God loves everyone, and that knowledge of God’s love can save people’s lives, what can we do so that our neighbors know, in their heart, that God loves them? How can we share that message with our community?

I have some ideas, but I think that, for today, I will just leave you with the questions.

If we know, in our heart, that God’s love is real, and that God loves everyone, and that God’s love is powerful and can save lives, what more can we at Bixby Knolls Christian Church do to share that message, to let the world know?

And, in case there is anyone here today who needs to hear that message:

You are loved. God’s love is real, and it is for you. Yes, you. No matter who you are. No matter what you may have heard. You are loved.

Know that; not just in your head, but in your heart. If you think there’s something separating you from God's love, know this: nothing can ever separate you from the love of God we know through Christ Jesus.

You are God’s beloved child.

Acceptable Worship (Isaiah 1, Isaiah 58, Amos 5, Micah 6)

 There are a couple of things that catch my attention in today’s scripture reading. Was there anything there that caught your attention? What words or phrases stood out to you?

Sodom and Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

The prophet begins with a bit of poetic name-calling. “You rulers of Sodom! You people of Gomorrah!” This is obviously not a compliment. 

Long ago, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin. By invoking those names, the prophet here is implying that the sins of the people in his own time are just as bad as the sins of those ancient cities.

But what was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Many modern Christians believe that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality. But that’s not what the Bible says.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in Genesis 19. In the story, a man named Lot welcomed two travelers into his home.  These two travelers appeared to be immigrants on a journey, but really, they were angels in disguise.

Lot offered them hospitality and refuge; a safe place to spend the night. Showing hospitality like this to travelers and immigrants was a sacred duty; people of faith were obligated to provide protection to travelers and immigrants, because of the vulnerable situation they were in. Lot fulfilled his sacred duty by doing just that: offering hospitality and protection.

But others in Sodom didn’t look so kindly on foreigners and immigrants. They arrived at Lot’s house and demanded that Lot turn the men over to them, so they could attack and rape them. Lot refused, because he had promised the two men his hospitality and protection.

Now: would the crime of the city be any less if the two travelers were female? Would it be OK to attack and rape them if they were women instead of men? Of course not. So the story is not about homosexuality. It’s about the sacred duty to provide hospitality and protection to immigrants and other vulnerable persons.

To use the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as a weapon against homosexuality is to mis-use and abuse scripture, to pervert the meaning of God’s word so that the Bible appears to support one’s own prejudice and bigotry.

As if the story in Genesis 19 isn’t clear, Ezekiel 16 addresses the topic, and says:

This was the sin of Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.

In Genesis 19, the “poor and needy” happened to be these immigrants; these foreigners; these “angels in disguise.” So the sin of Sodom is specifically failing to show care and hospitality to immigrants and foreigners, and generally failing to show care and hospitality to anyone who was poor or vulnerable.

So when the prophet in Isaiah 1 mentions Sodom and Gomorrah, he’s making a comparison to those who neglected to show hospitality and provide protection to the poor and needy.

When Ezekiel talks about Sodom and Gomorrah, he doesn’t say anything about sex. When Isaiah talks about Sodom and Gomorrow, he doesn’t say anything about sex. 

What Isaiah talks about - and what all the other prophets talk about - is the sin of not caring for the poor, of not providing justice for the most vulnerable segments of the population.

“I hate your festivals.”

The next thing that catches my attention in Isaiah 1 is the declaration that God hates the religious festivals of the people. Worship is the people’s gift to God, but here, God rejects that gift. 

This is a startling declaration - as startling as being compared to the people of Sodom. The people offer God their sacrifices, they make their offerings to God, they observe the festivals and religious holidays - and now God says that God will not accept their sacrifices and offerings, and that God hates how they observe the festivals!?!

But that’s exactly what God is saying. None of their acts of worship are acceptable.

This isn’t the only place where God makes this declaration. 

God says the same thing in Isaiah 58, which - even though it’s the same book of the Bible - was likely written by a later prophet. There, in Isaiah 58, God says:

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers…Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

All your acts of worship, God says, are not acceptable; but then, God goes on to say what is acceptable. God says:

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loosen the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

That is worship that is acceptable to God.

Amos is another prophet who talks about worship that is - and is not - acceptable to God. In Amos 5, God says:

I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

No festivals, no offerings - not even songs of praise - are acceptable to God… unless there is justice and righteousness in the land.

Micah is another prophet who talks about these things. In Micah 6, the prophet is wondering what kind of worship he can offer, that would be acceptable to God. 

The prophet asks:

‘With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Worship must consist of justice, kindness, and humility, to be accepted by God.

“Your hands are full of blood.”

Here’s a third thing from Isaiah 1 that catches my attention: When God says to the people: “your hands are full of blood.”

This is poetic metaphor, but it’s a very vivid metaphor. We hear it read, and the image is there: hands covered in blood.

It’s the blood of the poor. It’s the blood of those who have been denied justice. It’s the blood of the vulnerable who have not been offered protection. It’s the blood of those who have been attacked, abused, and raped by a greedy society that cares more about income and profits than it does about people and human lives.

It’s the blood that covers our hands when corporations are given rights as persons, while actual people have their rights taken away from them.

It’s the blood that covers our hands when we care more about for-profit healthcare companies than we do about actually providing health care to those who need it.

It’s the blood that covers our hands when we neglect any public service that the poor depend on, from public schools to public transportation to food assistance, while subsidizing private schools and private transportation for the wealthy.

It’s the blood that covers our hands when we spend more on weapons of war than on tools for peace.

It’s the blood that covers our hands when we refuse to fund mental health care and refuse to regulate guns and then offer only thoughts and prayers every time there’s a mass shooting.

And when our hands are covered in blood, no act of worship will be acceptable to God. No songs of praise will lift God’s heart. No offerings or sacrifices will be pleasing to God. 

Washed Clean.

So how do we wash this blood from our hands? How do we make ourselves clean?

Through Isaiah, God tells us:

To wash yourselves, to make yourselves clean: remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Rescue the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow.

In other words, do what is right for those who are vulnerable. Those in need of protection. Those who are suffering. Those who have been victimized by unjust legislation. 

Do what is right for those who have had their rights taken away.

Do what is right for those who have been attacked, abused, and raped - literally and figuratively.

Do what is right for the poor.

Do. What. Is. Right. 

Because the most important part of worship is what you do outside of worship.

Jesus said the most important commands are to love God and love one’s neighbor. That’s not something one does one hour a week. It’s something one does every day. It’s something one does with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength.

What all this means is that there are people who work for justice but who never attend a worship service, whose lives are more acceptable and more pleasing to God than many who do attend worship, but who neglect to work for justice in the world. 

And I find myself wanting to learn from people who spend their lives working for justice for the poor, doing their best to love them, even if they never go to church, because their lives seem closer to Jesus than the lives of many who do go to church every week. 

But it doesn’t have to be an either/or. We can sing God’s praises and we can offer to God our sacrifices and our offerings, and such things will be immensely pleasing and acceptable to God, because we have worked for justice. Because we have voted for justice. Because we have communicated with our elected leaders about justice. Because we have loved our neighbors.

That is the ideal we are called to pursue. It’s what Jesus did. He went to the temple, but he also worked for justice. What he learned in the temple inspired him to work for justice, and the work he did for justice shaped how he interpreted the scriptures and applied them to his life.

And if we are able to follow that path, the scripture says, then our light shall rise in the darkness. Our gloom shall be like the noonday. The Lord will guide us continually, and satisfy our needs in parched places, and make our bones strong; and we shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Our ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; we shall raise up the foundations of many generations; we shall be called the repairers of the breach, the restorers of streets to live in.

"Level Up" (Micah 6:6-8) - 75th anniversary worship service

 Welcome to our worship service for January 31, 2021. 

My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he, him, his. I’m pastor of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, and I am blessed and honored by your presence with us for today’s online worship service. Even though we continue to be physically separated, these services are a reminder that we are not alone.

We're pretty casual around here...but today I decided to wear a tie… because today, we at Bixby Knolls Christian Church celebrate 75 years of ministry! That’s right - today, we “level-up.” We’re now three-quarters of a century old! 

It was on the last Sunday of January in 1946 that our first worship service was held. As far as I know, we haven’t missed a Sunday since, which means today is our 3,915th consecutive Sunday worship service, and I’m so glad you’re here to share this day with us. 

Love for our neighbor compels us to continue worshiping online only. At some point later this year, if conditions allow, we hope to have a big, in-person celebration. But the fact that we are not able to gather in-person today does not diminish the joy and the gratitude we feel for having reached this very special day.

In the midst of our celebration, we do not forget the many injustices and sorrows of this world. We do not forget the lives lost to COVID-19; or the ongoing oppression and injustice our nation commits against people of color; or the sinful, immoral economic inequality that exists in our nation; or that climate change poses a very real threat to humanity; or that discrimination against women, immigrants, trans people, gays and lesbians still exists. 

We do not forget that God calls us to fight against these evils in our society.

But it is good and proper for us to celebrate the joys in our life, and to celebrate with gratitude to God. This week in Liberating Love, a daily devotional by Sandhya Jha, I read that in a time such as this, “when so much evil is afoot, celebration and thanksgiving are acts of resistance against evil forces, empires of destruction, and cultures of violence and hate.”

So even as we continue working to bring God’s justice into the world, let us also celebrate the ministry of Bixby Knolls Christian Church.

I’d like to remind you that at that first worship service 75 years ago, a statement was read in which this congregation affirmed its commitment to the whole community. This church was not founded solely for the benefit of its members, but for the benefit of those who are not members. 

That statement also affirmed that though this congregation is in covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), it welcomes anyone - Disciple or not - to participate in the life of the congregation. 

75 years later, our commitment to our community - and the inclusive, affirming nature of our worship - continue.

For the past two decades (or so) one thing that has guided our congregation has been our mission statement, which is “to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” This statement is the first thing you see when you go to our church website, BixbyKnollsChurch.com. 

It is, of course, based on Micah 6:8, which is part of the reading we just heard.

Micah (who wrote the book that bears his name) was a prophet, whose heart and mind were closely aligned with the heart and mind of God. 

Prophets had this passion and this connection which allowed them to feel what God was feeling. Knowing that there were things happening that God was not OK with kept the prophets from sleeping at night. And in Micah’s society, there was a lot going on that God wasn’t OK with.

In Micah’s time, there was great economic prosperity - but only those at the top were benefitting. Only the 1% got to enjoy the nation’s wealth. They knew how to game the system, and the system was skewed in their favor. 

So while the rich were living it up, the poor were languishing. They did not share in the nation’s success. They were left out. They were suffering.

As a prophet, Micah knew this was wrong. Micah knew God was offended by such an economic system. 

So, like a savvy reddit user, Micah went into action. Micah stood up for the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden. Micah told the elite how immoral they were, because of the unjust economic system they had created. He said that God was especially upset with them.

Now, when you confront the privileged & powerful, the privileged & powerful are going to try to discredit you.

One of the privileged & powerful people sent a message to Micah, saying: “OK, Mr. Smartypants. Fine. What should we do? What is it that God wants? Should we offer to God a thousand rams, or ten thousand rivers of oil? Or maybe you think we should offer up our very own children, our first-born sons, to God?” 

And Micah messaged back: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what is required!”

And yes, it’s true… God has told the people. The law, the prophets, all bear witness to what God wants.

Later, Jesus would bear the same witness.

What is required - Micah said - is to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.

What does this mean?

To seek justice means to seek what is right. 

To love kindness means - among other things - to seek what is right for your neighbor, and especially for your most vulnerable neighbor. The poor that you have been oppressing - stop oppressing them, and instead, seek what is right for them! That’s what love does.

To walk humbly means we admit that we are still growing. Still learning. It means that we allow room for doubt as well as for belief.  

Seek justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly.

One of you asked me this week about liberation theology, so I’m going to talk about that for a minute, because liberation theology is theology that seeks justice. 

Traditionally, the starting place for theology in western Christianity has been in seminaries and universities; but liberation theology - taking its cue from prophets like Micah - starts with the poor, the disenfranchised people of the earth. According to liberation theology, that’s where you start. That’s where you start to understand God.

Liberation theology insists that God has a preferential option for the poor. That’s a phrase you hear a lot in liberation theology: “God’s preferential option for the poor.” 

The world says: “Look at the rich and famous! Look at the winners! Look at the people at the top!” But liberation theology points out that, in the Bible, the focus is on the people at the bottom. The poor. The outcasts. The least of these.

Liberation theology began in Latin America. People like Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian priest who visited my seminary when I was a student, and spoke to my class - I remember him saying to us that he was not ordained to be minister of liberation theology - he was ordained to be a minister of the gospel. But of course, when we read the gospel, we do see that preferential option for the poor, over and over and over again.

Oscar Romero became a liberation theologian, almost by accident. As he became aware of the situation of the poor and the oppressed in his country of El Salvador, he became an outspoken advocate on their behalf… until he was assassinated one day while presiding at mass.

From there, other forms of liberation theology emerged. African American liberation theology explores the gospel through the lens of Black oppression in the United States. Feminist liberation theology explores the gospel, using the oppression of women as a starting point. Queer liberation theology explores the gospel from the point of view of oppressed sexual minorities. 

And since Jesus said that he is present in the least of these, each of these forms of theology is a true, legitimate way of understanding the gospel. Eventually people began to understand that what has been called “traditional” theology is actually male, european theology, because it starts from the point of view of male European scholars, and later, American scholars. 

Liberation theology began in the 20th century, but it’s not so different from what Micah preached. Those who came to Micah asking “What does God want?” had an understanding of God that was rooted in their privileged lifestyle. Micah flipped that around, pointing out that true theology, and true worship, starts among the underprivileged, the poor, the least of these. 

Until you direct your attention to them and do what is right by them, you will fail to offer to God the worship God desires. Do you want to understand God? Start by understanding the situation of the poor and the oppressed, and do what you can to show God’s love to them.

Another way that many churches try to approach gospel and a life of faith is through written belief statements. Many congregations have a long list of faith statements that covers almost every conceivable thing, from creation and evolution, to sexuality, to the virgin birth, to how scripture should be understood and interpreted. And it is expected that every member of that congregation agrees with all those statements of belief.

But walking humbly - as Micah says - means not assuming you have all the answers. It means questioning some of those beliefs. Loving kindness and walking humbly means questioning how those beliefs help (or hinder) the love one shows to one’s neighbor. 

I don’t recall Jesus ever saying, “Follow me, but first here’s a set of beliefs you have to agree to…” I do remember Jesus saying: “Follow me - and love your neighbor.”

Which means that - contrary to popular belief - a heretic isn’t someone who fails to believe certain things; a heretic is someone who fails to love.

There is no way I can say everything that can be said about Micah 6:8 in one sermon. I think I’ve already made a bit of a jumbled mess of things! There’s so much.

So I encourage you - in your time of silent prayer and meditation - to ponder these things; what does it mean to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly in our world?

Don’t worry about getting answers right away. Walking humbly often means just dwelling with the questions. Walking humbly means that, after pondering and thinking and praying, you say to yourself, “these are good questions. I’ll ponder them some more next time.”

This is a very deep, next-level type of theology. The new book by Brian McLaren titled “Faith After Doubt” really helps explain this deeper way of doing theology. As you work through figuring these things out, questioning, wondering, it may feel like much of what you learned in the past needs to be taken apart, and put back together in a whole new way.

Unfortunately, a lot of churches don’t encourage that kind of thinking. They don’t want you to take anything apart, much less put it back together in a whole new way. And a lot of people end up leaving the church because they can’t find a place that will allow them to go deeper, and explore their questions, their doubts, their wonderings.

They need a place, a community, that will sit with them in their questions and even their doubts, and to ponder with them the deeper meaning of things.

Bixby Knolls Christian Church (I think) is on its way to being such a place.

Over the past 75 years, Bixby Knolls Christian Church has itself grown and evolved. I know that in my time here, which is almost 13 years now, we have sought that next-level way of thinking, that next-level way of doing ministry, and that next-level way of pondering the mysteries of God.

We know that it’s about more than just saying “I believe” to a written set of statements. It’s about truly pondering and questioning and figuring out: How can we best seek justice in our world today? How can we best love our neighbor with kindness? How can we walk more humbly with God?

I am thankful for a congregation that encourages my own theological and spiritual growth, a congregation that encourages all who are a part of it to engage in their own next-level way of growing in faith. 

It is a way of being a church and doing the work of ministry that really does lead us to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly. This journey is never-ending. I’m thankful to be on that journey with you; and I’m excited to see where it leads us next.