From a pastor and a former pastor
Pastors are fascinating people. They have one of the hardest jobs on the planet (if they seek to do it well), and they are hardly the cartoon characters people often think of (Reverend Lovejoy anyone?). These two emails give you some sense of the dynamic of the pastor’s soul …
This from a pastor in the midwest …
Have been reading ANKOC following the recent discussion on it at Jesuscreed. Have read 97 pages, and I think you are right on. Thanks for your work, and for taking the heat so graciously. I was surprised at the somewhat negative overall tone in the Jesuscreed comments; I chalk it up to folks not having read it. And Scot focused on a narrow slice of the book out of context and, I think, spun it inappropriately. But I love him for all the good stuff he does.
Anyway, I’ve bought copies of the book for each of our kids, who no longer consider themselves Christians. But you are their favorite “heretic,” and your comment in a footnote about reaching our children and grandchildren struck a chord with me.
From a former pastor …
I am not the kind of person who usually emails a respected author, so having said that I just wanted you to know that I am doing something atypical. I was a missionary for four years and a pastor for three. Currently, I am just trying to be Christian and not give up hope on it all. My open-mindedness and sickened stomach propelled me out of the ministry at a fundamentalist church in my hometown. I grew increasingly tired of the secrecy, arrogance, and immaturity in the leadership in which I participated. I am not pointing fingers at the church because I was as much of the problem as any.
Since leaving the ministry, I have made my way through a series of churches – two notable mega churches – and I am very weary. I fear for the future of the Church corporate and I have little hope in things changing. But then I stumbled upon your website and your work. I commend you for being a “sacrificial lamb” in the Evangelical world and stating what we have been feeling for decades. I was recently grieved to discover a prominent Pentecostal leader removed his signature from the covenant of civility on sojo.net just because you signed. I long for a Christianity where Christ’s overwhelming compassion and love is primary and these political maneuvers cease.
My point is that I, too, have been longing for a new kind of Christianity. Thank you for being a voice in the “post-Evangelical wilderness” (to borrow the late Michael Spencer’s term). May God bless your work, your writing, your speaking and your loved ones. I can only imagine the criticism you endure. Please continue being a soldier for the new kind of Christianity. We all need it. We need the grace of Christ to sort out this mess that we have made of the gospel.
