NEVER GIVE UP!

Watching the tears roll down the cheeks of the kids that I love, the veil of what the church stands for was torn down. It was ripped in twain. I saw hurt. I saw disbelief in what the church was doing.

I thought, ‘how many of these kids will be scarred forever by witnessing this event?’

They aren’t merely ‘children’… these are members of the body of Christ. They have given their hearts to the Risen Lord. They have given their time and their sweat and their effort to this church. They have given the sacrifice of worship. And now, that thing that they loved, that they held ownership in was being ripped apart.

No adult asked them what they felt or what they had seen. The-powers-that-be had a choice, and they chose to blindly follow one man over these ‘children’, these members of their church, these workers, these saved souls, these people who are the future of the church. Their minds were made up long before any of us walked into that council room.

Sometimes, late at night, my heart sinks. I think about all that I have lost. I think about my youth group that was torn from me. I think about my reputation that was drug through the mud. I think about the lies and the rumors that people have spread about me and the pain this caused my closest loved ones. And I think about the emotional toll this attack caused on my own spirit. I can feel sorry for myself. I can slip into a deep abyss of my own self-pity.

But friends, then I think of the real victims. Forget about me… I have often said I wish to be like a vessel of wine spilt onto the ground as a living sacrifice. But then I think of those eyes, tears streaming down their cheeks. I think of the disillusionment of those kids. What damage has been done in the name of religion? How many of these kids will never be a part of a church again? Or those who are forced to go with their families, what will they do in a year or two when they go to college? Will they walk away from their faith? Will the hurt caused by this church mar them for life? I pray no.

The church can do terrible things. It can tear apart beautiful things. Over and over again, fear and want of power have brought about terrible pain and atrocities in the name of religiosity and God. The crusaders murdered and plundered. The Spanish Inquisition displaced, tortured and killed. Closer to home, the Klu Klux Klan used the guise of religion to spread violence, hatred and terror. These are just a few examples of religion’s handy work.

But should judgment run amuck and over-zealousness cause us to abandon the whole thing? Should we through the baby out with the bathwater? Do we give up on God and go it alone because we have seen the evil MAN has done in HIS name?

A friend of mine who has been as attacked as I have through this whole event said something amazing to me the other day. She went to a big rock service in Des Moines. There she was rocking out to the praise and worship music with her hands in the air. She was into every element of the service. But then, during announcements, the pastor spoke about their upcoming annual meeting and the election of a new council. She said her heart sunk. Just the word 'council' had so much baggage attached to it. It made her want to get up and walk out of the church. But she said that she will never give up on JESUS!

And then it comes full circle. The end of my Rob Bell book deals with this exact subject. Read his words but know that they are mine as well. They are a challenge, a plea. Never give up. Never lose your faith in the man that climbed up the tree and gave all so that we might live. Never give up on Jesus.

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

by Rob Bell

I am like you. I have seen plenty done in the name of God that I'm sure God doesn't want anything to do with. I have lots of reasons for bailing on the whole thing.

I am also like you because I have a choice. To become bitter, cynical, jaded, and hard. Anybody can do that. A lot have. Hatred is a powerful, unifying force. And there is a lot to be repulsed by.

Or, like you, I can choose to reclaim my innocence. We can choose to reclaim our innocence together. We can insist that hope is real and that a group of people who love God and others really can change the world. We can reclaim our idealism and our belief and our confidence in the big ideas that stir us deep in our bones. We can commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning hoe to do what Jesus teaches us.

I am not going to stop dreaming of a new kind of faith for the millions of us who need it. I am not going to stop dreaming of new kinds of communities that put the love of God and the brilliance of Jesus on display in honest, compelling ways. I am not going to stop dreaming of new ways to live lives of faith and creativity and meaning and significance.

But I can't do it alone. I need you. We need you. We need to rediscover wonder and awe. We need you to believe that it is really possible. We need you to join us.

It's better that way.

It's what Jesus had in mind.

pp. 176-177