So, our blog is getting slightly more views than expected.
To be honest, we didn't think that anyone would want to read things that we had to say. If you've taken the time to check out Beale2Beale, thank you!
And to all the people who are hitting up our little corner of the interwebs, hello!
So far things in Haus of Beale have been pretty quiet. I (Camella) am finishing up my 15 week internship (I'm on week 13 starting Monday) and Matt is working like a busy bee providing for us. I am thankful to him for working so hard to provide for our little family. Those cats have mouths to feed, you know!
Today, I wanted to talk about the issues with living in "The Bible Belt."
I think that every state has an area that is especially known for being quite Christian. Our area happens to be extremely Dutch-Reformed. While I don't have any issues with the Reformed Church, it hasn't been right for either Matt nor myself. It's funny, even in churches that profess to be "non-denominational," because of the prevalence of the Dutch-Reformed churches in our area, they all have that sort of flavor to them... and none of them will admit it!
When Matt and I first moved to this area, we had been indoctrinated with Baptist beliefs and I still have a place in my heart for our "home church" - it's the place that God called us to Him, the place where we were baptized, and the place where we were married. We have both changed so much since those years ago when we first decided to become loving and fearful followers of the Lord.
I feel like God has so many facets to His person and because the Church is so fractured that no one denomination, no one stand-alone church can possibly know the true nature of our God. In our initial attempts to find a new church, I was really discouraged. It is nearly impossible to find a church that fits in with what we want and feel church should be, especially now that we've been having new and revealing interactions with God. We settled on a church where we felt comfortable and it was a great fit for us until recently. We've just been struggling so much with our Christian identity and being loving and true followers of Jesus that sometimes going to a church that is focused on other things can be draining.
I do love Michigan. It's home and it always will be. And I love the people in Michigan for the most part. They are small-town people that for the most part are friendly and warm. There are things that I don't like about living here though. They mostly stem from the close-minded "Good 'ole boys" mentality. The people that go to church on Sunday and sing the loudest and pray the hardest. People that are lovers of God but who treat people (the homeless, the LGBT community, those on welfare) with a hatred I can assure you is not to be found in the Bible. These are the people that justify their bigotry by saying "... but the Bible says it's wrong, and I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God."
"Do you now?" I ask myself. I am no Biblical scholar but it seems to me that Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the whores - the sinners that were on the fringes of society. Can't we extent the same love and comfort to our society's same "sinners"? It frustrates me that Bible Belt Christians forget they were saved by grace. That works alone was not sufficient for them to be with God after death. That no amount of prayer or singing or belivin' the Bible is the infallible word of God will get you an in with the Most High. Who are you to cast stones at the sinners?
I don't want you to think that I'm just bashing on Christians because I am so guilty of this myself and it makes me sick to think about. I used to be black and white with my faith but as the time goes by, I realize that there are grey areas. There is room for love, and there is room for grace. I think that because grace was extended to us, we should be willing and passionate about extending grace to others. I guess that's what it all comes down to in the end: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
God showed me a glorious and beautiful grace when I was covered in sin.
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
It is because of Jesus that we are saved. It is because of His blood we are free. Free to love and to extend the grace God showed us to those who need it most.
Maybe our motto as Christians should be "Grace first, always."
Prayerfully yours,
C.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Honestly - Matt
So the deal apparently is that I respond to my wife's postings either in agreement or with some kind of loving retort, so here goes. (This is my first ever blog post.)
Christianity has become too nationalistic, America is behind the rest of the world on this because of it's young age, but going back to the unfortunate reformation age each nation state created its own state form of Christianity, Lutherans from German states, Presbyterians from Scotland, Puritans (and Church of England) from England, etc. Although this is largely a generalisation I still think its a fair point to make. It was like a massive power grab for the religious support of the populace who were largely unsure of why to follow the Catholic church. Unfortunately in America it wasn't a nation or a King that created a religion, it was much worse, it was an economic system that created a Christianity that is so far removed from the real world that many of the people who used to find Catholicism so abhorrent have managed to find there way back home to the true church. Capitalism is to blame for a church that loves getting bigger and largely desires the same evidence of growth that a fortune 500 company would look for. More employees, larger real estate, more consumers (members) through the door each week. It is a sad case, so it is no wonder so many of us are disillusioned with our churches and are either leaving or are finding other ways to worship. Churches think they can stand alone as non-denominational which is completely against what the churches teach. That we are one body of believers in Christ. No church stands alone, but they seem to want to. Pastors look for target markets, making their church undesirable to certain groups in society. We church plant in suburbs whilst inner cities go without that crucial locality of a church and access to a body of people who can testify through action to the saving grace of Christ, we do this because we don't want to do life with these people. I think we also do it because Capitalism says be successful, and you can't be successful right away in an area that requires turning around with regards to their feelings towards Church, that takes too much time. What we need is a unity not more non-denominational churches. We need a general consensus, a rejection of the complex theological grids that bind us and an embracing of the acting out of the Love of Christ to our neighbors.
Or in others words, yes dear you are right.
Matthew
Christianity has become too nationalistic, America is behind the rest of the world on this because of it's young age, but going back to the unfortunate reformation age each nation state created its own state form of Christianity, Lutherans from German states, Presbyterians from Scotland, Puritans (and Church of England) from England, etc. Although this is largely a generalisation I still think its a fair point to make. It was like a massive power grab for the religious support of the populace who were largely unsure of why to follow the Catholic church. Unfortunately in America it wasn't a nation or a King that created a religion, it was much worse, it was an economic system that created a Christianity that is so far removed from the real world that many of the people who used to find Catholicism so abhorrent have managed to find there way back home to the true church. Capitalism is to blame for a church that loves getting bigger and largely desires the same evidence of growth that a fortune 500 company would look for. More employees, larger real estate, more consumers (members) through the door each week. It is a sad case, so it is no wonder so many of us are disillusioned with our churches and are either leaving or are finding other ways to worship. Churches think they can stand alone as non-denominational which is completely against what the churches teach. That we are one body of believers in Christ. No church stands alone, but they seem to want to. Pastors look for target markets, making their church undesirable to certain groups in society. We church plant in suburbs whilst inner cities go without that crucial locality of a church and access to a body of people who can testify through action to the saving grace of Christ, we do this because we don't want to do life with these people. I think we also do it because Capitalism says be successful, and you can't be successful right away in an area that requires turning around with regards to their feelings towards Church, that takes too much time. What we need is a unity not more non-denominational churches. We need a general consensus, a rejection of the complex theological grids that bind us and an embracing of the acting out of the Love of Christ to our neighbors.
Or in others words, yes dear you are right.
Matthew
Honestly.
SO this might be a controversial post, but I feel led to say these things. Before you read on, do know that I say these things out of love and frustration with not only the church but also with myself. I always tell the patients I work with to get things out so the feelings don't just add up and cause an implosion, so this is my attempt at taking my own advice.
I am seriously frustrated right now. I don't do controversial well and it doesn't sit well with my heart when I am. I've been feeling so much like God is challenging my preconceived notions of my faith and 1) it's scary and 2) it's uncomfortable.
Matt and I have been beyond frustrated with the state of the Church. I don't hate church, just think that we, as the bride of Christ, are not living up to the example that we are meant to. First of all, there are so many individuals who are so focused on their comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. They think that by passively giving money to this cause or bringing in food for that drive, they are showing charity to the poor and orphans. No. No. NO. Yes, those are all great things, but I'm feeling more like TIME is a greater investment that canned goods. Getting out there are realizing that there are things besides Ikea shopping and middle school youth group movie nights.
The other thing that drives me mad is the idea that in the United States, being a "successful church" means building on and expanding. In my town, I can't even tell you how many churches I drive past on a typical Sunday. Maybe if a church is failing it's because God wants the congregation to join up with another, thus uniting the bride. There are so many things out there that are causing divisions in the church that I feel like the enemy may be getting a hold of us and misdirecting us to focusing on the divisions rather than being united.
Why are we as believers wanting to drive a wedge between us and the world? Are we not meant to go into the world to make disciples of all the nations? How can we be exemplifying Jesus Christ by condemning sinners when we ourselves were once lost but now have been found? How is that ok? How am I alone in seeing the gravity of this?
I'm angry, frustrated, and broken. God is literally breaking my heart with this right now. So, what do we do? I want to challenge you to pray on this. To really think about this and to examine your heart and see what God is saying about all of this. I know that because I feel so alone that I've been distancing myself from the Bible and prayer but that isn't the answer, either. I want to encourage you that if you feel like I do, you aren't alone.
I sense change coming to the church. Let's get out of ourselves for a second and fix it. Let's be the bride that we were always meant to be. In Jesus' name, amen.
<3 C
I am seriously frustrated right now. I don't do controversial well and it doesn't sit well with my heart when I am. I've been feeling so much like God is challenging my preconceived notions of my faith and 1) it's scary and 2) it's uncomfortable.
Matt and I have been beyond frustrated with the state of the Church. I don't hate church, just think that we, as the bride of Christ, are not living up to the example that we are meant to. First of all, there are so many individuals who are so focused on their comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. They think that by passively giving money to this cause or bringing in food for that drive, they are showing charity to the poor and orphans. No. No. NO. Yes, those are all great things, but I'm feeling more like TIME is a greater investment that canned goods. Getting out there are realizing that there are things besides Ikea shopping and middle school youth group movie nights.
The other thing that drives me mad is the idea that in the United States, being a "successful church" means building on and expanding. In my town, I can't even tell you how many churches I drive past on a typical Sunday. Maybe if a church is failing it's because God wants the congregation to join up with another, thus uniting the bride. There are so many things out there that are causing divisions in the church that I feel like the enemy may be getting a hold of us and misdirecting us to focusing on the divisions rather than being united.
Why are we as believers wanting to drive a wedge between us and the world? Are we not meant to go into the world to make disciples of all the nations? How can we be exemplifying Jesus Christ by condemning sinners when we ourselves were once lost but now have been found? How is that ok? How am I alone in seeing the gravity of this?
I'm angry, frustrated, and broken. God is literally breaking my heart with this right now. So, what do we do? I want to challenge you to pray on this. To really think about this and to examine your heart and see what God is saying about all of this. I know that because I feel so alone that I've been distancing myself from the Bible and prayer but that isn't the answer, either. I want to encourage you that if you feel like I do, you aren't alone.
I sense change coming to the church. Let's get out of ourselves for a second and fix it. Let's be the bride that we were always meant to be. In Jesus' name, amen.
<3 C
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