May Passion not a Conflagration Unleash
October 18, 2018
My sons continue to call my trips vision quests. I said I was calling this one the clarification.
The Kentucky minister’s scripture reading was from Galatians focused on “if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” He was well versed in his bible references; he made a direct appeal to come to salvation. The Iowa message based on Acts emphasized invitation and outreach. “The Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” I listened in agreement with both messages and felt in full alignment with the messengers. Yet, I think if I met these two witnesses to the Spirit of the Lord in another context, they would fall on different sides of this looming schism. I believe our current split is driven by partisanship; it rends the fabric of the Holy Spirit. There is no righteous side in this argument. None of us fully live at the apex of Holy Communion within the Awe of Creation at all times. None of us fully reside in the Kingdom of Heaven while wending our way through the daily routine of this Earthly existence. It is an impossibility to expect all human souls to be at the same marker on our shared journey. Our world needs our denomination to offer love and welcome, an opportunity to be a participant in doing all the good we can, for as long as we can. This is why the cross and flame emblem welcomes everyone. This is the agape love a soul will receive by coming to our families.
Courthouse Rock Red River Gorge
This great schism is not a Spiritual crisis as some would say, nor is it an argument over scripture as others would posit. It is simply this; the power of the material world. The corruption and influence of power and business have come to be interpreted into the things that belong only to God as manifested in Jesus. We have become a people of the world and not of the Spirit. This is not new. This has happened before in our rather short history as a denomination, short at least when viewed through an eternal lens. The split over slavery, Northern abolition, and Southern culture has barely healed. There may still exist some pockets of infection lying dormant in the body. Our partisanship has seeped into our Spirituality.
Why not demand an absolute decree against divorce? It is a bad and undesirable thing. Temperance, why not push again for prohibition? How many calamities are reported that alcohol or opioids are a root cause? My mother having taken her temperance pledge as a young girl and never broken it, still believes an annual temperance message ought to be heard in our churches. Are we splitting over these great debates of our past? We have learned that rigid doctrine, written into secular law can have unseen and far more evil consequences. We of the great Wesleyan movement are to use our intellect and knowledge to find a wiser course; a more effective means of improving the world and reaching people’s souls. Our course must be based on truth and reality, not a mythical land where everyone lives at all times as perfectly moral human beings.
Double Arches Red River Gorge
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