I am starting a Sabbatical from the F-word today. I’m not sure how long it’ll last. But I’ve got some other things I really need to do. And before I head off to other projects, I want to thank you for engaging this conversation with me.
It might seem odd to begin this sabbatical even before the final results of today’s historic election are recorded. After all, I started this blog at the beginning of this current campaign season, out of a deep sense of frustration with the way the too-timid voice of mainstream and progressive Christianity has been drowned out by the shrill and strident bellowing of the Radical Christian Right in our churches, our politics, our culture, and our common life. But one of the exciting things that has happened over these past couple of years is that many of us seem to have found our voice again. I disagree with those who say that a great disservice has been done to either our public or our church life by the prominent role religion has played in this campaign. On the contrary, this campaign season has exploded the myth that there is “a” Christian voice or “a” Christian way to vote. As a result, I believe that for the most part, for most candidates and most voters after this election, religion will begin to play a less “showboaty” role in American politics; just possibly that will give us the opportunity for much richer, healthier conversations about what we believe and why and what difference it makes it our own personal lives but also in the way we approach our life together. And that, I believe, would be a very good thing.
We have a long way to go, of course. One obvious next step is to open up the religious conversation to people of all faith traditions. Being a “Muslim” (or just having a name that sounds like you might be) shouldn’t be something your opponents get to use to scare people with.
My own biggest concern, though, is that mainstream and progressive Christians will blow this opportunity.
For the first time in decades, people know we’re here. Many of them are open to – hungry for! – the good news we have to bring. Some of them may even come looking for us.
I want to know that what they find is healthy, vibrant, and real.
I want to see mainstream and progressive congregations across the country on fire with the good news of God’s radical and unconditional love.
I want us to be willing to do whatever it takes – change whatever needs changing in the way we do life together – for the sake of getting the word out that, in Christ, everything is new.
At the heart of our message, as mainstream and progressive Christians is that, because of Jesus Christ, all the walls that we have built to separate us from each other and from God are gone. We might still live like they’re there, but they are nothing more than a figment of our imagination. In Christ, God has knocked those walls down – and erased all the lines – that separate us. And we are free – completely and totally free! – to live like that is true.
This good news has come to us. God’s plan is to get that good news out through us to a world that desperately needs to hear it. That is our call.
And this is our time.
That’s why I’m taking a break from writing The F-Word. My priority these days is helping people and the organizations they love – especially mainstream and progressive churches – actually do the thing God is calling them to do with purpose and passion. That’s what we’re up to over at A Renewal Enterprise.
Frankly, I am just really antsy these days. Too antsy to just write about how things should be different. I’m feeling the need to actually make some things happen.
If you want help in your own efforts to do something that matters – in your personal or professional life, in your workplace, or in your church – come visit me at A Renewal Enterprise. Join us online during one of our monthly webinars. Subscribe to the A.R.E. blog and jump into the conversation. Share what you know and what you’re learning. Ask us about coaching. Invite us to come work with your church. Tell us how we can be helpful.
Over the next few months, I’ll be compiling the best of the F-Word in a book – so, if you’ve been a subscriber, you may want to keep the feed live for awhile. I’ll let you know the book is ready by posting it here. And, who knows, maybe I’ll be back at some point.
But, for now, let's get busy.
