WHEN GOD CALLS WE ARE CALLED TO....WHAT?

"He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God!" -- Micah 6:8

     I believe that I have been called by God to minister in the Christian faith as a servant to our Lord Jesus Christ. I am, of course, not alone. We are all called to be servants of God to one degree or another. Those called into a pastoral ministry often struggle with the nature of this calling because we are frustrated in fulfilling our expectations of our by the corporate nature of the Church and its orthodoxy that requires a conformity that represses our true feelings, distorts our theology and brings on a depression that we have fallen short in our calling. It shouldn't be that way.

     Through two-thousand years of growth the Church Universal has become an institution and, like all institutions, members are required to submit to the dogmas and rituals of that institution. Clergy are judged by how well they conform to teaching the Church's dogma and admission is based on perceived orthodoxy to that dogma. I, myself, was denied admission to the Presbyterian ministry because the Head of my Presbytery concluded that I "wasn't ready" for the ministry and, thus, my admission to a seminary was canceled. My offense? I confessed that I had a "problem" with the Trinity. But, isn't seminary where such "problems" are worked out? The result was, that although I continued to pray vociferously, to read theologically, and mainitained what I would called a "private" religious faith, I left the Church and did not return for nearly thirty-five years.

     In 2010 I once more felt the pull of God calling me to join the ranks of those who advocate for Him. However, due to age and circumstance, pursuing a path to a traditional ordination wasn't feasable, so I took a very untraditional route. I found a progressive, non-denominational community online, one professing a distinctly liberal interpretation of scripture, and whose only criteria for membership was to "Do that which is right." I enrolled in online seminary work leading, eventually, to Masters degrees in Divinity and Sacred Theology. It took time, but the end result is that Iwas ordained a minister of the church. 

     As for the direction for my ministry, this blog has been the starting point. In calling this a REDEMPTIVE CHURCH, it expresses my belief that no human being is beyond salvation. "All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God," wrote the Apostle Paul (Romans 3:23), and is something we all should remember, especially when pointing fingers. As someone once told me, we should remember that when one finger is pointing away, three are pointing back. Redemption informs my reading of scriptures that God loves all of us and is always prepared to forgive our transgressions.  

     Within the next year, the Redemptive Church ministry will go beyond this blog to become a ministry geared towards those whom society has marginalized: the homeless whom we see everywhere on street corners begging for change or rummaging through trash bins seeking discards of clothing (and food?), and whose 'home' may be a cardboard box beneath a freeway. And, then, there are those whose background includes drug use or prison and who are, in some cases, "registered persons," often for years after they had paid their debt to society. Such marginalized individual are, all too often, viewed through unsympathetic eyes, and seen as pariahs who not only are objects of derision but have lost the right to participate in society all together. I know of churches in the Oklahoma City area that will not allow a convicted felon or a registered person to worship with them and who turn up their noses should a homeless vagrant wander in during Sunday service..
     However, in my view, taking care of the marginalized -- those forced to live in a prison of perpetual shame by a society that is either blind to their plight or they just don't care -- is in keeping with the ministry of Jesus (Matt. 25) and is, therefore, the impetus for the Redemptive Church.

     But, this ministry is not only directed at the marginalized. We shall endeavor to reach out to those whom retired Episcopal Bishop, John Shelby Spong calls, the "Church Alumni Association." Believers, like me, who left the church for one reason or another and long for a pathway back but who who have lost all comfort in that "Old Time Religion" as salvific. What they are waiting for is the New "Good News" as embodied in the story of the woman taken in adultery and about to stoned when Jesus said, "Let those of you without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:1-11). In Christ her past was forgiven when he said, "Go, and sin no more." A progressive look at scripture reveals a compassion that doesn't look back but looks to the future to help us address and understand the personal crises we, and our neighbors, face today and the impact those crises, if left undressed, have upon tomorrow. The Redemptive Church will be a place that practices a radical hospitality and welcomes all.

     That is my vision and the nature of my calling.  It also is my invitation to you as, together, we explore what it means to be called into a New Being as a "Child of God." It is a participatory calling, for God calls us into partnership with him. And, what does this call entail? He has told you, O Man, what is required of you. To do JUSTICE, to LOVE KINDNESS, and to WALK HUMBLY with your God.