As I work through Geek Church and what that may look like, my first thought is that the word "Church" has come to have a negative impression among many people including those that I want to involve. Maybe "Geek Spirituality" or "The Spiritual Geek" would be a better title. But like those churches that drop "Presbyterian" from their signs because it gives a "negative image", I am sad because the negative image that society has of the church is NOT us. That is not who we are or at least not who we should be striving to be.
The media seems to equate the church with the far right of the political spectrum. But in reality the church covers the whole spectrum ultra conservative to ultra liberal. But what really makes me angry is that it is portraying political views as what the church believes or what Jesus wants. God is NOT part of a political party! No politician, Republican, Democrat, or any other party is putting forward God's agenda. As well meaning as they may be, they are serving their constituents at their best, and at their worst, themselves.
There are churches out there advocating for what certain politicians are doing, but that doesn't make it God's will or even in line with Jesus' teachings. Don't get me wrong. Some political decisions will be for the good of the people. I will support some candidates because of what they say that they will do, but that still doesn't make them God's agents.
What I do know is churches are filled with sinful human beings. I believe that some churches are actually going against what God wants us to be doing. Believe it or not, it has ALWAYS been that way. If you read the New Testament the times that Jesus got the angriest was when the religious leaders started telling people that they weren't good enough. When religious leaders exclude others it really made Jesus angry. I assume it still does.
John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the WORLD that God sent Jesus. It doesn't say that God loves those who follow the rules the best. It doesn't say that God loved those who voted for the correct candidate. It doesn't even say that God so loved those who protest the loudest on social media. God loved the world. Every last one of us. Guess what, that even means the Muslims, the Jews, the Hindi, and even (gasp) the Atheist. God so loved the world, and God didn't tell us to go out and condemn and hurt those God loves...
But not all churches do that. The press would have you believe that the church is built on hating anyone who is different or believes differently. While that does happen way too often that is NOT the way it is supposed to be.
In both the church I served in Memphis and here in Oviedo my husband and I wound up leading the young adult Sunday School class. One of our best attended series was a survey of religions. The purpose was not to try to convince other religions that we were the best. We wanted to learn from our fellow brothers and sisters. We invited not only members of different Christian flavors like Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witness, but also Muslims, Budists, Hindu, and Jewish people to come and talk with us. We asked then what they believed and what was important to them. We learned a lot! We came to understand our brothers and sisters better. It was a time of coming together, respect, and gaining understanding. That is who the church should be.
In my last blog I lamented that many of my dear friends in Geek culture were either openly turned away or felt judged and unwanted in the church. That is wrong. Whether they were condemned because they played Dungeons & Dragons, believed in The Big Bang Theory and Evolution, or even for their sexual preference, that was not what the church should be about.
Jesus didn't come for the religious leaders and the righteous few who think they do no wrong. Jesus came for the outcast, the misfit, the ordinary. Jesus' disciples weren't scholars. They were stinky, unwashed fishermen, tax collectors (who were even more hated back then then the are in April here in America today), women (gasp), and even non-Jews! My last sermon I preached was about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. She wasn't Jewish. Jews and Samaritans hated each other because of their theology and beliefs. She was a woman, which meant that Jesus shouldn't be talking to her in public at all. But in her day she would have been considered a loose woman. She had had multiple husbands and was living with a man without being married. So, Jesus, like the church and probably everyone in her village condemned her and sent her away in shame, right??? WRONG!!!!! Jesus discussed theology with her and then sent her out to spread the Good News. He made that outcast woman, the one that the church would probably kick out a disciple! That is what is on Jesus' agenda, reaching out to those who need healing and those who don't feel like they fit in.
One last thought on who is included in God's love and God's call. In Matthew 25 you will find one of Jesus' parables about the sheep and the goats. It is a parable about what is most important in the kingdom. What is the most important thing to Jesus? He said that the greatest commandments are "Love God" and "Love your neighbor." This parable is the clearest image of how we are supposed to do that. (Matthew 25:35-36) "for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." That is what we are supposed to be about. So, when a politician says, "This bill is doing God's will" be sure to check it against this list. When I question turning away refugees, I am not making a political statement or supporting one party's views over another. I am trying to follow Jesus.
I know that this may upset some people. I know that I am just as sinful as everyone else. I know that I am going to make mistakes. But I see my friends who have been rejected by the church or turned away on their own because they didn't like what they saw, doing what Jesus wanted them to do. Dragon Con gives more than $100,000 to charity at their convention every year! In 2016, it was the Atlanta Center for Self-Sufficiency, which works with homeless and jobless citizens on job training and resumes. ( From: "Dragon Con’s Pat Henry on Building a Convention Community" By Hayley Panagakis, April 3, 2017 on connectyourmeetings.com) They also hold what may be one of the biggest blood drives in Georgia. Geeks are really good at Justice, equality, and caring for the least of these. That is why I want so badly to engage with my fellow Geeks to redefine what it means to be church. I want to create a place where everyone feels loved and welcome even if you do not consider yourself a Christian. I want a place where it is OK to discuss faith without worrying about being judged by others. I want a place where Geeks can feel comfortable enough to be themselves knowing that God doesn't really care whether they know all of the churches liturgy by heart and can sing hymns with gusto. I want a place where we can serve and make a difference together.
If you long for a place like that, too, I encourage you to join me as I try to figure out what Geek church should look like and be.
Blessings,
Karen
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