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A former Lutheran pastor sharing thoughts on faith and life. Please join the conversation! I love your comments!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pinterest Faith or Rebellion

I confess I have been known upon rare occasions to "pin" something. I have a pinterest account and I have used recipes which I have found there. While I mildly enjoy perusing pinterest, I have been disappointed in the experience overall. I signed up for pinterest because I thought I might be able to find some new blogs or exciting information on the emerging church movement. Instead when I venture onto my account I am overcome by a wave of delectable desserts, fancy decorating and pretty pictures. It is almost as though we have bought into the Martha Stewart ideal. Its all about making things pretty. I wonder if the church on the whole has bought into a "pinterest" kind of faith. We go to church looking for tidbits we can post on our "words of comfort" board. We look for a different kind of comfort by pinning other tidbits on our "guilt" board. After all, our faith must not be shallow or we wouldn't feel this satisfyingly guilty and inadequate. We balance that guilt with our "acts of kindness" board. It is a pretty kind of faith that fits well in a church shaped box. I don't mean to sound so grumpy. There are marvelous people of deep faith to be found in church. That is why I still go. Part of my inspiration for writing this was reading this article http://www.churchleaders.com/mobile/pastors/pastor-articles/155219-sarah-bessey-why-women-s-ministry-needs-jesus.html (Thanks again, Charlene). From reading the comments that follow I know that this topic will raise some defenses. I beg of you, please, for the love of all that is holy, set aside the defensiveness and hear me: there are people, some in the church and some outside of it, who are longing, thirsting, and gasping for something more. There are people who hear the story of Jesus and hear a rebellious, earth shaking, story so astounding and upsetting that it lead to a crucifixion. There is a portion of the upcoming generation who hear the call to be rabble rousers like Jesus. There are people throughout all the generations yearning to participate in the world transforming, cage rattling, work for justice, peace, and healing to which the life and death of Jesus calls us. Please don't tell us to quit making excuses for not attending church as though Jesus cares mostly about our attendance record. Please don't throw another bucket full of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" faith over us hoping to wash off all that rebelliousness. Our dissatisfaction is a gift to the church, not a threat to it. Join hands with us and rise up to cast off the ways of the world which say value and power are determined by wealth. Help us to wrestle into focus a faith that looks less like a pinterest account and more like a wild dance, our individuality and creativity joining in a collective mass to move the world.

2 comments:

Laurie said...

OK. I'll join hands with you. Now what are we going to do?

Sheri Ellwood said...

That's where the wrestling into focus part comes in:). I don't have all the answers but to begin with the focus needs to change from attendance to service and justice. Then maybe choose the needs we can meet easily and go from there? What are your ideas?