Silly Songs
December 22nd, 2006 by Sonja

As I began constructing this post in my head, the following lyrics sprang to mind:

sung to BINGO:

“My friend Johnny has a blog

And Smulo is his name-o

S M U LO

S M U LO

S M U LO

And Smulo is his name-o”

I hope from the bottom of my pea-pickin’ little heart that he will forgive me that travesty. 😉

He does have a blog and a fine one it is … fine enough that I read it and comment on it regularly. John has the singular pleasure of having served in ministry for more than several years in Australia and is now in California. So he is fortunate that his perspective on the church has some broader horizons than many of us. One of the very best things about his blog is that he focusses on nurturing conversations with and among the commenters on his posts. He manages on his blog to engage in community in a manner that I’ve yet to experience anywhere else in the blog-o-sphere.

He has a recent post entitled Emerging Liberals? and in it he asks questions about the labels “emerging” and “Emergent.” They are good questions. I began answering them in the comments. Some of my answers opened old wounds from my CLB. Strange that.I realized as I attempted to answer some of his questions that I am not comfortable wearing the “emerging” hat. While it is the tent of Christianity to which I most closely belong these days, I do not exactly feel as though I belong there. With the exception of age, I fit all the distinctives. But … really … I want to be an evangelical. I liked that. To be sure there is plenty wrong with the evangelical arm of Christ’s body (I’d make a list, but that would be uncharitable), but there is a lot that is right about it too. It’s where I grew up. It’s like saying that I’m no longer a “Naylor” because I’m married.

There are certain distinctives about being an evangelical Christian that are important to me. I’d like to still live in that tent. But for the most part, they won’t have me there. I’m too different from the rest of the crew. And I refuse to equate conformity with unity. So I’ve been doing some thinking the last couple of days about why I don’t fit anymore. Why don’t I just suck it up and go back if it’s so dang important to me?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. The first is this that I can’t be who I am and be in an evangelical church. Well, I haven’t found an evangelical church in my area where this is so. It may be that the crush of southern suburbia has created a church culture which is not healthy.

The second is almost more important. It is that the evangelical church, the Religious Right, and conservatives in general, have (over the past decade or so) more and more been defining themselves not by what they stand for, but by what they are against. And what they are against has narrowed their world into ever more restrictive borders. When I talk to Christians anymore I don’t hear what they are for, I hear about what they are taking a stand against. What they are defending against. It’s all in the negative. There’s nothing positive about that.

Well, the last time I checked the gospel was supposed to bring “Good News.” So when are we going to talk about what we’re FOR. When will the evangelical church talk about the good news they are bringing the world? It’s time to stand and have something worth fighting FOR. Let’s smile and bring in the Light … the Light that came to us 2000 years ago. Merry Christmas.


9 Responses  
  • grace writes:
    December 22nd, 20069:05 amat

    Going on with your reference to your maiden name, I think that moving on in our journey is really like that. We will always be all that we were before. It is what has formed us to this point. But we will also add another name as we move on, whether it is emerging or something else.

    As much as we appreciate where we’ve come from, it wouldn’t be right for us to stay where we were. It would be as awkward and wrong as trying to continue to live with our parents after we’ve married. We can honor them and yet still embrace all that we’ve become.

    In the same way, often as adults, we begin to recognize some of the disfunction and quirks of our childhood home. But usually this recognition is balanced by our love for our family and a mature acceptance of them in spite of their flaws.

    We could never go back, but I think it is healthy to truly appreciate all that was important from that phase of our life.

           
  • John Smulo writes:
    December 22nd, 200612:57 pmat

    Ha ha ha. Now I have that annoying song in my head!

    Well with comments that nice how could I not forgive you? :-)

    I also greatly struggle with the way many evangelicals–most probably–define themselves about what they’re against instead of for. Perhaps the worst spin off from this is that what we’re against makes for good sound bites in the media, and so now I think a common perception of what Chrisitanity and Christians are about is being against this and that, instead of being for the gospel and life and people, etc.

    Great post, and thank you for the very encouraging feedback!

           
  • aBhantiarna Solas writes:
    December 22nd, 20061:36 pmat

    Grace, you make some excellent points about continuing our journey and maturing. I’m going to let those percolate. They are a soothing balm. There is one thing that does stick out tho … my family of origin welcomes me home for visits and I am still part of them as they are part of me. I don’t live there anymore, but I can visit and I still talk to my parents with joy and love. On the other hand, my CLB has disowned me in a very real sense. I would love to have sense of blessing and encouragement from them that I have from my parents. But it’s not there. Nor do I have the sense that I am welcome to come in for a visit. Although, according to a recent Time magazine article (and the recent summit between Rick Warren and Barack Obama) things may be changing and softening. But I do thank you for your thoughtful words.

    John … you’re welcome. I do (once again) apologize for the orverm!! Merry Christmas 😉

    You are right about the sound bites, but it’s also true on Christian radio and on the conservative Christian blogs … in the places where those on the right have the chance to define themselves they choose to use the negative (I mean that almost in a photographic sense) rather than the positive. So it’s not all the media and soundbites … and … we do have to take responsibility for what we feed the media. It’s just not very pretty, unfortunately. Bleh … I wish I knew a way to turn things around.

           
  • Lily writes:
    December 22nd, 20062:06 pmat

    I love the maiden.married name metaphor. That is a really great way to look at it, but it’s an interesting thought that your “family of origin” should welcome you back. That is not my experience with CLB, either.

    And I realize that even myself, being an emerging-type, I still hear myself being “against” stuff more than I am “for” stuff. I hear myself being against the old ways of church, the old ideals, the old attitudes. I will have to start thinking more on what I’m “for”.

    Great post.

           
  • John writes:
    December 22nd, 20068:28 pmat

    S..M…U….L…O and…..

    Aarrgghhh!! Still can’t get that out of my head :-)

    I definitely didn’t mean to imply that we aren’t responsible for the sound bites. I should have explained better. I think that the media knows that certain well known Christians are easier sound bites to go to for a story.

    So it looks like:

    Reporter Rick: Anne of the Worlds AIDS Day organizing comittee, what do you think of Obama speaking at Rick Warren’s church about this important issue?

    Anne: I think it’s great.

    Reporter Rick: Frank Falwell, pastor of Fundamentalist Church what do you think about this?

    Frank: I think it’s terrible that liberal democrat went to that liberal pastor’s Emergent emerging missional church. Doesn’t everyone who have AIDS deserve it because they are gay anyway?

    Anyhow, that is more the scenario that comes to mind–only slightly exaggerated. I think this is often how people come to think that all Christians think this way. Sadly Christians often hear this rhetoric and think that’s how they have to believe as well.

           
  • aBhantiarna Solas writes:
    December 22nd, 20069:06 pmat

    hehehe … love that scenario! I completely hear what you’re saying. Thanks for clarifying. I just wish/hope/dream of a day when people will hear the rhetoric and respond reflectively/critically and not just follow along like sheep.

           
  • grace writes:
    December 23rd, 200611:15 amat

    Ah yes, I forgot! The CLB doesn’t welcome us back. Ideally, we would have been allowed to leave with a blessing and reaffirmed in our relationships. It didn’t really happen that way for me either.

    I agree with you that the gospel seems to be lost when churches define themselves according to agendas. They seem to generate a lot of zeal about their “stand” on the latest issue which, as you said, then becomes their portrayal of christianity.

           
  • PamBG writes:
    December 27th, 20068:08 amat

    I came here from John Sumlo’s blog! The original post resonates with me very mcuh. From knowing that I’m not welcome (well, I feel I’m welcome as a tolerated guest every now and then but certainly not as a member of the family) to not being able to be myself if I *did* try to go back. However, I think that at the end of the day it’s simply about looking forward to what God has for me in the future.

           
  • aBhantiarna Solas writes:
    December 27th, 20062:52 pmat

    Hi Pam … well, you’re welcome here! Thanks for coming by. Most of the time I do manage to look forward to what God has for me in the future. But wouldn’t it make for a stronger body if we were welcome back to visit as grown-up family members at a family reunion? That’s sort of what I’m getting at here. That we can be family and move along at the same time … different, yet loved and welcome. That would be grand. Some day maybe. In the meantime, I’ll go on my merry way and be happy where I’m at!!

           


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