Greg R

Many Christians feel that this earthly journey is akin to being exiled in enemy occupied territory.

Many evangelical churches teach that exile will be brief because Jesus is returning any ol day now.

Jeremiah told the exiles to build homes, plant gardens, pray for peace in their communities and draw closer to God.

I believe that many who are uncomfortable with the present day evangelical church desire to do exactly that. They know that we must draw closer to God here and now, regardless of where _here_ happens to be. We should pray for peace in our communities. We should be actively involved in our communities.

But I don’t think we can wait for the churches to lead. Each of us needs to find ways to be the change we want to see.

I don’t comment very often here, but this site has been tremendously helpful to me over the last few years. Thanks for what you all do to keep it going.

However, it is also true that the process, though not neat and not safe, can be productive. When I began my wilderness experience, I confronted a great many concerns and doubts I had no clue how to solve. I simply did not seem to have the resources, in my own tradition and native language, to understand what I was confronting, how to express it, or how to live faithfully as a Christian in the midst of it. Suddenly, I was adrift with no good way back and no map showing where to go.

Crisis or opportunity? I don’t know: But along the way I have learned a lot from mainline Protestantism and Catholicism. I’ve discovered liturgy and some aspects of larger Christian tradition and practice that have helped me immensely. I’ve discovered a more sacramental and nuanced way to think about my faith. With these resources, I have finally learned how to say “I believe – help thou my unbelief” and move forward as a whole person rather than a contradicted one. Perhaps I should have gotten to this destination much sooner and perhaps not everything I did was constructive. But I have somewhere to hang my hat now. And I understand a few things I didn’t — couldn’t — have understood before.

I hope this makes sense!

I guess for many of us, we are in the process of deciding what are the negotiables, where are the areas that we can compromise, and where do we draw a line in the sand. This is not easy. Making things much harder are

1) the relationships we’ve built along the way, even at churches where we are unsatisfied; Even in my restlessness, GOD has put me in touch with some of the greatest people that walk the planet. It’s probably largely because of these friendships that I’ve stayed as long as I have. These friendships, built on discipleship, have given me much hope and encouragement that help me get through church…. sorry if that’s too snarky for some.

2) for some of us, the choices we’d make as a single person are not as quickly made married. Maybe this is just a cop out (I’m open to that possibility), but I have to involve and include my lovely wife of 14 yrs in my dessert wandering……is that worth it ?? So far, not enough to church shop, but I’ve come very close, and may yet take that route.

End of ramble: I appreciate all the thoughts on this post, and I agree that at some point we have to move beyond merely a protest of something, but I am DAILY grateful to have a forum to work this stuff out with brothers and sisters who know what I’m going through and don’t just tell me to get holy and snap out of it.

Greg R