From the Pastor

February 2009

Pastor Brian – All God’s Children Got A Place in the Choir

I’ve had interesting conversations with some people lately about why they’ve stopped worshipping at church. I thought that I might have heard stories about being wronged or offended by something I, or a former pastor, or someone else might have said. I thought I might have heard about how boring worship is, or about the hymn selection, or about how they are unhappy with the direction the church is going in.

But this is not what I’ve been hearing. Rather, the most common reason I get for not worshipping is, “I just don’t believe it anymore,” or some variation on this theme.

This is not an easy confession for people to make, especially to a pastor. So, when it is made, I take it very seriously. And it’s hard to condemn this position these days. What with advances in science broadening our understanding of the universe and the world around us and explaining things that were once attributed solely to God, a growing respect and tolerance for other cultures and faiths, and the prevalence of religious extremism in the world today and throughout history, it’s hard not to be sympathetic with someone who says, “I just don’t believe it anymore.” My initial response is to say, “Yes, I understand; but please know that you are welcome to join us anytime.”

However, I’ve recently been challenged to make a better response.

Marcus Borg in his book, “The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith,” talks about students who say to him every year, “This is all very interesting, but I just don’t believe in God,” to which Borg responds, “tell me about this God that you no longer believe in.” Invariably, they will describe a distant God with a lot of rules who chooses periodically to intervene in human affairs, but who mostly allows atrocities like the Jewish Holocaust or the Rwandan Genocide to just happen. Borg relates his student’s surprise when he tells them that, even as a practising Christian himself, he doesn’t believe in that God either.

Tell me about this faith, this God, this Jesus, this doctrine, this church that you no longer believe in.

The Bible offers a myriad of images and characteristics for God. The Christian faith is a history of diverse understandings of God, of Jesus, of salvation, forgiveness, and so on. Contrary to what many people who claim the title ‘evangelical’ will tell you, it cannot be distilled down to one belief or one doctrine to which one must assent to be saved or to be Christian or to be a Child of God. Lutheranism, likewise is and always has been since the day after Luther’s death, a vast array of theological understanding, worship practise and piety. From German orthodoxy to Norwegian pietism, from social liberalism to social conservatism and everything in between – all of it is represented at St. Ansgar Lutheran Church today. This diversity challenges us to discern what exactly it is that binds us together in faith – and what we mean by “faith.” But it is also an opportunity to say to the community around us, and to the whole community on our membership roles, both active and inactive, “tell us about this faith and this God and this Jesus that you no longer believe in. Let’s talk about it, because it may be that we’re not so far apart as you might think. And then, let us together get on with the work of peace and love and justice and transformation in our world and in our lives, because that’s a church and a spiritual practise worthy of our participation and support.”

The old song says, “All God’s children got a place in the choir.” This is most certainly true.

Peace,
Pastor Brian