A few months ago, I felt a buzz from my phone and noticed a friend had texted me. It wasn't the kind of text I enjoyed receiving. He wanted to express his profound disappointment in me because I hold a position of acceptance and inclusion of the LGBT community in the church. What followed were links to videos my friend wanted me to watch to persuade me to recant my position. I'm old enough to know at this point in a discussion it's useless to try and defend my position. I’m a proponent of allowing people the opportunity to evolve voluntarily.* I gave it a go, though, and offered some resources that are worth reviewing because they were helpful. Resources that demonstrate that there is ample room in the faith for members of the pride community.

"You're just twisting scripture." was the reply. Then, a few subtle lines intended to question my intelligence or suggest that I do not understand the conservative view on the issue. I'm not easily bothered by a differing opinion. I have a hard time processing being perceived as a pernicious weed in the garden of faith I was raised in.

I've had many weeks to think about that interaction, and I’ve tried as best as I can to understand what drives the emotion behind various aspects of belief. There are surface-level issues of theological disagreement- but there is a deeper issue below the ground surface.

I don't believe the Bible itself is the source of my friend's frustration, anger, and disappointment.

I’ll go out on a limb here and venture that the Bible is probably the tip of the Iceberg. The foundation of this frustration is cultural. Without exception, we all approach scriptures through culture and experience. My friend was upset because my stance had opened the fence of a well-manicured lawn of cultural comfort. A culture with clear parameters of what is acceptable and what is not. I was allowing the wild to enter a domesticated region of belief.

I will walk further with this idea because there's more to consider here for someone whose earnest faith journey has caused them to walk beyond the fence.

Fences help us maintain gardens that look beautiful. Tidiness in a yard is eye-catching and gives us a sense of responsibility and security. Most people, including me, appreciate a front yard where the growth of certain plants is supported, and intruding plants and pests are removed. It's not that the weeds are bad; it's just that they don't remain under our control. Gardening is a matter of curating spaces and fortifying specific plant growth with fertilizer and pruning. Control is critical if you're keeping a beautiful landscape. While controlled monocultures provide a degree of comfort and enjoyment, they are vulnerable. In my mind, this is how someone like Donald Trump could so quickly captivate the conservative audience in the United States. Not enough diversity to build up resistance to a spiritual virus. To be clear, the current president could have been anyone—any individual using the same fear and anger formula would produce the same results.

In the words of Malcolm Gladwell, "...But what you give up in a world of uniformity is resilience." **

Disease can spread quickly in uniformity.

While troublesome, heretics bring wild ideas into communities that need change to help them survive and thrive.

Heretics are the cross-pollinators that drop the seeds that instigate much-needed change. Change that helps to fortify our cultures. They challenge us to think critically and adjust our perspective on an expansive universe. Sometimes, the cross-pollinator isn't a part of the equation. More often than not, there are greater forces at work. Sometimes, it’s the wind that scatters material that grows the unexpected.

There was a time in my life when I felt the best way to deal with the idea that I felt threatened the Christian faith or the Bible was to metaphorically chop it down and scorch the earth around it to make sure it never came back. Whereas now, I see the journey of faith as a very long walk of obedience in following Jesus. This walk takes me to places and situations I don't understand. The consequence of this journey is that the occasional bur has affixed itself to me with a seed that grows something from the wild.

I understand this will disappoint some. For the record, I can also appreciate how angry this must make someone who’s invested a whole lifetime in maintaining a faith that grows in very defined boundaries. It’s ok for people to be angry and disappointed. But is has always been important that people continue to take steps forward even if it upsets the order of things in a culture. My hope is that I will continue to learn, grow, and add value to the places I serve and encourage others to do the same. So my friend, if this makes any sense to you today, please know that you’re not alone. You may lose friends along the way, but God will send you new ones along the journey.

Stay wild

Notes:

*David Brooks in his book “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing others and Being Deeply Seen” developed the idea of allowing people to evolve voluntarily.

**Malcolm Gladwell does an amazing job of highlighting the risks of uniformity in “Revenge of the Tipping Point”