Over the next few days, information will be sent out about our plans to reopen the church building on June 7th. I expect there to be mixture of reactions, some voiced and some not; some from the congregants and some from fellow clergy; some nods of approval and some shakes of disapproval.
Whatever the case, I hope the process of reopening the building doesn't get in the way of why we are reopening the building. This isn't a conservative/liberal thing nor is it a political statement. I have always believed the church exists to actually be apolitical in a sense. That is, the church has an agenda over and beyond any political agenda. The fact that it may, at times, run alongside or opposed to one doesn't make a it a political machine. It just makes the political scene look good or bad..... sometimes accidentally.
I've always secretly enjoyed watching people guess at my political ideologies. True, many couldn't care less. However, I know that there are those that do or are at least curious enough to observe my behaviors in order to try and place me in a political category. Unfortunately, for a small percentage of them, finding a political category for their pastor will help them decide if he or she can actually be their pastor.
I am sure I have a category, but the hardcore truth is that I have made it a personal mission to focus on agendas that are Biblically-based. In doing so, I am sure I look a bit wishy-washy in the political machine as sometimes I favor one side and then another, depending on the context and the issues.
Was Jesus a liberal or a conservative? The answer: who cares? His mission to show unconditional love and actually forgive His opponents makes any so-called journalistic news network blush in embarrassment. Oddly, this motivates me to lead the church even more so while secretly enjoying those who are categorizing me.
So we are going to open the church building. Why? Because we want the community to know that God is still moving among us, even as still and quiet as we have been over the last few months. The church building is a symbol of a Faith that says God has a voice. And the people that meet in that building is the Church that tries it's darndest to help project that Voice.
So know that as we reopen the building, it is not a political statement. It is a theological statement. More than that, it is a statement of Faith. And I would be happy to be placed in that category.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
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