Monday, October 26, 2009

Sinful Saints

There are a couple of good blogs that I follow. Only a couple, because the Internet is so full of voices, and those voices all start to sound like noise after a while. One good blog that I've recently discovered is called Sarcastic Lutheran: the cranky spirituality of a postmodern Gal. The blog's name is catchy enough in itself. However, the content is also really thoughtful and intriguing. It's written by a self-proclaimed "outlaw preacher," draped in tattoos and a love for God. She is the mission developer for House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. The name of the church is true enough, and this pastor seems to understand God's grace in a very down-to-earth, just-because-I-preach-doesn't-mean-I'm-perfect manner. To get a clearer picture of this church's heartbeat, check out the poster below.



















Poster design by Jim Smelser

One of this "gal's" recent blogs caught my attention. It's called "A Confession." She writes:
I am uncomfortable with a whole lot of Christianity. But the thing is, I'm Christian (note I didn't say "a" Christian...as that, to me, plays into the whole Western individualism gone amuck in the church thing ....another example of which is the "personal" lord and savior bit...you know — "personal trainer", "personal shopper", "personal assistant" and "personal lord and savior")
Here's why I'm struggling with this right now. There is an emerging women's gathering in Portland that I'm considering attending. This is a huge step for me — to be willing to step outside my tribe a bit. So I poked around on the web looking for information about the event. I found a list of the organizers and looked at the home page from one of their churches. It looked amazing with lots of street kids and crazy dreadlocked pastors, but on their "about us" page the first thing was that "we believe the Bible is inerrant and totally true", which made me want to never stop slapping them.
What's odd is that I find myself nodding and smiling as I read this preacher's blog. Within a sentence or two, she summarizes what many postmodern Christians feel. We are a sinful bunch, trying to find the balance between logic, reason and faith. We believe in scientific evidence, yet are still drawn to God. We have seen lost hope and unanswered prayers, yet still pray to our Father in Heaven. We recognize our sin, yet continue to crawl back to the Lord. Why do we do this?

These are some of the hardest issues that Christians struggle with today. We believe in the Bible, but aren't sure that it's inerrant or infallible. Authoritative? Sure. Inspired? Definitely. We just aren't sure how to reconcile the contradictions and verses that don't seem to apply to our lives today. But you don't throw the baby out with the bath water. There's much to love and to gain in this Holy book. So we push forward, striving to learn more about this loving and confusing God that we serve.

The ironic and inspiring thing is, despite all the scientific evidence and convincing arguments against God that fill bookshelves and saturate Internet bandwidth, we sinful saints still press on, seeking God every day. This is amazing and profound to me. It gives me hope and energizes my spirit. You don't have to have all the answers to be Christian. You can have serious doubts and still be Christian. God's arms are open to all: the saints and especially the sinners. This is the astonishing message of grace.

All of this should come as a relief to many. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us completely. We can love him back...and also be mad at him. We can love him and be confused by his ways. Thankfully, in the end, this phrase holds true: There's nothing we can do to earn God's love — and there's nothing we can do to unearn it.

Click here to view the Outlaw Preacher's blog.