can we chat?

I’ve spent the better part of the past two days listening online to the Exiles in Babylon conference. For the past four years, Preston Sprinkle at The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender has hosted this conference. 

I’ve so appreciated the premise behind this conference- the Bible tells us that we are exiles in this world and calls to walk as Christ’s ambassadors in this foreign land. The discussions during the conference equip us to walk well.

I’ve been challenged through the teaching and dialogue to be a disciple in being able to have conversations with people who do not think, look, or act like me. It’s an art for sure!

In the last decade plus, if I could boil down all that the Lord has grown in me, I see this deep truth: I am surrounded by image bearers, some of them follow Jesus and some of them do not- but all of them are preciously created in the imago Dei.  That alone makes all people immensely valuable.

Added to that, if you consider Paul’s words in Romans explaining that God came to rescue us while we were still sinners, I have to conclude that God loved me while I was still dead in my sin. If God loved me in my sin, it follows that I ought to love others. When we were still sinners, Jesus loved us.  Jesus loves sinners, and so should I. 

This has been a massive learning curve as I didn’t grow up in a space that taught that kind of dialogue- being able to listen well, being curious about the person in front of me, and speaking winsomely about Jesus and the gospel. While it’s been a steep hill for me to climb in the learning, it has been worth every step- a thousand times over. Seeing my heart enlarge to be even a small reflection of God’s heart is incredible and humbling.

In this season, living in Indiana, it’s hard not to hide my head under my pillow- listen to nothing in the news, never engage with social media, and avoid anyone I think might not agree with my thoughts. I’m just being honest. It's a volatile world, and I want the day to be peaceful. It’s a polarized world, and I want to move outside the pull of either end. It’s tiring. And if I’m being honest, the tiredness in me comes primarily from fellow believers. We, as a church culture, seem to be unable to even entertain the notion that we might not be right and that someone across from me might have wisdom that I do not. We’ve lost the ability and desire to listen.

Don’t hear what I’m not saying: desiring to have sound and right doctrine is good and I should aspire “to be right”. I’m working on my Master’s Degree right now. However, asserting my “rightness” at the expense of love is never what I see Jesus model.

I was talking to a friend recently and we disagreed about a current situation in the news. As I reflected on my responses later, I had to ask myself the question, “Why is it so important to be right? Why am I not wrecked with grief over my inability to love well?”

I want to love well and not sacrifice truth. These are not mutually exclusive.

So I’m grateful for these exiles that have spoken through my computer screen the past couple of days. I’m grateful for living witnesses who desire to love well, and can sit in a space filled with tension and still see the imago Dei sitting across from them.

What about you? How are you walking this out in your own world and context? 

I’ve found it hard to even begin to type a blog as the world around me can feel overwhelming. But I believe with all that I am that the answer is found in community. Together, living as exiles together, we can link arms, lift each other up, hold each other accountable, and grow into loving disciples who are focused on advancing His Kingdom agenda above all else.

Join me? Tea? Coffee? Chat?