Messy Spirituality https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/ Finding God in unexpected places Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:15:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 War is Over (do we want it?) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/12/war-is-over-do-we-want-it/ Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:15:38 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=665
One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the annual return of the John Lennon classic “Happy XMas (War is Over)”. For a couple of months at the end of each year, we are reminded of the following:
“War is over.
If you want it.
War is over now.”
After a year full of bloodshed in Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, Palestine, and around the world, we deeply need this reminder that war is a man-made invention and it is entirely within our power to permanently end it.
It is physically easier to not fight than fight. Peace is less exhausting and less expensive than war. Peace is better for the environment. And, of course, peace is better for the flourishing of human life than war. So why don’t we simply choose to lay down our weapons and find a way forward in which everyone involved gets what they need to survive and thrive?
Money
Well, money, for one thing. War is the biggest business. Governments collectively spend trillions of dollars each year on war and the weapons of mass destruction that are literally tearing humanity apart. War budgets go largely unchecked as “defense” spending and the sky is the limit when it comes to throwing money at new ways to kill people. The United States’ 2024 Defense Authorization Act allocates over $844 billion to defense spending. That includes pay for nearly 1.4 million members of our armed forces and the maintenance of over 750 military bases in over 80 countries of the world. During the first half of 2023, defense contractors spent $66.6 billion lobbying Congress (wining, dining, and donating to campaigns) to include them in the annual defense budget.
As is often the case during Democratic presidencies, the anti-war left is largely MIA during the Biden administration.
Politics and Power
World politics plays a role in feeding the war machine. Right now, the USA and Russia are engaged in a proxy war in Ukraine. Russian authoritarian Vladimir Putin is hungry for expansion and the US is doing their best to prevent him from growing beyond his current boundaries. Millions of innocent people in Ukraine are paying the price. So far, the US has avoided sending uniformed troops into the conflict but is instead pumping billions of dollars into Ukraine’s defense. Many Republicans in Congress seem to be siding with Putin this time around which would have been unheard in the cold war era.
Politics is driving the American response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well. Since the appalling October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, the US has pumped millions into Israel’s defense and retribution campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent $2.2 million lobbying Congress to support Israel in the first 9 months of 2023. Politicians on both sides of the partisan aisle continue to show unflinching support for the State of Israel. Defending Israel seems to be the one thing that most Republicans and Democrats in Government can agree on. Five million Palestinians are caught in the crossfire and paying with life and limb.
Ending the Conflict
With all of the money constantly injected into world conflict, it’s safe to say it would take an overwhelming popular movement to challenge the status quo. There is some good news in that regard. Polling indicates that 68% of the American people support a ceasefire in Gaza. Sadly, the American public is largely checked out when it comes to other world conflicts where American media have failed to cover the bloodshed.
If those who want peace can get organized and focus their efforts on building bigger tables, rather than walls, between parties in conflict, we may someday live in a world at peace.
In the Gospels, Jesus shows us the way:
“Love your enemies.
Turn the other cheek.
Lay down your weapons.
Never return evil for evil.”
So what will it take for the 2 billion people on the planet who call themselves Christians to follow the lead of the Prince of Peace on this issue? First, we’ll have to loosen ourselves from the grip of fear. Fear keeps us in defense mode and makes it easy to kindle the flames of violence. Second, we must become intentional about knowing and loving our neighbors who are nothing like us.
The Heartbreaking Reality
During my days as a pastor in Alabama, I was preaching one Sunday about loving our enemies. I mentioned loving Muslims. A normally sweet older woman in the congregation interjected, “It’s hard to love someone who is trying to slit your throat.” This broke my heart. Our view of humanity is more informed by fear and Fox News than it is by Jesus. Rather than seeing our Muslim neighbors as human beings created in the image of God worthy of dignity and love, we view them as a threat. The same principle has played out in inner cities all over America as white churches flee to the suburbs in fear of the myth of the violent black man.
So we remain in our white, Christian silos and watch the world burn rather than actively working for peace.
War is over if we want it. Sadly, right now, it seems we don’t.
And Jesus weeps.
]]> Love, Bread, and Spaceships with Rob Bell https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/12/love-bread-and-spaceships-with-rob-bell/ Mon, 04 Dec 2023 23:09:13 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=656
In this new episode of the show, I got a chance to speak with New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell about seeing the world as a temple, humanity’s big “Why?”, and the art of storytelling.
Rob Bell
Rob Bell is a bestselling author, international teacher, and highly sought after public speaker. His books include The New York Times bestsellers What Is the Bible?, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, Love Wins, as well as The Zimzum of Love, Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars.
He also happens to be one of the best communicators on the planet.
At age 28, Rob founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, and under his leadership it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In 2011, he was profiled in Time Magazine as one of their 100 most influential people. He was featured on Oprah’s 2014 Life You Want Tour and will be speaking at venues around the world in 2015 on the Everything is Spiritual Tour. Rob and his wife Kristen have three children and live in Los Angeles.
Resources
You can pick up a copy of Rob’s latest book, Where’d You Park Your Spaceship?. It’s simultaneously hilarious, hopeful, and terrifying. It really is an incredible read!
Be sure to check out Rob’s podcast, website, and Two Days in Ojai events (as discussed in this conversation).
]]> Woke Like Jesus https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/11/woke-like-jesus/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 22:15:57 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=644
The word “woke” has been co-opted by the political right, but its’ origin lies in the African-American community during the American civil rights era. The original users of the term used it as an admonition to one another “stay woke” or remain awakened to the dangers of injustice all around them. Would Jesus of Nazareth be considered woke today?
Twisted Meaning
Today, the word is used by some right-wing culture warriors to demean anything they disagree with.
Don’t like Trump? Woke.
Don’t like Truth Social? Woke.
Don’t want to ban books we disapprove of? Woke.
Supporting Disney? Woke.
Allowing trans athletes to participate in sports according to their embraced identity? Woke.
The Wokeness of Jesus
In the Gospels, Jesus is often saying, “Let he who has eyes to see…” or “ears to hear” to represent the same type of admonition that the civil rights pioneers were getting at.
Feed the hungry. Woke.
Visit prisoners. Woke.
Forgive debt. Woke.
Heal the sick (for free!). Woke.
Loan and don’t charge interest. Woke.
If someone asks for your coat, give them your shirt as well. Woke.
Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. Woke.
How Did We Get Here?
How did so many church-going Americans end up so far from the ideals represented in Jesus’ sermon on the mount?
It’s possible that our discipleship was more formed by Donald Trump, Fox News, and the ultra-conservative parachurch organizations like Focus on the Family than by Jesus.
I’ll be diving into this topic in my next book which will hopefully be released next year.
]]> Grateful for Our Evolving Consciousness https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/11/grateful-for-our-evolving-consciousness/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 23:30:33 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=629
As we approach the holiday season, I find myself feeling an unusual sense of gratitude this year.
Family
Of course, I’m grateful for this wonderful life. My wife, Brandi, is brilliant and beautiful and makes every day better. Our kids- Alex (21), Britain (19), Emily (19), and Jaxon (12)-are growing up and leaning into the people they have decided to be without the burden of religious shame weighing them down.
My Mom was able to buy her first house on her own this year. She absolutely loves it and we couldn’t be happier for her. Unfortunately, that house is almost ten hours from ours, but we talk daily and are making plans to see each other soon.
This year, Brandi, Britain, Emily, Jaxon, and I all relocated to the Orlando area from our beloved home near Navarre Beach. Britain and Emily moved down here in January to participate in the Disney College Program and we followed in May. I still miss our life in Navarre every day, but we have a beautiful home surrounded by exotic trees and wildlife near Orlando close to Disney and we have been putting our annual passes to good use since we got down here.
The adult kids all have significant others that we love and it feels like our family is growing beyond the original boundaries which we are really excited about.
I’m also grateful for meaningful work that I love. At the non-profit that I work for, we get to serve people in dire circumstances and provide them with the support and guidance they need to achieve stability of life. It’s an incredible honor!
Of course, I’m grateful for each one of you who take time to read these missives, listen to a podcast, buy a pound of coffee beans from us, or follow my journey on social media. Thank you!
The Changing World Around Us
The world is changing. Covid-19 is starting to feel like a distant memory-although we’ll never forget those we lost to that horrible virus or those who continue to suffer from it. But in many ways, American society has largely moved beyond the pandemic era.
This week, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day respite in the war that has been slaughtering innocents for the last 47 days. I pray that those who need food, water, medical care, and to mourn their dead will find it in them during this temporary ceasefire. There are reports that the break in fighting will extend 1 day for every 10 hostages that Hamas releases in the days to come. If that proves to be the case, what will happen once all hostages are freed? The world waits.
Evolving Consciousness
In the midst of the current fog of war, I find myself grateful for our evolving collective human consciousness. In a deep sense, I feel that humanity is slowly coming to grips with our shared connection and moving toward a day when we will no longer identify ourselves solely based on what flag we are born under or which politician we voted for in the last election. Somehow, someway we will find a way to come together as one to solve the very real problems of poverty, hunger, disease, and war.
I’m looking forward to 2024 and the hope it brings that the world can be made new again.
What are you most grateful for this Thanksgiving?
]]> Two Wrongs Will Never Make a Right https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/11/two-wrongs-will-never-make-a-right/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 23:16:31 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=614
The images coming out of Israel and Palestine over the last month and a half have been heartbreaking.
In response the brutal murder of an estimated 1200 Israelis (among victims of other nationalities) and the kidnapping of more than 100 hostages by terrorist group Hamas, Israel has launched an all-out attack on Gaza and other areas of Palestine. So far, Israel has reportedly killed more than 12,000 Palestinians including thousands of children. Food, water, electricity, medical oxygen, and fuel are in short supply creating a catastrophic situation in Palestine.
Who’s to Blame?
Hamas is a notorious terrorist cell that deserves to be arrested and held accountable for their actions. In many ways, Hamas seems to be actively working against the cause of Palestinian freedom. They apparently use tunnels under hospitals and schools to conduct their murderous business, effectively using their fellow Palestinians as human shields.
The heavy-handed Netanyahu government of Israel, however, shares a lot of the blame for dramatically escalating the conflict with their indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Yes, the Israeli government did tell the Palestinian people to flee the area before they started dropping bombs, but they also knew that Hamas would block the passage of Palestinians to regions outside of the bombing zone and that, ultimately, the Palestinian people had nowhere else to go.
The Myth of Redemptive Violence
This situation demonstrates the hopelessness of war to ever solve the world’s problems. They kill a thousand of us. We kill ten thousand of them. And God weeps. Our absolute refusal to see the other as our equal worthy of love and respect has been the downfall of the human race throughout our violent history.
As Shane Claiborne said last week, “Killing is the problem, not the solution. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We will not build a peaceful world by killing each other’s children”.
I hope and pray for the safe return of the Israeli hostages.
I hope and pray for the end of this (and all) war.
I hope and pray that one day human consciousness will evolve beyond the fear that keeps us from turning our swords into plowshares.
Until then, we work for peace.
]]> From Marine to Pacifist: a conversation with Dillon Naber Cruz https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/11/from-marine-to-pacifist-a-conversation-with-dillon-naber-cruz/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 22:50:01 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=596
In this episode, Jason talks with author and public theologian Dillon Naber Cruz about his journey from the Marines to pacifism, the war in Israel/Palestine, the Trump effect on Evangelicalism, Christian Nationalism, and a lot more.
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by Augmented-a Science Fiction Anthology from Quoir.
This episode is also brought to you Peaceful Warrior Coffee Co where you can order single-origin coffee beans from around the world that are roasted and shipped on the same day. Shipping to USA addresses is always free. Use code “Messy” for 15% off your first order!
In this episode, Jason talks with author and public theologian Dillon Naber Cruz about his journey from the Marines to pacifism, the war in Israel/Palestine, the Trump effect on Evangelicalism, Christian Nationalism, and a lot more.
Check out Dillon’s incredible new book, Theological Musings. It’s really phenomenal!
You can connect with Dillon on Facebook, X, and via his website.
Follow the Messy Spirituality crew:
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You can find Kyle on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
You can find Jason on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads (because he’s way too old for TikTok).
Be sure to check out our Youtube channel.
Also, please join the conversation over on our Messy Conversations group on FB!
Thanks for listening! Please leave us a rating or review and subscribe or follow the show on your platform of choice!
]]> Sunday Sermon: “Are You Ready to Get Unstuck?” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/03/sunday-sermon-do-you-want-to-be-well/ Sun, 19 Mar 2023 16:17:59 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=576
I got so much great feedback about the Sunday Sermon two weeks ago that I decided to turn it into a series. This message is part two.
Sometimes, the way out of our rut is simpler than we think.
What is your next, best step to breaking free?
If you’d prefer to listen to audio only, please check out the podcast version.
Recommended Reading:
Jesus’ Alternative Plan by Richard Rohr
Returning to Eden by Heather Hamilton
Referenced in This Episode:
Robcast 338: That Was 13 Robs Ago
The Wisdom of Hobbits by Matthew J. Distefano
Parenting Deconstructed Compiled by Jason and Brandi Elam
]]> Woke Like Jesus https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/03/sunday-sermon-jesus-the-mystic/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/03/sunday-sermon-jesus-the-mystic/#comments Sun, 05 Mar 2023 20:15:02 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=552
The word “woke” has been co-opted by the political right, but its’ origin lies in the African-American community during the American civil rights era. The original users of the term used it as an admonition to one another “stay woke” or remain awakened to the dangers of injustice all around them.
Today, the word is used by many culture warriors to demean anything they disagree with.
Don’t like MAGA? Woke.
Don’t like DeSantis? Woke.
Don’t want to ban books we disapprove of? Woke.
Supporting Disney? Woke.
Allowing trans athletes to participate in sports according to their embraced identity? Woke.
In the Gospels, Jesus is often saying, “Let he who has eyes to see…” or “ears to hear” to represent the same type of admonition that the civil rights pioneers were getting at.
How did so many church-going Americans end up so far from the ideals represented in Jesus’ sermon on the mount?
It’s possible that our discipleship was more formed by Fox News, Donald Trump, and the old Christian Coalition than by Jesus.
Jesus was non-violent. Woke.
Jesus stood by victims of oppression. Woke.
Jesus encouraged his followers to forgive the debts of others. Woke.
Jesus told rich people to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor. Woke.
Jesus taught his followers to feed the hungry, visit prisoners, and heal the sick (for FREE!). Woke. Woke. Woke.
I’ll be diving into this topic in my next book which will hopefully be released next year.
]]> https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2023/03/sunday-sermon-jesus-the-mystic/feed/ 523 Parenting Deconstructed https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2022/11/parenting-deconstructed/ Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:01:48 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=529
The day we had been dreading had finally arrived. Our oldest child, Alex, was moving out on her own. I had always expected to be relieved to see our kids spread their wings and fly away from the nest. After all, raising healthy, well-adjusted kids who can thrive on their own is nearly every parent’s goal, right? Recently though, as my faith continued to evolve, I realized we had not done a good job of representing spiritual and emotional health to our kids. As our views of God shifted, so did our parenting techniques. But for our oldest (and her two slightly younger siblings), I was afraid that our spiritual evolution happened too late.
Who’s Lost? Us or Them?
Brandi and I were both raised in Evangelical homes steeped in end times prophetic warnings and purity culture. We were both raised with an unhealthy fear of God. The trauma of the cross was so ingrained in my psyche that I couldn’t even look at a picture of Jesus on the cross without being overwhelmed by guilt and shame. As a child, I used to have recurring nightmares about a hand reaching out from under my bed and dragging me into hellfire. My evangelical upbringing told me that’s what I deserved so I interpreted the dreams as a warning of things to come.
As an adult, I “answered the call” to ministry to spread the evangelical gospel because I was convinced that’s what God wanted me to do. I saw God as a loving but firm taskmaster who was waiting to lower the boom on us when we stepped outside of his prescribed moral lifestyle.
Have a flat tire? You probably weren’t tithing.
Sick? You must not have enough faith.
Depressed? You just need the joy of the Lord!
Lonely? You should go to church more!
Reading those ridiculous oversimplifications today makes my stomach turn, but I was a master at using the “sword of the Spirit” as my own personal bludgeoning instrument. During my shockingly loud sermons, I would rail against one sin after another for most of an hour until everyone in the church was overwhelmed by a sense of guilt that had them running to the altar to “repent” and “get right with God.”
That was my life’s work for years —guilt tripping people into the Kingdom of God. Of course, that kind of repentance rarely takes root, and folks didn’t stick around the churches that I pastored for very long. Today, I’m grateful for that. Back then, however, it was a source of great frustration and heartbreak to me. Within just a few years, I was completely burned out.
As the stress worsened my miserable first marriage collapsed along with my ministry. At rock bottom, I looked up and began to experience and appreciate the grace and compassion of God. I could sense that God still loved me and still had some purpose for my life, but I still struggled with legalism and a deeply embedded sin consciousness.
This muddled stream of love and legalism corrupted all my relationships. Even after marrying the love of my life, Brandi, and raising four kids together, I still found myself operating out of both compassion and guilt which led to a rather two-faced existence.
“God loves you. Now act right.”
“No, you can’t use that app because bad things happen on that app.”
“No, you can’t date. Boys only want one thing from girls.”
“I don’t care that you don’t want to go to church today. That’s what we do on Sundays!”
As you can imagine, this wasn’t a fun existence for anyone involved. Brandi was further along in her spiritual evolution than I was and often pushed back against my heavy-handed rules. That caused friction between us. Unfortunately for our oldest three kids, most of their childhood was lived in that tension.
The Ice Begins to Thaw
More than a decade later, I was walking around the track one day at my local gym listening to author Jonathan Martin interview his fellow author, Brad Jersak. As they spoke about the love of God, I experienced something incredible. I can only describe what happened that day as waves of liquid love crashing over me. All my guilt, shame, and fear were washed away that day. I saw—for the first time—a God who loves us all as we are. I encountered a Jesus whose table was big enough for every member of the human family with no exceptions. In the years since, I have come to know a God who has no desire to control me in any way. That’s a big turnaround from believing in a God who cared whether I wore the striped socks or the plain!
I knew that my relationships with my family needed to change in light of this liberating understanding of God, but how? We had raised our kids with strict rules because that’s how we thought God dealt with us. Now that we understand that God isn’t like that what does it mean for how we relate to our kids?
Sitting in my recliner that day, across from our oldest with tears streaming down my face, I told her how sorry I was for not being a better parent. We told her that she always had a home with us and would never be without a place to go if she needed one. But I knew the chances of her ever coming back to live with us for more than a couple of weeks between college semesters were nearly non-existent. She is a smart, beautiful girl with an independent spirit, and we had clipped her wings long enough.
We wanted to do better by our other kids. But how?
I searched everywhere for a book on the subject. I finally came across “Parenting Forward: How to Raise Children with Justice, Mercy, and Kindness” by Cindy Wang Brandt and found it helpful, but I needed more. I kept looking for resources and coming up empty.
That’s how our new book, Parenting Deconstructed, came to be. We reached out to writers, teachers, and counselors that we know and trust and invited them to submit their thoughts on parenting post-deconstruction. Our co-authors in this book come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs, but they have at least one thing in common: They want to see you love your kids well and give them the best possible start in life. You’ll notice some common themes—most of us wrestled with the idea that if we’d just “train up a child in the way they should go, and when they grow older they won’t depart from it,” but what does that really mean and does it even matter in 2022?
I love the different perspectives and understandings represented in this book, and I hope you will too. Some of us are still actively seeking to follow Jesus. Others are not. Some of us can’t even describe where we are spiritually right now—and that’s ok. Every contributor brings hard-fought wisdom and fresh insights that will help you be the best parent that you can be.
This isn’t a book about how to be a perfect parent. That book doesn’t exist. If that’s what you’re looking for you should just go ahead and take this book back to wherever you bought/borrowed it.
This book represents a journey toward understanding our kids and our relationships with them better in light of our shifting spiritual beliefs.
And that’s a very good place to start.
This article is excerpted from “Parenting Deconstructed: Navigating Your Spiritual Evolution Without Leaving Your Family Behind” which releases today from Quoir Publishing. The book includes chapters by Keith Giles, Matthew J. Distefano, Jonathan Puddle, Desimber Rose Wattleton, Laura Forehand, Christopher and Elizabeth Eaker, Karl Forehand, Derrick Day, Ben DeLong, Jon Turney, Joshua Lawson, and Phil Drysdale. The book has been endorsed by Thomas Jay Oord, April Ajoy, Laci Bean, Glenn Siepert, Seth Price, Dallas Verity, and even Cindy Wang Brandt herself!
100% of author royalties from this book will go to helping traumatized children get the counseling they need so please order your copy today!
]]> The Messy Spirituality Podcast-a New Era Begins! https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2022/07/the-messy-spirituality-podcast-a-new-era-begins/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/2022/07/the-messy-spirituality-podcast-a-new-era-begins/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:16:06 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/messyspirituality/?p=521
Join us for season four of The Messy Spirituality Podcast as we welcome new co-hosts, Lola Robbins and Kyle Butler!
Lola is a deep thinker, accomplished hairstylist, and one of the co-hosts of the Deadly Faith podcast.
Kyle is the reigning “Prince of Positivity” and a veteran podcaster and social media personality. Kyle is a former evangelical pastor who now spends his time encouraging humanity to embrace their own divinity.
Welcome, Lola and Kyle!