Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Whiskey Preacher

Home
About Whiskey Preacher
- Writings
- Interviews
Book & Contact Info
Subscribe To The Whiskey Updates

Home
Progressive Christian
A Year Of Tears and Fists: Guest Post by Harley Matthews

A Year Of Tears and Fists: Guest Post by Harley Matthews

Last updated on: August 24, 2012 at 1:24 pm by Phil Shepherd

A Year Of Tears and Fists: Guest Post by Harley Matthews 2012-08-24T13:24:14-06:00 Phil Shepherd

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Harley Mathews bio:
Along with my wife, i co-pastor The Brewery, a multi-faith community in Corpus Christi, Texas. Along with heavy arts involvement, we attempt to practice the spiritual discipline of “giving a shit”, since 2008. I also am a huge Boston Celtics fan and comic book collector.

A year of tears and fists.

I still think of those few weeks as often as any great memory in my mind. It found itself inside a year of discernment, culminated in fists and tears of hope, calling, revolution, and resolve. We learned a lot about who we are those days. We learned we are family.

I co-pastor a small experimental community that began as therapeutic rounds of coffee and scripture and complaining, but has progressed towards peace making and compassion with understanding and a plural religious experience.

The week i speak of involved making “free libya” patches and stickers and posters and listening to al jezeera hourly for reports. A family in our community has family there. We had no idea what life was like, and if it weren’t for brave friends and people utilizing facebook and twitter, most wouldn’t of believed it. But we saw it, and our faiths were challenged, our prayers we trusted were heard, but where would our feet go? I know a few of us looked into tickets to go help in fits of desperation.

The Christian church has brought itself out of many of its self-centered traits within the last 20 years or so, challenging itself instead of only challenging its outsiders, and we have come to believe that culture and Christ have brought us to begin our daily lives seeing each other asGod-created first. Doctrine is paper, and paper is important, but flesh and blood are something we share that God want us to stop ignoring.

The Brewery, our small community, has taught me how close we all are, and the multiple faiths generated there find life in our space while still attending our churches and local bars and mosques and homes. I am learning that we aren’t inter-faith as much as multi-faith, we refuse the unacknowledgedof those of us who trust George Lucas and Joss Whedon more for enlightenment than Jesus. Every story is important.

So, many of us, though differing in opinion but unified in “family” we built these weekly meetings held a vigil for those dying in Libya, and wept together out loud and in our hearts. After standing with our Muslim brothers and sisters protesting a tyrant that we only knew of because of that lovely family in our community experiment, i knew that my calling wasmt dried up and lifeless.

You see, we naturally met one another, we didn’t set out to have ex-evangelicals, recovering addicts, muslims, republican and democrats, we simply knew we loved each other and needed to try and keep that up while discussing the Bible and star wars and islam and peacemaking. So, it has been through a fair proportion of tears and fists that we have been unified with one another. This real and tangible world we live in allows us to know one another, and God knows we are too similar to keep on pointing out only the differences!

sister faith communities

Previous Post

May 16, 2012

Brite Divinity Lecture/Dialogue On Contextual Spiritual Formation 5/16/12

Next Post

May 20, 2012 "Am I Truly A Pacifist?" Vidcast

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Are We Missing The Point? Podcast Articles Featured Job, Tattoos, & The Problem With Pain Podcasts Prayers Uncategorized Vidcasts WBR

Select a Month December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 July 2016 May 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 June 2014 May 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 July 2011 May 2011 March 2011 February 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What ailment did Jesus heal with mud made from saliva?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Deafness Paralysis Blindness Leprosy