Free to Be…What Exactly?
Rev. Travis Garner is a United Methodist pastor in Tennessee. Last Sunday he wrote and shared this publicly and it’s too good not to pass along to you. It comes in the context of the recent SCOTUS “5-4” decision that has so many inflamed —
I’m a pastor to both the 5 and to the 4. I’m a pastor to people who sharply disagree with one another. And the bottom line is this: all are welcomed in my church and loved unconditionally by God. And all are asked and enabled to become more than what they are when they walked in the door – a person who is continually growing and transforming into the likeness of Christ. I am grateful that this morning, at my church, there will be space for everyone; all are invited.
From Ephesians 4: “May we all be rooted and established in love, completely humble and gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Remembering that there is one body and one Spirit, and one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
—All I can add is my Amen. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
joescheets 
Perhaps my comment for “What Kind of Children” is even more appropriate posted to this entry as well as this one. We would not be honoring Christ’s teachings (after all we are not”Paultians”) if we were to segregate our churches. It was once done by color, now we should go backwards rather than forward. It was never right in the past.
Up until the past few weeks, I thought the religiously correct Christians were somewhere in the Old Testament. It wasn’t until last night it is a Paul tradition. Christ brought love to the Law. The Ten most important ones I believe He meant. I know what I believe and that I follow Christ’s teachings, also known as a Christian. As such, with someone whose Faith was once closely parallel to my own, I am troubled by the widening gap and when or how we stopped sharing the same Christian values?
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And you asked the big question quite well, yup.
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“this entry as well as this one” s/b “…that one”
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