I passed quite a few interesting churches on this particular day – churches that each advertised its particular dogmatic bent with uniquely intriguing words. First there was New Hope Baptist Church, that reminded me that “Every test becomes a testimony.” And yet I wondered: a testimony to what? To the inevitable “victory” that comes from steadfastly chasing one’s self-centered goals or dreams, or maybe something more in alignment with The Way of Jesus Christ – a testimony to maintaining a heartfelt sense of gratitude during times of trial or turbulence, and a wholehearted resolution to continue ever onward while championing the cause of Love? … And then there was the Steele Creek Missionary Baptist Church, that quite brazenly informed us all that: “No God, no peace; Know God, know peace.” And yet again I wondered: Was our deepest sense of peace really that selfish? Must we really believe in a certain godhead (or even any godhead at all) to attain a sense of inner calm? And how are we to “know” this God in order to gain that calming measure? Must He be adored and praised and worshiped loudly from the rooftops (if He is even a he at all)? Or would it be enough to simply whisper His greatness into the darkness of a quiet closet? And then the greatest query of all: what kind of a God would establish such a petty requirement for those he supposedly created an loved? Wouldn’t a loving God make it easy for all of His children to know peace, not merely those who coddled to His celestial yearnings & dysfunctions? … Next came the Apostolic Faith Tabernacle in the town of Walnut Hill – a church “Where mercy and truth meet together.” And yet again I wondered: How can mercy and truth ever meet at a place where the doors are far more often than not locked to those in real need? … And then finally I came across a church that seemed to Get It on a far deeper level – a far more practical level and a level for more profound. For here was the Church of the 7^th Day Adventist in Bristol, a church that quite simply – and quite correctly – proclaimed The Way of Christ: “Always be kinder than necessary” … Amen, indeed – and let it soon be so!

“God’s people are not to accumulate stuff for tomorrow or harbor ‘the only truth’ for today, but are rather to share indiscriminately & even recklessly with a scandalous and holy confidence that God will ever provide for tomorrow. For the true follower of The Way, there is never a cause for stockpiling stuff in barns or maintaining an emergency fund or fattening up one’s 401(k). If there is another nearby in need, he or she is to be given whatever he or she needs to know peace again; no matter the outlay or costs. And there are no exceptions to this precept. It is The Way’s one and only way … The idea of Christian perfection, which began in the ancient monasteries and spread to the world as an ideal, is one of the most appealing, demanding and ultimately hopeless notions of the spiritual life. We humans are all radically imperfect. And yet that, paradoxically, is the most welcome of news. For it is the recognition of our innate & inevitable incompleteness that makes our Love so incredibly powerful when we choose to give it anyway.” ~ inspired by Shane Claiborne & Donald Spoto

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt