"Daddy, you are Christlike, why arent we? Why do we go into our churches covered by our masks of perfection like we have it all figured out? Why do we judge people without getting to know their hearts? Why do we hide our fears, failures, shame, and guilt all while shaking our heads at those who take that first step of vulnerability? What if we stopped living out of our oughts and freshly began to live out of our faith and our joy? What if we looked at every person with a sense of wonder rather than judgement? What if we truly loved our neighbors as ourselves? What if we embraced the beauty of our unique and treasured brothers and sisters? Father God, break these chains of insecurity and fear. Open our eyes to things unseen, Let us embrace change and new ideas. Mother God, hold us in your arms when we are too scared to take that first step of faith to love those who are different than ourselves! Help us to live as ONE in your spirit! Show us how to love like you love."
This past weekend I had the privilege to participate in a conversation about sexuality and the church. The conference was put on by The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and it was a great time of listening, learning, growing, and being transformed all in a respectful conversation and time of reflection. If you are interested in watching the videos from the conference which I strongly encourage you can see them at www.thefellowship.info/conference
The above prayer is one that I wrote during one of the sessions that we participated in over the weekend and I wanted to share it with you all. I was confronted with the idea that in our churches much of the time our actions and mindsets do not reflect that of Christs. I truly believe that our churches have the ability to be such a place of growth and transformation if we come in with a sense of vulnerability and acceptance for those who are different than us and even the same as ourselves. I wish that our churches could be a hospital for the broken, embraceful arms for those who need comfort, and a compassionate sense of joy for everyone who comes into our church!
Hope you all have a blessed day!
Blessings,
Jaime
