Bruce Reyes-Chow

Confession of a Christian in the United States

Flickr photo: smokingloon

Originally posted on 01.24.13 on reyes-chow.com.

As I scanned my newsfeed this morning, I had another one of those, “No duh, Bruce.” moments.

Yes, I am a Christian.

Yes, I am a citizen of the United States of America.

As a Christian – I believe that we must love and serve one another: the stranger, the enemy, the prisoner, the poor, the outcast, the hungry and the oppressed. And while often falling short, I strive to live this daily – even to the detriment of my own wealth, comfort and station.

As a US Citizen – I believe that each of us has been “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” – even if this belief gives people the right to make choices that are not always in their best interest.

Add this one in the “easy to say, hard to do” file.

Reading story after opinion after post, each tackling important questions around mental health, war, immigration, gun control, abortion, marriage equality or healthcare, I was again reminded that I must hold in tension the commitment to live my Christian faith with the responsibility of being a citizen of the United States of America.

Like I said, “No duh, Bruce.”

This is not a comfortable or simple tension to hold and it would be much much much easier to compartmentalize my world pretending as if the two are always in state of blissful alignment and never in direct conflict. But with our country’s ideologically discourse seemingly at a constant boil, as we debate such complex and passionate issues, it is never a bad idea to remind myself – Bruce, you are first a citizen of the Body of Christ and then a citizen of the United States of America.

When such difficult questions before us as a country, I must constantly commit to being a Christian who happens to be an American and not the other way around. For if I confuse the two, my independent American sensibilities and the pursuit of my own individual rights will too often result in just the opposite being inflicted up those whom my Christian faith calls me to love and serve. If my citizenship trumps my faith, the pursuit of my own life, liberty and happiness will lead directly and indirectly to the death, oppression and despair for the stranger, the enemy, the prisoner, the poor, the outcast, the hungry and the oppressed.

Does this mean that I want the United States to become a theocracy governed by a less than unanimous understanding of the Christian faith, of course not. And are there times when my faith and citizenship align, sure. The big takeaway for this Christian, who cherishes the opportunities to dialogue about the politics and policies of our country, is that I must be open to solutions to complex issues that might indeed infringe upon my own independence and personal gain so others may thrive. For in the end, our life does not belong to the United States of America, in life and in death, we belong to God.

Woe to me if I confuse the two.

I am still emergence

Flickr Photo: gadl

After the recent Emergence Christianity Gathering in Memphis, there have been some interesting responses about Phyllis Tickle’s presentation, the future of the emergent church, the response to privilege, etc. As I have skimmed the blogs, I have seen feisty conversations with some valid critiques and, for the most part, respectful interaction. Whether invested in the emergent church conversation or not, I choose to believe that all of these conversations will be good for the emergent body of Christ as we all seek a way forward.

Here are a few posts that have been shared, though Kimberly Roth seems to have a great list on her post, EC13 Reflections: Prologue.

Danielle Shroyer – Emergence Christianity Conference Wrap-up
Joel Rieves – The Big Blow Off
Todd Littleton - No Final Judgments – One Southern Baptist and Emergence Christianity
Julie Clawson - Emergence Christianity, Women, and the Fall of Christendom
Travis Mamone – When the Emerging Church Needs Reforming
Marci Glass – Dear Phyllis
Adam Walker Cleaveland - Emergence Christianity: Time To Look Forward
Holly Roach - By Invitation Only?: Private Summit Actually Threatens to Undermine Emergence Christianity
Tony Jones – What the Heck is a PechaKucha
Rebekah Berndt - A Place at the Table: What the Emerging Church Can Learn from Occupy

My input into the conversation is this — As we venture forward, we must be careful not to assume that the power of the emergent church lies in the hearts, minds or actions of any single person, any one gathering or any group of leaders. There are certainly respected individuals who fill traditional roles of organizational leadership, but I have always believed that the impact of the emergent church is most profoundly experienced through the inertia and momentum of the many groups of people who are gathering together, wherever they are or however they are lead — each living and seeking to move closer and closer to who and what God hopes the church to be.

Yes, there is a place for conferences, books and other traditional means of convening religious people, but these things do not, must not, be the sole definers of what it means to be the emergent church. If we allow this to happen, then those who sit outside of these spaces pointing fingers and tweets accusing the emergent church of just being the next iteration of what we have always done before . . . they will be right and these relationships built on emergence sensibilities that have been nurtured along the way, they will get lost in the fray.

Three years ago, I posted this I am emergence post as a confession of sorts . . . none of which has to do with a group of leaders, a “movement” or a defined set of beliefs.

because I believe that Jesus called us into individual and communal lives that are inspired and fueled by the wonderfully ambiguous, immeasurable and nuanced challenge of BEING the church;

because I believe the “T”ruth that God speaks to humanity must be discovered and rediscovered through a consistent and exhibited life of shared authority, communal theologizing and institutional fluidity;

because I believe that the political, theological and ecclesiastical “other” is discerning God’s calling on their lives just as faithfully as I am, but do not feel the need to stay in relationships that are confined by false, forced or unjust relationships;

because I embrace, respect and stand up for world that is does not exist in controllable and unyielding bounds of culture, class, sexuality, gender, economies, geography . . .;

and because I just am.

[full post]

I’m okay with these words. I guess, I am still emergence.

So, let’s keep growing by challenging AND defending one another, let’s keep gathering at conferences AND at the local pub, let’s keep gathering on the margins AND in the mainline . . . lets keep being this amorphous thing that has been and will be a powerful presence in the world even if none of us can say exactly what it is.

And if you want a little more emergence talk, here is my friend Anthony Smith.

Videos via Sogo Media.

Originally posted over at www.reyes-chow.com.