The Struggle Of Calling People Into Spaces That Don’t Welcome The Marginalized

Here’s the good news though!

The inverse of this is also true. Studies have shown that many times the cure for addiction is simply an environment where one is given a sense of belong. Studies have even gone so far as suggesting that this sense of belonging actually overrides diseases; diseases that were otherwise thought to be caused by drinking or smoking.

Genuinely, please, stop and think about this: If the cure for cancer is literally as simple as offering up and freely giving out this sense of belonging to individuals… then, what if this is what Jesus meant when he called His disciples to “heal the sick…”?

“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ²and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)

What if Jesus knew that by calling oppressed persons in this was His “supernatural” secret for healing the sick, casting out “demons”, and restoring life to the otherwise dead; maybe it wasn’t supernatural so much it was simply small individualized radical acts of love that lead to big change [us normal people labeled as “supernatural”]; maybe, the people weren’t sick they were just exiled and without food, so He fed them; maybe, they weren’t mentally ill, what if they were just gaslighted (read: abused) into a state of insanity they were made to then lose sight of reality.

Maybe these people Jesus invited in were people just like us: hurt, lonely, broken, lost, tired weak and weary (read: ordinary). And, just maybe, the call of the privileged is to carry the burden of those being persecuted [1].

Final Thoughts…

The church we want is not going to just build itself; if you’re waiting for Churches to reform before you return… I mean, I wouldn’t hold my breath for much longer; in other words, there’s work to be done. In 2018, make this your mantra: “It’s better to light a candle than it is to curse the darkness…” This is why I’ve stayed okay with being labeled an “evangelical.” This is why I do these types of Christmas Day meals and dinners. And, this is why I’m here today, exhorting all of us “evangelicals pushed to the margins” to stop resisting, and just begin building.

[Wednesdays post is related to this topic, answering the question: If this is true, then, why is Sunday STILL so incredibly segregated? – until then, you can follow along with other posts and updates over on my facebook page]