The Beginning of a Bromance: "Let Us Begin"

 
I had the awesome privilege of having sushi on Wednesday with a man I met at a Leadership Lancaster event a couple weeks ago. I instantly felt a sort of "bromance" beginning to form between the two of us. We first connected over a conversation about gentrification in Lancaster city. My new friend remarked that he was surprised that I knew what gentrification meant and that it was ironic I would mention it because he works for LHOP or Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership. From there, the bond was formed. 

By the end of the initial meeting, I began to tell Amanda that this was "one of the nicest people I have ever met." Amanda remarked: "That's impressive, because Ryan doesn't like people." A truer statement could not be made. Friendships do not come easy for me. 

We corresponded by email, and set up a time to get Sushi. We went to Mojo's, and man was that food good!

The conversation was great, and extremely challenging. Part of the challenge was the sheer intellect of my new friend; the other is that my friend was of the Jewish persuasion. It certainly isn't because I'm an anti-Semite that conversation was difficult, but rather there are many legacies of the Christian faith that I am ashamed of, first and foremost is anti-Semitism. 

For as much as I desire racial reconciliation, and as much as I advocate for diversity, I realized by the sheer magnitude of discomfort I felt at times that my circle of friends are entirely too "Ryanish". 

I hope there is more of this encounter that I can later draw on for discussion, but this is a question that was posed by my new friend that greatly challenged me. 

"Clearly Ryan, we have to get people to start working together, but how do we do it?"

It was a big question that had us both concluding that there is little hope of it ever becoming a realization. A quote from John F. Kennedy was given to sooth our heavy hearts:

"All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."- JFK Inaugural Address, 1961

Later in the conversation, I mentioned that I had worked as a pastor. I told him that I was frustrated because I was a good orator, explaining the tenants of my religion with clarity and efficiency, but I felt like a talking head. Somewhere along the way I explained, Protestant/Evangelicals have begun to champion how well one could articulate the faith over those who could live by it. In essence, my words meant very little by way of any true change. 

To this, my friend said:

"Perhaps that's it. Perhaps we need to convince people to do the things they say they believe." 

I thought that was interesting. Whereas I might believe that the way to true change is by proselytizing my neighbors to think, act, and look as I am, his solution was not to exchange one system for another, but rather to challenge people to true faithfulness of whatever belief system they might have.

 

This really seems revolutionary to me. If Christianity is just a system of belief, judging it externally tells us that it is virtually indistinguishable from any other belief system. If the scorecard for who's religion works best is based upon social and individual change, than Christianity is no better than the religions with which it competes.

With the wisdom of my friend, I challenge you reader, in true obedience to Christ, do not waste your days thinking that you are free from God because you can theologize about Him. Do not think that you are free from obligation to God because you think you can contain him in articulation, and therefore can bend him to your will. Do not be deceived into thinking that because you can explain what it means to be saved that salvation is yours.

 

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
-Mohandas Gandhi