THOUGHTFULLY DRIVING THE PORCELAIN BUS

A Column by John S Schroeder

December 15, 2001

Why a background that looks like a wet surface when the column is titled as it is? Could this represent the clean up? Nay, fair reader the background represents the source of that I shall write of in these spaces -- The shower.

Each morning when I arise and practice that cleanliness ritual, my mind drifts in many directions and I work to solve the problems "of the day." Generally, I assault my wife with these thoughts. Given that she is in no way imaginable a morning person, the usual result of this brain dump is a muted groan, or a polite, "Can we talk about this later?"

Now you will be the recipient of those thoughts. I hope you enjoy them.

I am completing two years of service as the chairman of the committee at our church that is charged with finding people to fill the officer slots of the church. This year we asked each candidate to write a brief "Statement of Faith." One candidate, someone I respect a great deal, wrote a very personal and heartfelt complaint about the church's stance on homosexuality. Needless to say, I had to convince him to write something else for publication, but I continue a dialog with him on the subject. Here are some excerpts from what he wrote:

When people learn I'm a Christian, they assume that they now have an insight into my opinions on a wide range of topics. They assume that I don't drink. They assume that I disapprove of sex and birth control. They assume that I'm against abortion. They assume I'm against Women's Rights. They assume I'm against People having fun in general. They assume I Hate Gays.….

I'm also very tired of nice people thinking I hate them.

Despite the fact that this guy and I have VERY different opinions on the church's politics and policy, my heart went out to him. This individual's particular vocation puts him in a position where he must face the assumptions he discusses every day -- that cannot be fun.

Then it occurred to me. Being a Christian is no longer socially acceptable in this country. Well, post 9-11 it is OK to invoke the name of God and it is OK to pray, but it is still not OK to be a real, bible-reading, life-changed disciple of Jesus Christ. Perhaps for the first time since Constantine made the empire officially Christian, Christians in all flavors, in the west are being persecuted.

Certainly no one is being put to death or deported for his or her beliefs, but as my friend's statement testifies, they are being socially persecuted. Social persecution is, most fortunately, survivable, but it is remarkably painful. What was it Jesus said about persecution?

Matt 5:11 -- "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. (NAS)

So, the question becomes…How do I give my friend a sense of that blessing? How do I get a sense of it myself for crying out loud?

With Love,