TransChristianity

Sexuality. I have probably thought about it more in the last few months than I ever have before. And of course, conservatives have tended to get prolifically inhumane when they start to talk about it. We tend to forget that LGBTQ is not merely a problem to be dealt with, but people to be loved – just like everyone else.

So I'm sitting here on a flight back to Seattle from Charlotte, thinking of the "righteous" indignation that Christians generally feel over Homosexuality and Transgenderism. And while my disposition on this conversation is pretty settled, I think there's a giant and awkward Elephant in the Church, and it's worse than however you feel about Homosexuality or Transgenderism. Way worse.

The issue should probably just be called "Trans-Christianity."

A Transchristian is a person that changed their religious outfit at some point, started self-identifiying as a Christian, and now expects you to identify them as a Christian too. But when you take off their church clothes, something tangible is missing.

Christians from Portlandia to Trumplandia have gotten their holy robes in an anxious twist over Transgenders identifying with a gender that opposes their biological sex. But I'm just wondering when the dam of hypocrisy will break on Transchristians who identify with a Savior who opposes their own priorities and lifestyle choices.

Jesus Christ did not defend gun-rights, hold up signs of any kind, ride in a nice car, plan for retirement or believe in the American Dream… not even a little. He came to serve rather than be served, to die, and to radically call His followers to die too. Jesus was poor-and-nearly-homeless, a carpenter who defended outcasts and was tortured to death.

The Transchristian wants as much of the world as they can get, but just enough of Jesus to keep their pastor happy and their conscience sedated. There is no death to the world and yet they proclaim “Death to the World!” And where there is no real death to the world, there can be no real life in Christ.

Being a "Christian" has perhaps never meant less than it does today. It's a day in which "Christians" are Christians simply because they say they are. And we're all afraid to speak up – scared someone's feelings might get hurt – so we pretend along, believing beyond belief that our friends are really followers. 

We’ve got so much to repent of as a community of Transchristians. Myself included. There’s weeping that needs to be done over our own sins. Apologies that ought to be made to entire communities of people that we have objectified as though they were problems to be fixed. And there is a steeple-sized plank in the eye of the Transchristian church that must come out before we can help heal the world.

if you disagree with me...

I think... that it’s a privilege… to disagree.

And if you disagree with that statement, it’s fine.

I’m not that handsome, educated, or cultured.
But sometimes, ignorant and ugly people are kind people.
And sometimes, literate and lovely people are angry people.

And when we disagree, the room holds its breath.
Because this is the great unveiling.
The moment when real me meets real you.

The reaction is what gives us away.
Tone, perhaps more than content, reveals character.
Disagreement is a window into our very souls.

Because, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The brain thinks.
And the faucet of our actions speaks…

I mean, even the pious didn’t know they could murder,
Until they disagreed with a poor carpenter’s Son.

And if we can’t love one another as we really are,
Then perhaps we’re better off hiding behind polished digital masks,
Living in insta-convents and guarding our cliques with more clicks.
Living and loving a lie with other liars. Fossilizing. Desensitizing.

If humanity is no longer capable of loving the unlovable,
Then perhaps the world needs its strong to suppress its weak,
Force-feeding agendas that make the world a "better place."
Society’s golden handcuffs - legislating kindness because we can’t just BE kind.

If your ideology is best articulated while your neck-veins bulge,
Then perhaps you’ll find that people disagree with you
More than they disagree with your ideology.

But when the real us comes out,
Bearing our teeth and making fools of ourselves,
Or disseminating a tranquility that diffuses wars.
Then we’ll know whether we are lovers or liars.

And I’ll say, “Hello, it’s nice to meet the real you. I’m the real me.”
And after we shake hands I’ll ask, “Do you drink coffee?”
And maybe you’ll say, “I’d love to.”

A THEORY :: Spiritual Predisposition

Most Christians seek God the same way they “found” God. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, nothing unnatural about it, in fact it makes a good deal of sense. But if we want more of God, to know the dimensions of Him that we didn’t encounter at first, we’ve got to start being kind to each other.

Here’s a Story:

Two brothers “find” God… or really, God finds two brothers. One’s name is Thinker, and God captivates him with a conversation of reason, or something like that. The other’s name is Feeler, and God captivates him with a supernatural encounter, or something like that.

Pause here: This is fantastic news, right?! God is saving all kinds of different people! Okay, resume.

Naturally the two brothers begin to pursue God through the same means God used to illuminate their hard hearts in the first place. Thinker keeps thinking about God, and Feeler keeps feeling for God. And both of them are growing.

The two start surrounding themselves with like-believers. Thinker seeks God at a thinking-church and by going to thinking-meetings. Feeler seeks God at a feeling-church and by going to feeling-meetings. Both are becoming “strong” Christian men. One is a strong thinking believer, and the other is a strong feeling believer. Thinker is a ravenous book-reader and Feeler is a ravenous prayer-warrior. Thinker thinks Feeler should read with more veracity and exercise his mind, and Feeler feels Thinker should pray with more authority more and exercise his heart.

Over time the chasm grows between the two brothers and now they look so different that they assume the other is doing something wrong. Bitterness stirs. Each becomes so offended that he starts questioning his brother’s salvation. "Perhaps," they say, "we're not even brothers at all." Thinker thinks Feeler is an irreverent gift-worshiper and Feeler feels Thinker is a sad book-worshipper.

It’s lame. It’s stupid. But it’s common.

For Thinker it was Gospel-wine in a Rational-wineskin. For Feeler it was Gospel-wine in an Experiential-wineskin. But instead of continuing to drink good Gospel-wine, they gnaw on their Gospel-flavored wineskin until all that’s left is a lot of opinions and a mess of emotion.

One's got a shriveled heart like the Grinch. One's got a shriveled head like the blonde in Clueless. And this is a problem because the GREATEST COMMAND (according to Jesus) is the veracious engagement of our WHOLE being: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength.”

They have no idea how badly they actually need each other.

How does the Thinker begin to cultivate a heart saturated with the emotions that his knowledge of the Gospel should be compelling? And how does the Feeler begin to cultivate a mind saturated with the knowledge of the Gospel that so stirs his emotions? The answer, of course, is “Together."

How did YOU “find” Jesus? Has your walk with God maintained that flavor? Do you try to help others find Jesus the same way you did? I hope so! But perhaps it’s time to walk toward the parts of God you know exist but have been uncomfortable approaching. You’ll need some brothers and sisters who are a little different than you. Maybe even a little weird.

Divisions in the Church happen when you only love and listen to part of your spiritual family.

Not only do I need brothers and sisters to point me to deeper unplumbed caverns of God’s nature, but I need brothers and sisters to give me what I really need… not another book, not another encounter, but the Gospel. To pour out Gospel from their varied wineskins into my soul. To show me the Jesus of the Bible through many lenses, cultures, and testimonies until I'm completely captivated with the splendor of it all.

It's the atoning death of one Son and the call of One Spirit in the face of many circumstances that wakes the dead to One Lord.

For Paul, a blinding light and a vision that rattled his soul. For the Eunuch, a Bible study on the long road back to Ethiopia. For some, Paul’s rational arguments in the synagogue. And still for others, the inebriation of their senses and a distinct outpouring of gifts and wonders at Pentecost.

In each of these. One Gospel. One Spirit. One Call.

So rather than demonize each other, perhaps we can marvel together at the kindness of a God that meets us where we’re at. And from time to time maybe we can take off our Spiritual Predispositions, our crusty wineskins, and hear the Gospel afresh from one another.