As always, I enjoyed and am challenged by your writing. This time especially referring to “The Problem with letting people speak for God.” I appreciated very much the two steps of personal growth that you shared near the end. Three comments:

(1) As one of those “professionals” referred to in several of the responses, let me assure everyone that we are not more “holy” than others. I know many sisters and brothers with simpler, more direct, and more loving faithfulness than I have ever been able to muster even with God’s help — even though , I really care about continuing to grow. So, I would say, please never be intimidated by a “God professional,” there is no such person. Like experts in all other fields, even the most expert biblical language scholar, counselor, church administrator, meditation technicques guru, or media communicator is only an expert in that specific area, not in faithfulness to the living God. Never let any religious leader try to tell you differently. I have known many, and they have all been, like me, at best seekers for more of God, and at worst arrogant spokespersons for that which is not really God.
(2) There is a great Rabbinic story that emphasizes your point about growing by learning to be more who you were meant to be yourself. A young Rabbi kept beating himself up because he couldn’t be more like Moses, until the wise old Rabbi said to him, “Eli, when you stand before God, God won’t ask you why you didn’t live more like Moses, God will ask you why you didn’t live more like Eli.”
(3) I agree about not letting “experts” overwhelm us and intimidate us about what God is saying to us. But, we do have to live in a polarity that is dynamic and risky. We cannot let others speak for God as though they were God, and yet at the same time most of what God speaks to us comes through “incarnation” — ie., through people past and present including both other people and ourselves. God’s chosen method of communicating is through people. People are God’s method, means, and purpose. That is why it is so important that we push one another to both hear and speak in terms of the big picture of God who loves us enough to love us as we are, and also loves us enough to push us to keep being more the wonderful person we are made to be.

Again, thanks Kristin for pushing all the right buttons. You often do!

Ron

Modern Gal, I have a Christian friend who’s a Yankee kid transplanted to the South. Her stories and frustrations sound very similar to yours. What you say about “learning to trust [your] own faith” is so important. I’ve noticed that confidence growing in myself these past few years. It’s a confidence that’s similar to a teenager who’s able to have their own very distinct style rather than just wearing what everyone else has determined is currently “in.” It’s so freeing, isn’t it?

Meredith, I’m so glad you chose to speak up here. Your experience—particularly your sense of being shut out, and the disdain and distrust you’ve felt for the church—is exactly what compels me to write about these issues. I have to admit, most of the time I’d rather not. I’d rather write about happy, funny things, that don’t make people uncomfortable. But when I hear about where you’re at, and your longing to be a part of a church community in spite of your hurt, it gives me lots of hope.

Kelley, you make a very good point about the pruning God does. I wrote about that very image in a post last month, “Making room for new life in an old faith.” But the way you word this does not quite line up with what I have come to learn about God: “I believe He wants to amputate the things that are displeasing to Him and harmful to us.” Maybe this is the key difference between my approach to the pruning metaphor versus the amputation metaphor: I think of pruning as something God does in my *life.* He has pruned things in my life, like harmful relationships and habits. But I think of amputation as cutting off a very part of who and what I am and was created to be. And I don’t believe he does that. Nothing about who we were created to be is “displeasing” to God. A good example might be a person’s sexuality. It can certainly be expressed in negative, harmful ways, or those energies and desires can be directed in beautiful, affirming ways. If we’ve struggled with our sexuality in the past, God doesn’t “amputate” it. He reworks and redeems it.

Trina, finding hope and seeing beyond the “bunk”—what a great summary of what I ultimately set out to do in these posts! Thank you for recognizing that, and for letting me know that you do. :)

Elaine, this is a great connection—”the failure of those around us” and “the failure of our bodies.” There are so many disappointing and distracting messages coming at us, whether they’re coming from people’s mouths or from within us. What’s important is that we learn to differentiate what God is saying to us, and focus in on that.