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Sharon K. Grey's avatar

This, Laurie. All of it! You have articulated once again my struggle since 2009 when my husband lost his job and our primary income after 29 years of faithful service at the hands of evangelical Christians. And then the 2016 election. I have struggled for years and years with trying to be good enough for their club, and now I am aghast at how unwelcoming and narrow their table has become. I am hanging onto Jesus.

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Laurie Nichols's avatar

Jesus has you, Sharon, and he isnt letting go! my hunch is that Jesus is highly disappointed in a number of his people who have taken away chairs at the table that have been reserved for people of all kinds!

I am sorry that you have experienced such pain! It should never be that way among God’s people. 💔

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Jan Johnson's avatar

Amen sister.... Somehow we "Christians" have recently defined what are absolutes and what we are to believe.

Personally, I find myself staying silent as I listen to forceful thinking that I frankly don't believe or agree with.

I've often felt like I didn't want to be identified with "Christians" because their actions don't reflect Jesus' message. A message of love, patience, understanding, empathy, caring and self-lessness.

Can't I be Christian without aligning myself with the current agenda?

I believe I can.

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Laurie Nichols's avatar

yes! thank you for this, Jan! And I think that’s what needs to happen! Always be curious as to what looks like the real Jesus and what might be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Its tough to toe the line but I think that if the world is going to know how lovely Jesus is, and we need to be the counter relative to places where they are seeing a counter version of him.

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