...and a time to speak...

As I was driving home the other day, I passed a local church whose marquee out front said "We support radical inclusivity." I read it and my first reaction honestly was one of utter annoyance. I know that sounds terrible, but let me explain. On this particular church's website, Inclusivity is listed as a core value and explained like this: "We embrace all as expressions of God." Hmmmm, where to even begin. I have to assume that this statement most likely reflects this church's stance on sexual orientation. So if that particular characteristic is covered as an "expression of God" then I also have to assume that someone's porn addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse, habitual gossiping and/or stealing are also just expressions of God in their personality, right? I mean, surely they are not saying that "all" includes only one thing? No, the word "all" means just that and if your stance is that one sin is okay, then ALL sins are okay.

Since the beginning of this year, I have really been enjoying reading through the bible in chronological order for the first time. One of the best things so far has been a series of Psalms written by David that have followed the accounts of David's life and reign in 1 Chronicles and 1 Kings. Many of these Psalms are already grouped together, but in the traditional bible format, I wouldn't read them directly after reading the account of his life. They were so much more meaningful to me this time around having just finished what can only be described as one of the most compelling biographies in all the bible. With Father's Day right around the corner, many times I would catch myself highlighting various passages of David's Psalms while thinking about the role of Godly men in general. I, clearly, am not a man, but I can glean a lot of things from David that I think would be of utmost importance to a man throughout his life. I can read the account of David's life a