The Church of Sandpaper
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:2 (NIV)
As you follow Jesus, hear the scriptures, preach the gospel, and bravely worship something other than yourselves, you are increasingly going to feel the Holy Spirit rubbing like sandpaper against the culture around you. There are certain moments in history, time and space where the gospel is especially grating, and this is one of those times. Be the church of sandpaper.
The church at its worst simpers behind the culture in the pursuit of prestige, blessing bullies and licking boots, eyeing the best real estate on the richest highways.
The church at its best calls the culture to conscience, cares first for the poor, stands up for the dignity of workers and the rights of all God’s children, and risks getting kicked to the sidelines when it does so.
Remember: we follow a savior who lived and died on the sidelines. Whose teachings grated against the rich. Whose miracles scraped against the exclusive and exclusionary.
The debate in American politics about who gets to speak spiritually and who gets silenced is nothing new, nor is threatening one religious ideology while elevating another with promises of political patronage. Choose to be the church on the sidelines with the threatened and silenced.
Scratch like sandpaper, stay strong, and stand up for Jesus.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, be the sandpaper that scrapes away my comfort with the patterns of this world. And transform the church to live out a sandpaper gospel.
About the AuthorLillian Daniel serves as Conference Minister with the Michigan Conference UCC. She is the author of Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don’t Belong To and When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough.