The Power Of Our Words
Over time and space our words can inspire, heal, and unite us.
I am registered politically as non-partisan/independent and have been for over twenty years. I say that in case anyone is wondering where I stand politically after some of the things I have addressed in recent Substack posts, and will address in this one. Here’s what we have in this post about the power of words.
Finding Solidarity - The importance of community when struggling.
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword - How writing poetry is helping.
Home Base - Where do we go for rest and renewal now?
Finding Solidarity
During the 2016 Presidential election I worked at an evangelical megachurch. Many of you know my stories of tension with the leadership and church’s growing public embrace of an ideology that is clearly at odds with the life and teachings of Jesus. What had been standard protocol, calling out bad behavior in a President when it was a Democrat, was now an anathema when it came to Donald Trump.
Church leaders, coworkers, and individuals increasingly put me on the defensive as I continued to be critical of Trump’s actions and policy positions that were against Biblical teaching. Not only that, many of the dominant voices in evangelical spaces were advocating the opposite position that I was. They would condescend or question the faith of someone who didn’t support Trump, especially if they supported Hillary Clinton.
I felt isolated and no longer welcome in the spaces where I worshipped and worked.
I remember reading a post Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile wrote expressing his frustration toward the American church embracing Donald Trump despite everything he said and did that stands in contrast to the Bible. It was firm, clear, and gave language to what I thought and felt. I remember thinking, “Finally.” Perhaps more importantly, his words conveyed I wasn’t alone.
Here’s what I journaled on August 1, 2016 after an impromptu time of prayer and reflection in the church worship center.
In some of the stuff I’ve been reading lately, from books to magazine articles, I’ve seen an increasing disconnect between what I think God is shaping in me when it comes to my view of the local church and the trajectory of how CCC thinks local church should be.
A beautiful thing that came out of my previous Substack post is hearing from people, publicly and privately, how they, their families, and their workplaces are processing government policies that are targeting refugees and immigrants. How is that beautiful? It reminds us that we aren’t alone, that many of us are in this together to love, care, and serve children, refugees, those on the margins, and the “least of these” in our society. We are not alone as we go through this.
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
I struggle with what to write these days. Perhaps not write, but rather edit. My drafts are long form ramblings of a human trying to make sense of this world as some new fresh hell is unleashed every day.
In Toni Morrison’s Burn This Book, she writes:
Certain kinds of trauma visited on peoples are so deep, so cruel, that unlike money, unlike vengeance, even unlike justice, or rights, or the goodwill of others, only writers can translate such trauma and turn sorrow into meaning, sharpening the moral imagination.
I keep writing because it is not only cathartic, but also a necessary act. A uniting act. A rebellious act at this moment in history. I wrestle with language to voice the inner turmoil my life embodies right now. I pour out words on behalf of others who do not have a voice or have not found their voice yet. I compose sentences, paragraphs, essays hoping that someone out there is encouraged or enlightened by my assortment of subjects and predicates as we plunge into the valley of the shadow of death.
I write because it’s what I know and do.
Sometimes what I write doesn’t seem to capture what I am feeling, so I’ve been branching out to express myself. Lately, I’ve started writing poetry. Simple stanzas. I can’t recall back to high school English and all the types, structures, and meters, but something about it has helped me this year. Here are excerpts from my poetry forays. (To all those who love and enjoy poetry, a touch of grace for me!)
February 4, 2025
I sit here and wonder God, are you engaged? Cause I feel asunder From this American age
February 6, 2025
Would-be kings steal from the low The powerful make way and cheer People are run over and marred Will privileged shed any tears Lawbreakers expand laws cruelly Officials hide behind the past Hatred is open and legal Hopeful people must now hold fast We look to you, God, for belief That justice is coming for Earth Expose the wicked to be seen So we can go through a rebirth
February 10, 2025
How long have I wasted these years What I know now is crippling I will survive if I deny I will heal if I cut string I’m fighting on multiple fronts Where do I take a stand today If it’s all over and then some I’ll be present on the throughway Sing over me now Play the notes in major Lead me in a dance The awkward teenager
February 13, 2025
What can I say to all this week I stare at the page and am meek Chasing words but I cannot speak Open my mouth but only squeak
February 18, 2025
Why am I here now I don’t know Is it for such a time as this? The day will dawn where I will sleep But not yet, I’m here to resist
Like Sam Gamgee fumbling with words when mourning Gandalf is how I feel putting those verses out for public consumption. I won’t be switching from an essayist to a poet, but the format has helped me endure and proceed.
I don’t know what the art form is for you, but I hope you find a creative outlet that helps you process and express whatever you may be thinking and feeling. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and it shouldn’t be! Just start. One thing that helps me is looking over early Vincent van Gogh pieces. A reminder we all start somewhere. Start today.
Home Base
When playing tag as children we all know that home base is safe. I can’t recall the concept of home base being explained, it was inherent to us as we played. We’d run around chaotically, and just as we are about to be tagged we touch home base. I’m thinking of that today. Do we have a home base where we can be safe?
I remember meeting up with two friends, Beth Katz and Lonnie Michael, after the 2016 Presidential election. We poured out our hopes, fears, and realities to one another and committed to being there for one another, as best we could, during the next four years. These coffee get-togethers are still happening over eight years later, spurring one another on to live and work as best we can.
I wish this kind of community, this home base, is readily available for people where they live, work, and/or worship, but I think this isn’t the case as much anymore. We have to be intentional about finding that kind of healthy community. I’ve had to do that over the past decade. I hope and pray you can find that community wherever you are. It’s not easy leaving a community you know, but if it isn’t safe and/or healthy I hope and pray you can walk away and find true community.
For my family and me, I want the church we attend to take seriously what is going on in the world around us. I expect it to walk out as best it can the teachings of Jesus. I don’t expect to be aligned 100% with its politics, but I do expect it to be safe for people of all political persuasions. I expect the leadership to treat those of opposite political leanings with grace and love, and not treat their political side as better than everyone else. I don’t want to hear tone-deaf statements about Jesus that chase social media engagement while minimizing the pain and suffering of the people living around us.
I don’t want the church to be silent about the issues many of us are facing, issues that Jesus wants us to address, because those in church leadership are cowards. I want the church to take serious The Good Samaritan parable. I want church leaders not to be silent and acquiesce to political or cultural pressures that are counter to Jesus. I want church leaders to take a stand and not look to guest speakers/preachers to say what needs to be shared. If you are a pastor or church leader, and you are afraid of conflict, afraid of offending someone with Jesus’ words, afraid of losing attendance or financial giving, perhaps ask yourself what “gospel” you are really proclaiming. Your silence screams. Cowardice is not a leadership strategy.
A friend of mine preached recently and as I sat in the sanctuary it was heartening to hear the church address the concerns many had in response to the current administration suspending the resettlement of refugees. The church continues to acknowledge how people feel, shares their commitment to justice, supports refugees and immigrants, allows time and space for people to respond, and restates their commitment to continue serving refugees and others that one might consider “the least of these” in our community. They didn’t elevate a political party above another, they held true to the teachings of Jesus. They were staying in the fight and invited others to join them as they love their neighbors like Jesus asks.
The church feels like a home base.
Thanks
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I know you are busy with life, family, and work so it means a lot that you read these posts.
With it being a dangerously cold week in Omaha, I want to highlight a recent post about working with individuals who faced homelessness. Click here to read the post.
I have an update about our vehicle situation which I’ll post separately later this week.