Author: admin

Hey Beloveds,

In the spirit of Chris’ word for us this past Sunday, I have no plans on lying to you all today. So, here are some things I think The Church Universal needs to be honest about:

The function of a church is not growing its numbers on its rosters nor in its pews. Growth in numbers/membership is not necessarily the marker of a healthy congregation and, as Chris mentioned, growth in numbers is not categorically “good.”
We as The Church waste a lot of time trying to decide who is Christian and who isn’t. (I have caveats to this, but that’s for another day).
Somewhere along the line, the Church made the mistake of prioritizing worship over following, and thus made a big swing and an even bigger miss when it comes to the ministry of Jesus. We distance ourselves from Christ when we put Christ on a pedestal, even though we (hopefully) know Christ came to meet us exactly where we are at and through the Holy Spirit we are connected directly to Divinity.

So– in a time when corporations run by distinctly gluttonous and greedy men are ravaging this Earth, what are we to do? Are we going to continue to play a game of linguistic gymnastics, or bend backwards pulling stunts to put butts in seats without truly engaging those butts in the work and the struggle and joy, let alone loving those butts, or are we going to continue to assert that God’s love is not for us, and that Christ is to be set aside in a trophy box on display on our mantle as a representation of someone we could never embody, and that the Holy Spirit moves not at all?

I hope not.

Blessings on the remainder of your week,
Taylor

PS – In light of the most recent mass shooting, I want to share this article about getting kids through “unspeakable horror.” While I am not a caretaker of children and I guess I’m not a child either (though that’s arguable), I have to say reading this helped me manage my own feelings. So, even if you are not a caretaker of children, I offer this article for you.

Hi Tab Family,

This past Sunday, Sana preached, regarding Peter’s observance of the Holy Spirit falling on Cornelius, a Gentile, saying:

“If the holy spirit is in Gentiles, then God the creator did not intend to exclude anyone from the community of God’s care. Through the power and witness of the Holy Spirit, Peter welcomes Cornelius and his tribe of Gentiles into the community of believers through baptism. The scripture for today ends with Peter stating to the Jerusalem leaders, ‘If God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder God?’ This is a big deal.”

Who are we, to hinder God? This question has stuck with me all week.

While this story is a revelation to Peter regarding Peter’s preconceived notion that only a few can receive the Holy Spirit, and that the “other” cannot, I’d like to invite us all into a space where we point this question toward ourselves regarding ourselves.

In what ways do we insist we are unworthy, in what ways do we insist we are the “other” unable to receive God’s love? Who are we to say God cannot or will not love us, too?

God loves you even if God only sees the worst thing you’ve ever done. And that is often how we judge ourselves— we see the worst and we position that up against what we attribute to God’s standards. Often those standards are entirely our projection onto God, and not God’s own self. Whether from our upbringing, our societal conditioning, or from pesky intrusive thoughts, we often create a standard impossible to live up to. And then we choose the worst parts of us and we fashion them up against that impossible standard. And then, we judge.

But God sees far beyond our worst. And even if She saw only our worst, who are we to hinder Her love, to say no– that love could not possibly extend to our very worst.

What might happen if you extend God’s love to the parts of yourself you consider the worst? What would you do differently if you not only knew, but acted, like you were loved entirely?

I hope you find space to reflect on this during the end of your week.

Peace and grace to all,
Taylor