Here is my take on some “negativities” that I have recently encountered.

Racial Slurs
The first person that I talked to when I was in St. Joseph, that wasn’t a hotel employee, was a sales clerk at Penny’s. As I am buying slacks, he somehow segues the conversation to Mexicans. For the life of me, can’t remember how he got off on that topic.

There are getting to be a lot of Mexicans here, you know. I have had them come here and they don’t know a word of English. They are here illegally. Wouldn’t you love to live in a building with them?

A new meat processing plant has lured some Mexicans to this Midwestern town previously untouched by the immigration influx.

My intelligent response was, Hmmm…

Someone I love dearly referred to my primary vote for president (Obama) as “dark.” I have been away from that kind of talk so long that I had to think about what she meant.

I ignored it.

How would you respond?

Church Politics
My dad informed on the latest in local church and denominational politics, including how committees are supposed to function and how an old family friend has betrayed the denomination by heading up a rival group.

My brilliant response was, again, Hmmm…, though I was exceeding glad that opted out of this nonsense a long time ago.

How would you respond?

Serving It Up
It seems that how the pastor preaches has long been a matter of great debate among seasoned church goers. In my experience as a pastor, it seems that people really liked the way I preached, or at least, those were the only ones that said anything, that is, until my third church. I once received an anonymous note complaining that in the last several sermons, I had spoken about my life, my kids, and my dog and he just wanted “the word.” Each of those sermons was loaded with scripture and may have even been expository, but I illustrated the truth of scripture and examined the implications of it by using personal experiences.

At the same church, a guy walked up to me when I was wearing a sweater instead of a coat and tie and asked if I was preaching like that. He is the same guy that made sure the music stand that I was using to hold my notes was promptly replaced by the big, old regular pulpit.

As I have written before, I love Steve Brown’s podcast of Steve Brown, Etc. As the program breaks away to commercials, there is often a recording of someone who has called in that absolutely hates the program. One woman says that she finds nothing redeeming about it at all, but tunes in to see what he is talking about and then abruptly changes the station. She goes on to say that she is not sure he is even a Christian. Another clip claims it is an attempt at entertainment that fails. When one listens to this program filled with grace, really good information, and lots of humor, these recorded complaints sound stupid.

I wonder why some Christians have tried to give entertainment such a bad name, when it refreshes the soul. It is not all garbage. Often I find God in a good movie, concert, or story, more than I do in a church service.

I wonder why Christians have gotten so persnickety about how their explanation of biblical teaching is served up to them by their trained professionals. It just sounds lazy and childish to me.

I was feeling a tad self righteous, until I realized I like it served up a certain way too. I prefer a discussion, rather than a monologue.

What do you think is the best way to respond to this and other negativities that we tend to encounter in the church world?