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Culture Clash: Loving One Another Does Not Mean Agreeing with One Another

I like to usually write blogs in series, and this one is no different. This series is titled “Culture Clash” and will focus on how Christians are called to be unique (even weird) in our responses to culture. In our culture, we have become obsessed with the term “love”. Love is used when describing food, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our possessions. The Church (the people, not the building) flirts with a fine line between being in bed with culture and trying to be different. Heaven forbid we offend anyone these days!

We have bought into the lie that if we love one another, then we must agree with one another. This is unhealthy, unbiblical, and dumb. This view is unhealthy because it means we will bend to every person and situation for optics, not to upset the apple cart. Not only is this unhealthy, but this view of love equaling agreement is unbiblical because Jesus called people to being made whole. “Go and sin no more” hits differently than “you do you” or “live your best life”. Lastly, believing that we can only love each other if we agree with each other is dumb because it takes away from our God-given identity.

How does the Church respond to an often jaded view of love? We must operate differently. We cannot be silent, but we cannot afford to be nutty and nasty either. We must be balanced and sober-minded. Do you know a lot of balanced disciples of Jesus? As a pastor and a disciple, the one thing that I have seen more of in recent days is ragers—and many of them follow Jesus/go to churches on Sundays. These people rage in church. They rage in the grocery store. They rage on social media. They are ticking time bombs. Everything offends them. The typical response to these folks is to ignore them. And here is where we pay the price. It often gets worse because it is a spiritual issue and not just commentary.

There is a battle between good and evil today. This battle is not new, as it has existed since the Garden of Eden. God wants light, life, joy, and freedom for you. Satan wants darkness, death, rage, and bondage for you. Do you see the differences here? I will take this a step further: whom do you worship and what? Our posture towards what and who we worship flows into how we love one another. And when we cultivate a healthy approach to loving one another, we will not worry about offending each other. Someone will always be offended by you. Your mere presence will set someone’s hair on fire! But here is the beautiful thing: keep showing up.

Keep loving people that you disagree with. This does not mean to be a welcome mat to others. Set boundaries for yourself and who and what conversations you will have. I don’t engage in political conversations online because you cannot see my facial expressions, nonverbal cues, etc., and VICE VERSA! In fact, I rarely like these conversations in person because it is not something I am overly invested in. I would rather talk about you and what is going on in your life than what poison MSM feeds us today. Disagreeing with each other also does not mean that we hate each other. We have believed this lie recently (especially in the Church and it’s struggle with “love”) that is straight from the pit of Hell.

May you love well!

Why You Need Autumn

The weather has changed pretty drastically here in Pennsylvania. We all went from wearing shorts and t-shirts to now armed with multiple layers of clothing. Some folks are trying to see how long they can hold out before turning on the heat for the season. Are you one of them?

Halloween is only two weeks away. (This is not a post endorsing or bashing the celebration of Halloween—calm down!) However, October 31 serves as a reminder that Autumn is indeed here. Autumn is not just decorations, candy, and parties. No, Autumn is much, much more. There is a slowing down of the soul that occurs during this time of the year—if only our stubborn selves would lean into this natural shift. Less daylight and cooler weather makes for a perfect recipe for you to slow down.

As we move indoors for the next few months, what are you feeling? Is now the time to tackle those indoor projects or a time to rest? A time to heal? As a pastor and as a disciple of Jesus, one of the most common statements that I am hearing from people is we are collectively “exhausted”. Note the stark differences between tired and exhausted. Everyone gets tired from a day’s work, yard work, or chasing their kids/grand-kids around and yet exhaustion says so much more. Exhaustion leads to burnout, anger, rage, and checking out on the people closest to us. Exhaustion is unhealthy and quite the opposite of what Jesus offers us.

Do some soul care with Jesus this Autumn. A walk in the woods or the local park may bring you back to a healthy baseline. Jumping in a pile of leaves could awaken your playful side—do this with friends and family but don’t break a hip. Sip some warm apple cider with your significant other. Yes, you can tackle those indoor projects but at a pace that is reasonable.

Lastly, now is the perfect time to begin praying for your theme for 2026. A theme from Jesus is focusing on a word or two for the upcoming year. This guidance from Jesus is not meant to be legalistic nor heavy. Quite the opposite, a theme for the year is a compass for the valleys and mountains that are a part of the journey of the heart.

Get outside today!

Child-like Faith

Have you ever noticed the faith of a child?

Innocent.

Honest.

Open.

You see, children do not have the baggage that us adults do. Let’s be honest-we have all been burned by the Church. All of us. And if you have ever been in leadership (paid or unpaid) in the Church–you have definitely been burnt. Some of us have never recovered. Some have recovered and some are still healing.

I am reminded of child-like faith by our daughter. She is 2 and is such a joyous and loving person. She loves to laugh and enjoys being silly. She likes to learn and enjoys being taught.

Although our daughter is young, my wife and I have found is vital to begin to teach her the basics. Mackenzie loves the stained glass windows at church and the many crosses and statues of Jesus; however, she knows this much—–Jesus is in her heart. We have taught her that and she knows this. While I respect the beauty of our church and many other churches, I want her to know there is more to knowing Jesus than having a pretty church building.

What if we approached our faith—like a child does? A child does not sway in faith because of denominational ties or pressures from leadership. A child embraces themselves and their faith…….without worring what others think.

Here’s the irony. We live in a culture where everyone thinks they are “independent” and can think for themselves. Yet, when it comes to faith/church/beliefs……people often take the comfortable road. They don’t question the doctrines that are placed before them. They don’t engage in conversations about Jesus, etc……..other than in church on Sunday mornings. Friends, your FAITH is in you.

Your faith is not stuck in your local church building. Let it out! Talk about your faith. If you don’t have like-minded friends, make some. Befriend people who have views opposite you so you don’t live on the 5th floor of an ivory tower—above everyone else. And be real in your faith journey. We all experience joy, heartbreak, illness, hopes, dreams, and setbacks.

Will you have childlike faith—-with arms wide open?

Jesus is Bigger Than the Government

We are only a few days removed from the Presidential Election. Many are celebrating their candidate’s win; others are upset over the results. I will not lie–I am not happy with the results. But I have faith. I have faith because Jesus is bigger than the government.

When you take a look at Scripture, Jesus is consistently talking about the Kingdom of God. Jesus is not concerned with getting all political because Jesus knows that the Kingdom he speaks of it out of this world. Many people expecting the Messiah (Jesus) to come onto the scene and overthrow the government. Jesus mixed things up a bit. Sometimes Jesus would work behind the scenes and do God’s work. In other situations, Jesus would go right to leaders (political and religious) and give them the truth.

Jesus did what was needed–not what was popular. He did not worry about what people thought of him. Jesus could have played the political game and rode his way around Jerusalem like a king. But Jesus had other plans. He knew what was needed. He picked average people to carry out an extraordinary mission: restore humanity. Restoring humanity would take Jesus through the wilderness, ignoring Satan, getting sold out by his own followers, and getting nailed to the cross as a criminal.

Jesus was different.

And this is why Jesus is bigger than the government—regardless of whether our President is Republican or Democrat.

Jesus wants to restore people’s hearts. Jesus desires to give each of us a purpose in life. We are not here by accident and we should not spend the rest of our lives taking up space. We must move forward.

Jesus is bigger than the government because he brings authentic hope and change. The government deals with laws. Jesus deals with the heart, mind, and soul. The government promises provisions for all people. Jesus promises peace that no government, person, and society could deliver.

Jesus is bigger than the government.

Where do you put your hope these days?