The News reports are depressing. The pictures of children starving in Gaza are inhumane. The destruction of property and the killing of innocent people in Ukraine and Gaza due to war are inexcusable. The establishment of a whites-only community in Missouri is disgusting. The flood deaths in Texas are beyond belief. The number of senior adults in America living in poverty….we could go on.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6 “This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish…” (The Message)

We are in the same place that those before us faced. We are dealing with powers that control us: political, economic, and religious. They determine what is legal and illegal. They determine what we will pay for things that meet our needs, and they seek to tell us what GOD wants. They can be forces of good or forces that destroy, abuse, misuse, and kill.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6 (The Message) , “^13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.”

The news makes us feel so helpless, but Paul reminds us to use every weapon that God has issued. Paul lists the following weapons:

1. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life.
2. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.
3. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters.
4. Keep your eyes open.
5. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

What great advice!!! Hang in there!!!

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.^{[i] 19} They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:18-20

What a crazy time to live in the United States of America! I thought I had seen it all as a child growing up in Mississippi with churches burned, lynchings, and segregation. 60 years later, I see something worse. I see what Paul writes about in Romans 1.

The Gospel or the good news of the New Testament that Jesus practiced is summed up in Ephesians 2, which tells us our relationship with God comes from God’s grace, not from obedience to the law. How can you claim to be a Christian (claim to be a follower of Jesus) and not understand Matthew 25, which tells us how we will be judged?

Paul writes in Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Christ sets us free from the demands of the law so we can learn how to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus defined our neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan was considered unclean or a migrant, an illegal immigrant under the law, but he helped a Jew who would have been declared unclean by the law for touching an unclean person.

Jesus condemned the religious leaders of his day, “Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:24). We are so worried about illegal immigrants that we deny assistance to those who have medical needs, are hungry, and homeless. No doubt there is waste in government. It begins at the top with our current leadership, who make laws that benefit themselves and their views rather than what is best for all the people.

My prayer is for all of us who have chosen to follow this path. May God open our eyes to see the error or our way for allowing this to continue. We need Grace, not law. We need mercy not punishment. May God have mercy on us and all those who have already suffering from this path of destruction.

Christians call the Spiritual being God. Muslims refer to their Spiritual being as Allah. Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world. Religious people are spiritual because they take their religion seriously but not all spiritual people are religious. Spiritual people who are not religious do not need a church building or a mosque to connect to God or Allah.

Spiritual people who are not religious do not need a set of beliefs or faith to be spiritual. Spiritual people who are not religious are inquisitive, not judgmental, and practice equality and mutuality. One of the biggest differences between religious and spiritual people centers around what is considered true. For Christians, the source of truth is the Bible. For Muslims, the source of truth is the Quran. Christians believe God reveals God in the words of the Bible. Some Christians believe God stopped revealing God when the Bible was completed.

A nonreligious Spiritual person may encounter God, Allah, or the Great Spirit in a movie, a song, a book, or a walk in the woods. Movies connect me to the invisible, intangible world known as the Spiritual world.

In my seminary ethics class, I was assigned a project entitled, Should the church ordain Gays and Lesbians as pastors and elders.  The professor suggested I should watch a 1994 movie called Priest.  Priest is about a homosexual priest who is in the closet.  A student reveals in the confessional that her father forces her to have sex with him.  The movie is about the struggle the priest has with his own secret and the secret of the incest victim.  The end of the movie is a communion service where two priests are offering communion to the church. All of the church members go to the straight priest.  The only person who gets in line to receive the communion from the gay priest is the incest victim.  I entered the spiritual realm at that moment.  I was forever changed.  My journey took a turn.  Since then, I have found connection to the Spiritual world in music, in art, in others, and yes, in movies.

There are experiences in life so profound that they transform us, though we may not fully grasp their impact until someone says something, we hear a song, or we see a movie that opens our eyes to the changes we need to make. For me, that moment came through a song—“The Fine Line” by Wayne Watson. This song set me on a pilgrimage of discovery that has lasted for 36 years.

My story begins with a pivotal loss. My father, who served as a pastor in the Free Will Baptist denomination, passed away when I was just 14. At 15, I became the pastor of that same small church, and by 16, I was ordained into ministry. Despite my youth, I embraced the responsibilities of the role, and after high school, I attended what is now Welch College. It was there that I met a wonderful woman who became my wife when I was 19. Life seemed to be on a steady path, but by 1988, after 19 years of marriage, we divorced. That period was one of the lowest points in my life.

For months, I struggled to find my footing. Then, one day, I visited a Christian bookstore with a friend. Browsing the music section, a cassette tape titled Fine Line caught my eye. Intrigued, I decided to listen to it there in the store. The opening lines of the title track struck a chord deep within me:

There’s a fine line Between contentment and greed

Between the things that I want And the things that I need

As the words resonated in my heart, I began to feel a stirring—a nudge I couldn’t ignore. Could it be that God was speaking to me through this song? I’d always been taught that God’s voice came only through the written Word, the Bible. Yet, this moment suggested something different. This song planted a seed in my mind, and over time, that seed grew into a quest for understanding.

Change didn’t happen overnight. The journey was gradual, but it led me to embrace new ways of thinking. By 1999, I made a significant decision to change denominations, joining the United Methodist Church. This denomination’s perspective was a revelation to me. While it holds that the Bible is the primary source of truth, it also recognizes the importance of tradition, reason, and experience in discovering God’s truth. This holistic approach to faith guided me to new horizons, including seminary.

In seminary, my pilgrimage took another step forward. During an ethics class, I was assigned a movie that profoundly shifted my understanding of God’s presence and voice in the world. This experience reinforced the idea that God’s Spirit moves through various mediums: the words of others, films, music—not just Christian music—art, athletics, work, and the vastness of the universe itself.

Today, I see myself as a curious pilgrim, constantly learning and growing. My journey has transformed my understanding of humanity’s relationship with God. I no longer view people as inherently born sinners, as many Christian traditions teach. Instead, I see us as immature creations, continually being shaped and formed. Life is a process of creation, a journey of lifelong learning. The Spirit of God speaks to us in countless ways, inviting us to grow through every experience and interaction.

This pilgrimage of discovery has taught me that divine truth is not confined to a single source. It is woven into the fabric of life, present in the mundane and the extraordinary. Through openness, curiosity, and a willingness to listen, we can hear the voice of God calling us to become the people we are meant to be.

Chaos theory, a scientific and mathematical theory, teaches that small changes in a complex system can lead to changes in the system. Greek mythology teaches that chaos, a gaping emptiness, existed before creation occurred. The Hebrew Bible describes the earth as being without form and void. The Earth was in darkness. God began to speak, and the chaos changed into light, land, vegetation, animals, and humanity.

Chaos still exists in the world as humanity knows it. Variables such as political power, religious power, and economic power can alter the behavior of Earth’s inhabitants. For example, if humanity continues to pollute water, land, and air, humanity will incur epidemics of disease, or may not have sufficient water and food supply to sustain populations.

Religion may convince political power to ban some behavior, like homosexuality or divorce. Political power may exert force to stop protests and resistance. Economic power may use its resources to create war between nations or rebellion within the nation. For example, slavery and states’ rights are major causes of the American Civil War.

Chaos brings change. Individuals deal with crises daily. For example, illness can produce change. Death creates change. War brings change. A car repair can alter behavior. Hearing a sermon in church can change attitudes.

Humanity needs a solid foundation that can handle the chaos in life. My foundation is based on the premise that life is sacred. I do not believe in the concepts of secular and profane. The creation story states that when God created everything, God looked at it and saw that it was good. I still believe that the universe is sacred and holy. What makes the universe bad comes from the selfishness of its inhabitants. Selfishness creates chaos. Chaos brings change.

I have a simplistic view, for we tend to forget that God is love and the breath of God or love is in all of us. We create chaos that leads to wars, death, and destruction when we fail to love God, others, self, and the universe as God designed us to do. Yes, I believe in free will or the right to make choices. I chose to love and not hate.

LGBT persons have suffered rejection by friends and family due to religious teachings that declare being LGBT is an abomination. The greatest loss is the family. Growing up in a family is not easy for many people, regardless of sexual orientation. Often, families are dysfunctional and cause lifelong problems due to physical and mental abuse inflicted on children. The LGBT community suffers rejection that leads to loneliness and difficult relationships in adulthood.

Sitting at my dining room table, I realized what the dining room table symbolizes in a family and in the culture of society. The table is where the family gathers for meals, conversation, playing games, and doing work. It is the hub of family life.

In religion, the table is the symbol of the covenant relationship between God and the universe. The table represents God’s provision for life’s needs, including love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. The table is a sacred space where one can encounter God and receive God’s love from those gathered at the table.

LGBT persons are rejected from family tables and the table of God in many religious organizations. Yet, there is still a need for the family unit. So, LGBT persons can find family in what is known as a chosen family.

Here is my view of a chosen family:

Chosen Family (n.):

A circle of individuals—often fellow gay men or LGBTQ+ people—who form bonds of love, loyalty, and mutual support, not based on genetics or legal ties, but on shared identity, care, and the commitment to stand in for one another where blood relatives have failed to show acceptance.

This family:

• Affirms who you are without condition
• Celebrates your joys and mourns your losses as their own
• Walks with you through pain, healing, growth, and becoming
• Shares traditions, holidays, meals, and memories not out of obligation, but out of devotion
• Is sacred, chosen, and fiercely real

---

My goal, my ministry, is to promote Chosen families for the LGBT persons who are alienated and rejected by blood relatives and by the religious organizations that deny them the right to participate.

I call this ministry The Siete, Spanish for seven. Seven is a symbol denoting completeness, spirituality, and mystery. In Christianity, it is the symbol of completeness and perfection. The number connotes transformation.

May God open the eyes of those who reject and provide those who choose to receive us as God’s children. May we learn the meaning of Galatians 3:8!

³⁵ He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” Mark 9:35 The Message

The disciples of Jesus were discussing their position in the group. Some wanted to be the most important. They were arguing who is number one. We all want to be important. We want to be accepted and loved. We want to feel we matter.

Jesus called the disciples together and explained that God’s plan is not who is the best, who has the money, or who is in first place. God’s plan is compared to the role of a servant. Jesus told the disciples, be a servant to all. Paul writes in Romans 12, “ Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.”

Love is the key to the role of servant. Read this from I John 4,

^20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

Here is a song that we sang in church last Sunday that explains the role of servant

The Servant Song

David Haas

Will you let me be your servant?
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant too

We are pilgrims on the journey
We are travellers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will hold the Christ light for you
In the night time of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the peace you long to hear

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we’ve seen this journey through

Will you let me be your servant?
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant too

Written by: Richard Gillard

Album: We Give You Thanks

Released: 1998

“walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?” Matthew 6:27-29

My sister, Sue, was 15 years older than I. She acted like my mother often. She lived up the hill from and attended the church i served as pastor. I visited her house several times a week.

One day, we discussed what I was wearing. I felt like the colors clashed. This prompted a discussion that led to the patch of pine trees in her backyard. She was a plant person. She could grow anything. However, this patch of ground in front of the pine tree grove was filled with all types and colors of wildflowers. As we stood there admiring the array, she quoted this verse from Matthew. Then she asked, o you see it?

I replied, “Well I see a lot of different types of flowers and all types of colors.”

“Exactly!”, she replied with a smirk. So why are you worried about your colors matching? Look how God designed everything.

God’s deign is different what we think or understand. Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 1,

“But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see:“

God’s design is plain, but we don’t see it! God is love, and God created us to be in loving relationships with God, others, self, and the universe. Each person is spiritual, physical, rational, and emotional. Everything i in the universe is relational. The essence of God (God’s Spirit) is in all living things (Genesis 1 and 2). Human beings have free will. They can choose to love and be loved or to be selfish and uncaring. This is described in Galatians 5.

The love of God gives us the freedom to love and be loved. God’s love is demonstrated by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus showed that rules and regulations do not apply in every situation. In fact, God’s love sets us free from the expectation of others and the demands of society so that we are free to be who called designed us to be. We are to be who we are.

This does not mean we can do anything we want. Jesus made it clear we are to treat others the way we want to be treated, and we are to love others as we love ourselves. Laws and government exist for a reason. What I describe and know is that freedom that God gives is the freedom to be who we are.

Paul writes in Galatians 3:28-29 The Message

^28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

This confirms that God does not look at people or the universe as we do. We classify and sort everything. We classify people by gender, race, ethnicity, age, education, income, etc. God doesn’t see humanity that way. Everyone is equal.

This brings us to the next part of the foundation of life. Life is sacred. We tend to look at things as holy and profane. The essence of God is present in all humanity. Sin is not breaking the rules or the law. Sin is the immaturity we exhibit by the choices we make. Some of us never grow up to act like children, regardless of our age. As we grow to be love and be loved, we learn how to love, live in peace, have joy, be gentle and kind.

When we realize that sitting down with a friend, drinking coffee, and talking to each other is a sacred event, we are on the road to understanding God’s design. When we realize that sleep is a sacred event, we will sleep better. When we understand that sex is a sacred event, we will move from lust to love.

May God open our ears that we see, open our ears that we may hear, and ipen our mouths so we may speak.