Here are three lists…
The first is what the church (the more conservative Protestant and Catholic, focuses on…
The second is what I think God focuses on…
The Third is where this blog is going and what I will focus on..
THE CHURCH FOCUS
- Abortion
- Supporting LGBT discrimination
- Supporting gun rights
- Supporting the death penalty
- Peoples sex lives
- Boycotting businesses that do not embrace our views
- Trying to get people to be moral according to our interpretation of morality
- Fighting a faux “war” on Christmas
- Voting for people who clearly discriminate
- Creating a false narrative that American Christians are being persecuted
GOD’S FOCUS
- Dealing with racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia
- Protecting and lifting up the disenfranchised, the marginalized
- Addressing the issues surrounding poverty, war, violence.
- Pursuing humanity with a love that is boundless and seeking to bring all people into a relationship with the Trinity and into the fullness that they were created for.
MY FOCUS FOR THIS BLOG
For several years I have been blogging about the “problems” with the church and as I thought about the above list I came to the realization that the things I have been railing against for those years have not changed. If anything they have gotten more divisive and polarizing. I also realized that I have expended a lot of energy being angry. So I have come to the conclusion that I need to “switch gears’, because there are many other people doing a much better job at calling out the shallowness of American Christianity than me.
We are called to love, love unconditionally, God, others, ourselves. From this point forward that will be the focus of this blog. How do we do it? What have I observed? How can we get better at it? I am starting with loving ourselves, and…sharing my story. I have been on a journey of self acceptance for a very long time and I am very close to a major life change. It has been hard and at times overwhemingly depressing and fearful. By talking about this journey it is my prayer that others will find hope.
I also want to encourage those of you that actually read this blog to share your story with me as well. There is too much pain in the world, I want this place to be a place of refuge.
A sanctuary.
Musings of a "not so good" Christian 
I think you are spot on in this decision. Focussing on what is wrong externally rarely changes anything. But changing your focus may help others to change theirs.
Your lists helped to clarify for me a decision which I have been putting off for quite some time – namely, do I want to be a part of the negative & destructive institution the church has become?
thank you for your thoughts. I believe that i have spent to much time trying to fix what is damaged in the church rather than jsut letting God love me into who I am created to be.
I still believe though that the church can be a ynamic force of God’s love, so I seek to remain on the edges of the inside.
Peace to you.
Mark