The USA is in Moral Decay

These past few weeks I have been in self reflection and discernment concerning the moral decay of our country and the ICE raids in Minnesota that are requiring Minnesotans to care for their neighbors in the most loving and profound way. At first, I was stuck on the question, how did we get here? And then I realized that the answer of that question most likely has a lot of different answers that are all of some validity. 

From a faith perspective, I have witnessed the identity of Jesus becoming rebranded from the table flipping challenger of both religious authorities and government regimes to a conservative politician who loves imposing rules over freedom. This new identity is being promoted in the public square by politicians and other religious groups. They are using this Jesus to justify actions they are taking in government strategies. 

I turn to my fellow Gen Xers, and even to the millennials, and they have mostly abandoned the mainline protestant church. I don’t blame them, the church has often become stuck in its ways, remained silent on issues that mattered, and became focused on the preservation of the church instead of building spiritual growth. The abandonment of church is a consequence of the church's actions, we have become irrelevant to the lives of our youth. 

At first, the consequence of leaving church only affected the church as they shrunk and some closed. But here we are, now relying on clergy and faith leaders to fight against the inhumane treatment of the people by our government. Faith leaders and lay people of shrinking denominations out there fighting against what is called “Christian Nationalism,” but doesn’t actually reflect Christianity. People in need, expecting these small churches who can barely pay their bills to step in to take care of the needs of their community. And most of us are stepping out to heed the call; taking the training, blowing the whistles, holding the signs, making the meals. Many are clinging to the hope that we are small but mighty. 

I’m fearful, though, for our young people who are not being taught who Jesus really is. If they are not exposed to the radical story of Jesus sharing the good news to the oppressed, that loving your neighbor does mean everyone, and the followers of Jesus continue the work of justice, they will be exposed instead to society’s rebranded Jesus either through news, social media or their friends who attend the giant Evangelical mega church in town. 

You do not need to attend church to teach your children and grandchildren about Jesus, but by not bringing them to church, the responsibility of that teaching falls completely on the parent or grandparent. One purpose of church is sharing the responsibility of the spiritual upbringing of our children. At baptism, we promise our love, support and care for them. There are churches that still honor that promise.

The time is now. The urgency is now. If you are feeling like you don't know what you can do to make an impact, that you don't want to protest alone, are you willing to find a church that is doing the work? I invite you to join me and other mainline protestant denominations. Let’s reclaim Jesus. Let’s rebuild the body of Christ together for the sake of the USA.