A Story on the Line

This week in politics spiritual stories have figured prominently, from Mitt Romney's Morminism which is controversial to many Christians to Oprah Winfrey's recalling Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Christian convictions that further opened up African American political participation. In our political campaigns, perhaps in an unrivaled way, the faith lives of candidates have been asked about and spoken of intensely. If you want to know more, take a look at the Pew Forum (www.pewforum.org) and there you will find the spiritual stories of all of our political candidates.

My question is this: if you were on the campaign trail and asked about your faith, what would you say? It is easy to take a shot at the faith of others, without putting yourself on the line. As I think about it, Jesus criticized certain aspects of the faith of others but he also told people what he believed. Jesus did not like the lack of charity or the spiritual boasting of the Pharisees, but while Jesus was confronting the Pharisees he was also open and honest about who he was and what he was about. This is part of why I like Jesus' style so much - he confronted others, and was honest about his own story.

So this is the challenge - write your own story and email it to the loft (anixon@loftchurch.com). What do you believe, and what has shaped you to believe as you do? You might find that in writing the story you will learn a lot about God and you - and will be able to have a more interesting conversation with those who have put their faith out there for all to see.