An Open Letter to My Senator

Below is an e-mail that I have already sent to one of my senators.  I found myself talking to others about this subject and quickly realized that that was useless.  I decided to send the below e-mail as well.  If you feel strongly about this, or any subject, please stop complaining in the coffee shop and talk to those who represent you instead.  Believe it or not these e-mails make more of a difference than the meme you may share.  You can find contact information for any of your representatives online.

Senator Grassley,

I write to you today because I respect you and your service to my state and country.  You have always been responsive to me in person and the last time I sent an e-mail.  I write to you today because you have always seemed to me to be a good man, a man of character and faith.

I am an employee of KWAY radio in Waverly and you have always been helpful to us.  I do not represent KWAY radio in any way in this e-mail.  I have the privilege of serving as an elder at Grace Baptist Church in Waverly.  You, before my time, had attended services and even spoke at the church and many appreciate that to this day.  I do not represent Grace Baptist Church in any way in this e-mail.  I simply write as a concerned citizen.

You sir, however, are a representative of me and I am a representative of Christ Jesus so I must write this e-mail.

Please ask President Donald J. Trump to reconsider the Department of Justice’s policy of splitting up immigrant families.  I find this policy to be both highly unusual and incredibly cruel.

I have a thirteen-month-old boy and I love him to pieces and I couldn’t imagine anyone separating me and my wife from him.  Taking my son from me, and especially from my wife, would be about the cruelest thing I could conceive of being done.  These people who are separated from their children no doubt feel the same way.

Jeff Sessions cited Romans 13 in his defense of this policy.  I wholeheartedly agree with Romans 13 and my life is affected by that passage.  But you men and women in the government represent me and I think Romans 13 is much easier to follow if you, my representatives, make and enforce just laws and policies.  As a citizen of a democratic-republic I implore you to work to change this policy.

The policy of ripping children from their parents is beneath the dignity of our country and this policy is completely beneath the dignity of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Jesus Christ asks me and you to care for the least of these.  He demands that you and I let the little children come to Him.  He says, “If anyone causes one of these little ones- those who believe in me- to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”  Those are strong words and the trauma of government ripping children from their parents may cause these little ones to distrust the King of kings. 

Mr. Grassley, I respect you.  I trust you.  Please represent me well.  I know there is not a simple solution to illegal immigration.  I’m not naïve.  I understand that the parents are committing a crime, but this punishment most certainly does not fit this crime.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my e-mail,

Matt Ray

Waverly, IA

The Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things

On Sunday our church voted to hire a new senior pastor named Jonathan Davis.  I'm excited to have Pastor Jonathan and his family join us but I am worried about something.

I'm worried about a dangerous cult.  A cult that has affected so many organizations and individuals.  A cult to which churches are not immune.

I'm worried about the Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things.

The Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things is something I hope Grace Baptist Church avoids.  Now, the ways things have been done are hopefully not all bad.  I've been a part of the way we've done things and many great Christians I admire have been influential in creating many of the ways we've always done things.  That being said, I hope we avoid the Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things.

Our new senior pastor will come and continue many of the ministries that we already have in place.  Jonathan will do some things the way they were done before he arrived and he may come to appreciate the ways things have been done.  But he will most certainly make some changes.

Why am I writing this and why do you care about my church's leadership transition?

I write this because the Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things is a problem in, dare I claim, every single church that wants to grow.  If you are part of a local church that is attempting to grow in its mission, and I hope you are, then you will feel the pull toward this cult. 

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.  They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.  Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."  Hebrews 13:17

I write this for myself as much as for you.  I have a hard time resisting the Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things, too.  I have to work hard to submit to authority and to obey leaders and to TRUST them. 

Trust is what this is all about.  Why do we want to do things the way they've always been done?  Because we know it works.  Could the new idea work better?  Perhaps, but I know and like the way it's always been done.  Simply saying that something is not the way we've always done things is not enough reason not to try it.

So, I implore you to trust your church leaders.  Not to trust blindly, but to trust.  We want our leaders to serve us with joy.  They must give an account for how they lead and that is enough stress.  We must trust that they are calling on God for guidance and that they desire to lead us like the Good Shepherd to green pastures and quiet waters even if we must go through the valley of the shadow of change. 

Avoid the Cult of the Way We've Always Done Things.  Be willing  to experience change because growth in the depth and breadth of your church's ministry will always involve a change of some sort.  Embrace the changes your leaders lead your church body to and be excited for the growth that change might cause in all of you today.