My statement of faith

FAITH STATEMENT

E. Wayne McLaughlin – written June 2010

 

I observe ants on the ground carrying out their well-organized projects; I watch bees pollinate flowers, playing their significant role in an organically interconnected system of life; I look at photos of distant galaxies on NASA's website; I feel cold chills go up and down my spine, and I sense the holy mystery of life. I trust myself to this Holy Mystery that the Church has come to know as Father/Son/Spirit.

In the first century C.E. a Jewish man 'went about doing good, empowered by the Holy Spirit.' A movement gathered around this man Jesus. My framework for finding life's meaning has been within this movement—the Church. From the beginning the Church has ritualized God's birthing Womb in baptism and the continuing aliveness of Jesus in the Lord's Supper.

In the narrative of Holy Writ I hear the voice of God calling us to love all people, to take care of the created world, to bring people together, to heal the wounds of the world, to visit the sick, to comfort the dying, to protect and nurture children, and to plant the fecund seeds of the gladdening Word throughout the world.

I experience the Holy One in many ways. I believe life is sacramental. The Spirit speaks to us through the Bible, sermons, novels, movies, theater, poetry, comedy, friendships, religions, crises, tragedies, therapy, music, dreams, thoughts, pets, science, and many other ways. In God we live and move and have our being.

Through my study of Scripture I have come to believe that gays and lesbians, if called by God, should be eligible for ordination. I believe that gays and lesbians, if they have the vocation of marriage, should be allowed to marry like anyone else. My study of the Bible has also led me to believe human personhood begins at birth, and that women have the right to choose what is best for everyone concerned in regard to their pregnancies.

I believe in free will because I have no other choice. I believe that sometimes you have to set aside your principles and do what is right. I believe that when the book and the bird disagree you should believe the bird. I believe I am accepted in Jesus Christ, and that nothing can separate me from the love of God.

Having been born in Bowling Green, KY, which is approximately midway between the birth places of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, I believe I am called to a ministry of reconciliation.

Having been raised as a fundamentalist Southern Baptist and having journeyed to the other end of the theological spectrum, I understand how people's minds can change and how minds can be stuck in one place. I have indwelt both conservatism and liberalism. I find that the shoe of liberalism fits me, therefore I wear it in the service of Jesus. I believe that since humans have limited and relative perspectives, we need to learn from one another. I could be wrong about some things. I need to keep learning from my colleagues; all of you are my teachers.

For me the bottom line is this: I put my life in God's hands—the God I have come to know through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. John the Dipper was right: Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. Paul the Apostle was right: those who are plunged into Christ are part of a new creation; the world looks different; love reigns; there is hope. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


  
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