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Devotional, Series

KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTIAN, part 2: Don’t Turn Non-Essentials Into Mandatories

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Read Romans 14:1-12

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you” (James 4:11 NLT).

We’ve all seen the bumper magnets and bulletin signs urging us to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” While well-intentioned, this phrase often misses the mark. It focuses on preserving a commercialized image of “baby Jesus” rather than embracing the full, transformative power of Christ in our lives. The real challenge we face isn’t just keeping Christ in a holiday—it’s keeping Christ in Christian.

Image: AI-generated by Rev. Todd R. Lattig using Adobe Firefly and modified by the author.

Part 2: Don’t Turn Non-Essentials Into Mandatories. In May 2024, the United Methodist Church made a historic shift towards LGBTQ inclusion. At their General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, 93% of delegates voted to lift long-standing bans on ordaining LGBTQ+ clergy and allowing clergy to perform same-sex weddings. This decision came after decades of debate and division within the denomination over LGBTQ issues.

The change was celebrated by many, including Rev. Andy Oliver, who had faced potential church trials for officiating same-sex weddings. However, it also highlighted how a non-essential doctrine had caused significant division within the church for years, leading to what some described as a “denominational divorce” and causing harm to LGBTQ individuals within the Methodist community.

Just three weeks later, on May 21, 2024, another powerful moment unfolded in Eastern Pennsylvania. Beth Stroud, who had been defrocked as a United Methodist Church pastor in Philadelphia in 2004 for being in a same-sex relationship, was reinstated as a full member and pastor in the UMC. The reinstatement occurred during a closed session of about 200 ordained clergy from the UMC’s Eastern Pennsylvania region, where Stroud exceeded the two-thirds vote requirement for readmission. As one of the clergy present in that session, I witnessed this historic moment firsthand. Stroud, overcome with emotion, described her experience: “I was completely disoriented. For what felt like several minutes I couldn’t tell where the front of the room was, where I was, where I needed to go. Everyone was clapping and then they started singing.” She was presented with a red clergy stole symbolizing her status as a fully ordained member of the clergy.

These events highlight a crucial issue within Christianity: the tendency to elevate non-essential doctrines to mandatory status. For decades, the UMC and many other denominations have been deeply divided over LGBTQ inclusion, treating it as a make-or-break issue of faith. But is this truly an essential doctrine of Christianity?

Jesus never spoke directly about LGBTQ issues. His message consistently emphasized love, acceptance, and the inherent worth of all people. He challenged religious leaders who used doctrine to exclude and marginalize others. Paul, in our main scripture, urges us not to “quarrel over disputable matters” (Romans 14:1 NLT).

When we turn non-essential doctrines into mandatories, we risk losing sight of Christ’s central teachings. We create division where there should be unity, exclusion where there should be welcome. The harm done to LGBTQ Christians, like Beth Stroud, who have been excluded from full participation in church life, is a stark reminder of the consequences of such actions.

As Christians, we are called to focus on the essentials of our faith: love for God and neighbor, the saving grace of Christ, and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Everything else, including our interpretations of specific biblical passages or traditional church teachings, should be held more loosely.

This doesn’t mean these issues aren’t important or that we shouldn’t engage in thoughtful discussion about them. But it does mean we should approach them with humility, recognizing that faithful Christians can and do disagree on many matters.

By keeping our focus on Christ and His essential teachings, we create space for diversity within unity. We allow for growth, change, and a fuller expression of God’s love in our communities. Most importantly, we avoid the trap of legalism that Jesus so often warned against.

As we reflect on the UMC’s journey towards LGBTQ inclusion, let’s consider: What non-essential doctrines might we be elevating to mandatory status in our own lives or churches? How can we refocus on the essential teachings of Christ, creating a more inclusive and loving community of faith?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” – possibly Marco Antonio de Dominis

PRAYER
Loving God, help us to focus on the essentials of our faith, grounded in Your love and grace. Give us the wisdom to discern between essential and non-essential doctrines, and the courage to create inclusive communities that reflect Your all-encompassing love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotion written by Rev. Todd R. Lattig with the assistance of Perplexity AI.

Devotional

God’s People, part 163: Ascended

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Read Acts 1:6-11

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.”  (Luke 24:50-53, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 163: Ascended. In today’s Scripture we have an account of Jesus’s ascension as provided by Luke. Both the main Scripture reading and the second Scripture reading come from texts that were written by Luke. In Acts, Luke elaborates a little more on the ascension and the disciples’ reaction to it, as the Acts of the Apostles was written to account for the ministry and struggles of the early church. The Gospel of Luke, on the other hand, just gives us a synopsis of the ascension as a brief conclusion of the Gospel. It is important to note that Luke wrote the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles back to back as a two-volume collection.

To many people today, it may seem insignificant that Jesus ascended. In other words, people might wonder why it matters so much that he ascended into heaven. What gives if that was a literal event or if it was more metaphorical? The same people might wonder why it is such a big deal if Jesus physically rose from dead as well. “Perhaps”, they might think, “those things were metaphors that provided people with hope that there was hope in the midst of death on some sort of “spiritual” level. Perhaps, the ascension is also a metaphor as well. Does it really need to have historically happened for it to not be meaningful?

First, the answer to the last question is no, it does not have to have historically happened for it to have meaning. Stories such as the Lord of the Rings are deep with meaning even though they never historically happened. Fables such as the Tortoise and the Hare are not historical accounts, but are rich with meaning. So, it is true that something does not have to be historical to have profound meaning.

With that said, the disciples and the early church were not looking to convey deep, personal meaning to people. What I mean by that is that the earliest Christians were not writing the Gospels as some sort of meaningful fiction that the readers could walk away from feeling spiritually fed. Yes, they understood that reading the Gospels would nurture and feed, but not just for the sake of doing so.

Instead, these accounts were written as a witness to identity of a historical figure. Was Jesus merely another crucified Jewish traitor in a long, bloody history of crucified Jewish traitors? Was he merely a failed rabbi and revolutionary? Or was there more to this man that met the eye. The disciples who had spent three years in itinerant ministry with him…who traveled with him, who learned from him, who witnessed his sacrifice, who witnessed his physical resurrection, and his ascension…they were witnessing to the IDENTITY of Jesus.

He was not merely another man. Sure, he was human who lived in a specific time and place in history; however, he was so much more than that. He rose from the dead and, in doing so, conquered sin and death. How? Because the wages of sin are death. Jesus took on those wages on the cross, but he resurrected, appeared to his disciples and, when the time was right, ascended into heaven where he sits with God Almighty.

Jesus was no ordinary man. Though human, he was also fully divine. That is HIS IDENTITY and it is that identity that gives us the assurance that God will conquer sin and death in us too, through faith in Jesus Christ who died, rose and ascended before us. If that is just a “metaphor” Jesus is no more than Heracles/Hercules, Achilles, Perseus, etc.

The disciples who witnessed Jesus resurrect and ascend were adamant witnesses to the REALITY of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. What’s more, they went to their deaths proclaiming that REALITY. The question for us is this: Do we think ourselves to be so knowledgeable to be able to discount the mystery of IMMANUEL: God with us? The challenge for us is to humble ourselves and trust in the One who is the Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Have faith and believe that Jesus who conquered sin and death on the cross, who rose to life and ascended to heaven, can be a conqueror, miracle worker, and Savior in your life as well. He is risen, and ascended, indeed!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“At His Ascension our Lord entered Heaven, and He keeps the door open for humanity to enter.” – Oswald Chambers

PRAYER
Lord, give me the strength to overcome the trappings of this world and to see you as you truly are, revealed to me by the faithful witness of Scripture and those who came before me. Amen.

Devotional

In Search for the Essentials

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Read Matthew 22:34-40

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” (John 13:35)

When it comes to how Christians should treat each other regarding theological and doctrinal differences, there is a seventeenth century quote that says, “In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, in all things, charity (meaning love).” Yet, it seems as if that is much easier said than done in Christianity, or any religion for that matter. People tend to invest themselves in their religions, and they identify themselves by their beliefs, and so doctrines and theologies become awfully personal.

As such, attacks against one’s beliefs often ends up getting translated as an attack against oneself. I have, no doubt, been both on the receiving and the giving ends of those attacks. If we are honest, most of us have been. Sometimes when one questions someone’s beliefs, he or she is not meaning to “attack” at all; however, it gets interpreted that way because of the personal nature of faith. Yet, there are many times that one just vehemently disagrees with the beliefs of another, often feeling that their beliefs are threatened the opposing beliefs of another, and so they react in ways that are both spiritually damaging and ungodly.

Sometimes it isn’t even beliefs that called into question, but personal practices or forms of expression. For instance, I have been questioned before because I have eight tattoos. I have been asked, “What would Jesus think of you having those tattoos? Surely, you must know that Jesus was a good Jewish boy and he would not have condoned your marking your body up like that.” What does one say to such a comment? It is true that Jesus would not have been down at the tattoo parlor getting WWJD and fish symbols tattooed to his body; however, it is also true that Jesus wouldn’t have been eating shrimp. He wouldn’t have eaten pork. He wouldn’t be wearing clothing with mixed fibers (e.g. shirts made with cotton and polyester). Yet, the majority of Christians have no problem eating and wearing such things.

Of course, I could go on quoting Jesus on what defiles a person, or perhaps quoting Paul on how Christians are free to do all things in Christ, though not all things are beneficial. But that is beyond the point. How do we, as people of faith, live into the quote above? First off, what are the essentials? It seems that there are no groups of Christians that can agree on just what the essentials are. One group will hold the Apostles Creed as the essentials; however, other groups might dispute one or more of the Apostle’s Creed as essential. What’s more, even if they accept the Apostle’s Creed as essential, they might interpret its parts differently than others, leading to conflict. If people can’t agree on what is essential, then it is impossible to move beyond to what is non-essential.

Where is charity in all of this? Where is love? Thankfully for us Christians, Jesus answered what is MOST important for all people of faith, and I will extend this decree to all people of faith…and not just Christians. What is most important, what is essential, is this: that you LOVE God with all of your being, and that you LOVE your neighbor as yourself. For Jesus, those two commands summed up all of the laws of Judaism and were what was essential to that religion. As such, that is what is essential for Christians as well, and be hard pressed not to see that as essential for all people, regardless of faith. If we all were more unified in our LOVE of God, as opposed to our LOVE of OUR IDEA OF GOD, and if we were all unified in our LOVE OF NEIGHBOR, then we would find out that the non-essentials would fade away and that CHARITY would rule the day. This is what we, as beings created in the image of God, are called to do…to LOVE and to never cease in that LOVE.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For He will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.” Paul of Tarsus, (1 Corinthians 4:5)

PRAYER

Lord, give me the grace to be graceful and give me peace enough in my own beliefs so that I do not feel threatened by the beliefs of others.  In you, I am secure. Fill me with your love so that I may, in turn, love others. Amen.