Words That Matter

“I am pointless. I look but do not act. I listen and write things down and my words change nothing.” Charles Bowden.

Bowden wrote those words suspecting the end was near for him and the end was going to come without his words making the impact he desired.

He was both right and wrong…the things he cared about are far worse than when he left us, but his words changed things he couldn’t see.

They changed me and I’m not alone.

I do understand why he felt he changed nothing, though.

When I was called into ministry, I believed with all my heart I was called out of one life and into another.

There would be no more fornication, no more drinking to excess, no more brawls…I was no longer the captain of my own ship, but the servant of the King.

I would serve others in sacrificial love and my guides would be the Holy Spirit and The Holy Scriptures.

The person and work of Jesus Christ would be the center of everything.

It would be hard…I found my sins delicious…but I would have a community of like minded believers for support.

I was, to put it gently, naive.

The church wasn’t much different from the world, it just lied a lot more about where it found its pleasures.

They put me out and a few years later I found the internet, and started writing about what I’d seen.

It turned out that a lot of folks had seen the same things and had suffered greatly as well.

Nothing’s changed.

There are a lot more people writing about the things I wrote about than when I started, but it hasn’t moved the needle much.

If you’re a “good teacher “and can draw a crowd, you can screw anything that moves as long as it’s not of the same sex or the neighbors pet.

Those things will prolong the length of your time of “restoration”.

You are free to abuse and fleece the flock to your heart’s content if you’re glib (and these days), “patriotic”.

We sold our moral authority to finance a campaign rally and buy some new video equipment.

We think the Supreme Court is the Supreme Court and search in vain for our place of residence in Scripture.

The book says they will know us by our love and that is true, as long as you’re not among the myriad groups we hate.

Whatever.

Bowden died penniless and sick, with his teeth falling out…but he never stopped writing.

He believed that what he was trying to tell us was worth it.

I still have a few teeth…and won’t stop writing.

Jesus and His church are worth more than anything.

That will never change.

I wrote this solely for my own benefit.