Believing Better with Kenny Bishop

Have you ever just wanted to hear quiet? With all of the talking and yelling and beeps and honks and commercials and other noises that seem to occupy all of our space, it would feel good to be able to turn it all down and make room for something else. With all the opinions and conflicting voices, we are expected to sort through it all and try to find something that assures us that things will be okay. Sometimes we just have to remember that in truth, it's just noise.

Some of us are kinda spooked at the thought of God knowing everything about us. But it's probably because we've been warned of a god that gets some kind of strange delight out of taunting us with judgment, then punishing us for whatever kind of "sin" we've been secretly living in. But that's not the God we ever find in the bible. We can take comfort in knowing that God does in fact know us and takes great delight in loving us just the same.

June is Pride Month, and this is Pride weekend in Lexington. Since our founding, BUCC is a welcoming church that proudly affirms those who identify as LGBTQ+, and we feel especially called to speak to the discrimination and mistreatment they often face as individuals and as a community. Pride is about celebrating who they are, their history, and their worth. We invite everyone to see them as God does. Btw, we think God is pretty proud of them.

Most of us white Americans have only recently become educated on the significance of June 19th. As Black communities have celebrated Juneteenth, a day that could rightly be seen as America's true Independence Day, too many of us who never learned about the final pronouncements of freedom to the enslaved people of Texas simply lived without the knowledge and the inspiration it brings. Most Americans are also unfamiliar with Homer Plessy and John Marshall Harlan and their contributions to eliminating some of our nation's most racist laws. So let's learn together.

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on enjoying this life, its blessings, its joys, and its laughter.

A lot of people claim Christianity as their religion. But claiming it and being it are not always the same thing. To be a Christian is to mimic Jesus, and that often means we must follow his lead in taking positions against the things that demean humanity. Racism is one of the big ones, and sadly, many self-identified Christians have traded what Jesus says about it for what their favorite politician has to say. Jesus calls it a sin, so I believe racism is a sin.

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. Embracing the diversity of God's humanity is vital to our witness. Discrimination of any sort defeats our witness, and more importantly, works against God's intentions for our world.

It takes a lot of humility to step down from your place of power and position to serve in a task that most would consider an insult. It's one of those lessons Jesus taught by example when he left the supper table, girded himself with a towel, and started washing his servants' feet. When they protested, he told them that it was necessary for the world to know that everyone is a servant to their neighbor. Lately, we have seen power on display at the state capital in Tennessee where powerful white men shut down and expelled young, Black legislators who've been muzzled and were desperate to be heard as voices standing up for the victims of a recent mass shooting there. What if Jesus was one of those legislators?

We tend to think of Jesus' entry and ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the beginning of the end for his earthy work and ministry. The events of that day will lead to his last meal with his followers, his betrayal, his execution, his burial, and his resurrection. But it seems we've forgotten the reason the people were most excited to see this peasant leader. It was because he was supposed to bring change. They believed he was coming to change the way the government and those in power were ruling over them. Today in the U.S., thousands of our children and citizens are dying senselessly because of guns. Just like those first-century citizens needed someone to step up and lead the charge, we need someone to come and make some change.

Recently, several state governments across the country, including here in Kentucky, have passed legislation targeting the LGBTQ community. Bills that limit public school teachers to only discussing heterosexual relationships around students, bills that place strict limitations and heavy restrictions on trans individuals, their parents and caretakers, and their doctors, bills that remove multicultural and LGBTQ history from school libraries and curriculums, and bills that make drag performers criminals for appearing in public have all either recently become law, or are in the process. The LGBTQ+ community is feeling the anxiety and the pressure of being attacked by their government. Thankfully, there is one, a Shepherd, who knows and cares and walks with them every step of the way.

Oftentimes we believe that we must “deserve” the love we receive. We work, work, work to get approval and to feel like our life is justified — pulling our own weight, thinking that whatever life we create, and love we get, is only what we ourselves can conjure up. But the scriptures today offer the image of God as our “keeper” — always helping, always present. Nicodemus has followed all the rules and done everything HE can do, and yet he is still looking for love — for a tangible connection with God. Jesus says that he must be born “of the Spirit.” It’s not all up to simply “doing the right thing!” It is about allowing the Spirit to help birth love in our lives.

Everyone is dealing with things. Health issues, family issues, finances, pressures at work and school, there are so many things to make our lives stressful and hard. Then things get more intense when we add a supercharged political environment that seems more interested in stoking anger than fixing problems. People are feeling weary, used, and unheard, especially marginalized people They are feeling defeated and alone. They need someone - they need us - to listen to them. Sometimes all they need is for someone to just show up for them.

Friends are important. Friends make sure we are not facing our issues alone. They provide support, encouragement, correction, and companionship. Jesus knew how important it was to have friends. When he called those who would be his disciples, he watched as they relied on each other and became fast friends. At the end of his life, it was the message that Jesus wanted them to know - they were his friends.

Twelve years ago this week, Marsha J. Moors-Charles started a new work in Lexington, Kentucky that continues today. She envisioned a place where questions could be asked, doubts would be welcomed, and healing could take place - especially for those who'd been injured by past church experiences. We are proud of the work we are able to do, and the healing that has taken place for so many. Today, as we celebrate our anniversary, we circle around a song that was composed out of despair but encouraged a civil rights leader to march on, fight on, and never give up. Just like MLK, we continue to work for the cause of justice and freedom, and pray, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

New years bring new opportunities. We can choose to look back, or we can choose to look ahead. With those opportunities, we can resolve to use our gifts, our time, and our resources to make our world better, or at least easier, for those who are in need. If we count our opportunities as we count our days, we have a chance to make our world better 365 times this year.

Hi there. I'm Kenny and I'm a recovering fundamentalist, Evangelical preacher. I've discovered lately that God loves a whole lot more than I was ever taught or told. This podcast is a collection of some of the sermons I've preached, talks that I've given, speeches I've made, and interviews I've been a part of. Together, we're going to rediscover who God really is and find out who God really loves. (That would be you.) I hope you'll be able to take the time when you can to join us as we rediscover together who God really is.