The System is Rigged
Over the past 10 years, I’ve traveled to Europe quite a bit and the power of a U.S. passport is never lost on me. Many of these trips have involved spending time with and around refugees, most of them waiting on an asylum system that can grant them similar freedoms or swiftly take it away by deportation.
Some refugees I’ve spent time with have lived in Europe for 5-10 years after escaping the atrocity of war and then suddenly, the system says they must go and they are immediately deported back to a country that looks nothing like the one they left years earlier. In some cases, refugees are deported alone, ripped from their families, returned to dangerous circumstances.
In American Christianity, I’ve experienced the powerful system that some of us in ministry world have dubbed The Church Industrial Complex. Many of us who have felt convicted to leave behind this powerful, tribal system have experienced the isolation that comes when you can no longer morally subscribe to the tenets of this club. Most of these systemic beliefs are modern inventions in western Christianity and have nothing to do with historical Christianity.
Over the past 8 years, I’ve experienced organizations, churches, friends, and other pastors formally cutting ties with me or distancing themselves…including the church that ordained me as a minister. Although I still deeply love and respect all of them, the pain of rejection is real. All because I’ve left legalism and drawn closer to the freedom and grace of Christ.
Last week, I was reflecting on these two experiences during a coaching call with one of our Seeds and Water clients, church planters in Austria. Cesar and Simona…pray for them. They are amazing and do such beautiful work in Gratz and Vienna.
My reflection: Systems are almost always created by people with power. We need to pause and think about the organic effects of systems designed by people in power.
How does this affect the weak and the wounded? The people fleeing war, pain, or trauma?
The system is rigged against people seeking refuge. It’s one of many reasons we started Seeds and Water Collective. People need a community where they will be seen, heard, encouraged, and supported with no strings of power or tribalism attached.
Unconditional love…just like Christ.