I have invested much of my time and effort into Methodistism didn’t believe it would come to this —
All too much for me
Our unerring attitudes within our Christian denomination have made many of us, who are faithful members, cringe. We just want do good together, pray together, and seek God as we feel Jesus leads us. Unfortunately, we now exist in a culture and society where that approach is unacceptable.
A story of the same journey but on two different trails
Coop No Longer Lives in Reality
Back home in our hillbilly paradise we only had one church. The question was simply “do you go to church?” I am just a country boy. I am in no way a sophisticate. I can barely speak an intelligible sentence in my mumbling dialect. Most of what I know of faith, God, and Jesus comes from listening in church and reading, maybe not as often or comprehensively as I should.
I never carried much weight in the centers of learning, my intrusive R doomed me every time I entered a discussion. I always felt comfort and welcome in the pews. My church is one of the pews not the conference. I have spent nearly every Sunday in either a Methodist Episcopal or United Methodist pew listening. Yes, that ages me. Coop is just like me his family went to our church. He and I have been doing stuff together pretty much all our lives.
Coop and I are not really just alike. We did do the same things, went to the same Sunday school classes and Bible schools, and now work together to fix up the church and help at the dinners. We have played, studied, and worked together all our lives.
Coop is often all fired up about things. Coop and his family always had different perspectives than my family. I know we were different political parties but that didn’t used to be so different. Coop’s family always acted more rigid and strident. When we were little boys, I remember Coop’s Dad went on about fluoride in the water and Elvis was ruining the youth. Later I learned fluoride occurred naturally in our water. He also had a low opinion of the Beatles when they appeared on Ed Sullivan.
Neither of our families drank, we all held the drinkers in low esteem. My folks judged others, but they seemed more willing to allow someone to try to prove themselves. If a person began coming to church to start over, they had their doubts but would try to be encouraging. Coop’s father was never very welcoming. He defined people by those who walked the straight and narrow and those who didn’t.
Coop was over today discussing the current serious issue. I sometimes think he sees more seriousness than I do. Maybe, I just don’t view the world accurately. I know Coop and many at church worry endlessly about changes. I just can’t buy into worry. I feel stress but worry has never done me any good.
I got to thinking back on all the things Coop has warned me about over all my years working with Coop and his family. Variety shows hosted by singers were a common thing in my early television. I liked Perry Como and Dean Martin. Once when I said I liked Nat King Cole, I remember Coop’s dad saying he didn’t like TV shows like that. Later as protests, sit ins, and freedom marches were on nightly news Coop’s Dad would worry over the colored people destroying the country. Our all-white town didn’t have local racial interactions. Coop’s dad said we were all equal, but didn’t seem to approve of anything Black people did. Especially, as the integration of sports, entertainment, schools, and job opportunities proceeded.
As we were in school Vietnam became a growing thing. Coop had a ‘Love It or Leave It’ bumper sticker on his pickup. I suggested maybe he let me black out the leave it part. He told me he weren’t no commie; I should not mess with his truck. Coop defended Nixon, until he couldn’t. Still, I don’t remember partisan politics being an issue in our church.
Coop and I continued as friends and co-workers at church. ERA came along and Coop was again all fired up. Coop didn’t think women ought to be ministers either. He would not allow it in our church. Coop told me what this Schlafly lady said would happen if ERA was approved. ERA did not become an amendment, but all those things happened anyway. I told Coop it seemed to me women had held the church together time and again, and they had as much right as me to serve, speak, and be ministers. Years later we did have a woman minister and Coop discovered she was a faithful loving, Jesus focused person, who truly supported his family through difficult times.
Coop became all agitated about the abortion issue. I told Coop sex education and birth control prevented abortion not strict laws and abstinence classes. Coop still wanted to lay down the law so to speak. Women’s rights, birth control, and abortion were hot button partisan issues starting in the 1980’s and still are. Partisanship came to our houses of worship then.
When we work on projects, I have more time to learn Coop’s latest if not ‘end of the world’ at least the ‘end of our church’ crisis. Coop thought our relief missions needed more proselytizing not just relief. Our church shouldn’t work with UNICEF. Our United Methodist Women ought to take fewer social stances. Back in the nineties as we stripped out an old floor in the overflow room Coop was all on about family values. He assured me Hillary killed Vince Foster and maybe ten thousand others. At least as many as Jesus fed with loaves and fishes, if I remember. I don’t remember as sharply as used to. He thought we shouldn’t get our Sunday School material from Cokesbury. We got the floor ready for a new surface; I prayed Coop would find more peace and less worry. Coop has moved on from family values; he doesn’t mention it anymore.
After 9-11 we were working on a big remodel of our church’s entrances for accessibility and climate barriers. I spent several days with Coop in late winter/early spring. This time Coop was worried about Islam, and we needed a crusade against it to save our culture. Coop didn’t know the difference between Iran and Iraq, had no idea how to locate Afghanistan on a map. Coop didn’t know about Shia or Sunni and was unaware of the Kurds. The fact, that the 9-11 suicide terrorists were mostly Saudis, didn’t dissuade him. We should attack Saddam Hussein. I remembered Vietnam and thought we should apply some of those lessons. America as a Christian nation should be less bellicose. Coop told me not to disrespect the Vets by saying Vietnam was a mistake. Coop got his war, but I feel it was not a Christian response or a strategic one. After our work, our people enter our church easily without bringing all the cold or heat with them.
Church affairs and the partisanship of our current politics became more mingled. After Obama was elected a new dark energy seemed to be unleashed. The attacks in emails and on Facebook were mean and untrue. Coop and others in the church seemed to lap them up. Coop claimed the memes were just jokes, I said yes, very racist jokes. Then came Trump, all previous statements of moral conduct and policy were inoperative. I know our local church people still hold their old values. Our national Christians, the televangelists, have lost all credibility.
Coop knows what he believes now. He believes in nonsensical conspiracies. Our old discussions are no longer possible. Our differences are expressed by bitter mean-spirited attacks at opponents, usually in memes. This manner of conducting politics has come into debates within the church. It allows those who would profit or self-glorify from dissension in our church organization to exploit schisms. It all has little to do with Jesus in the world and much to do with the worldly pushing out Jesus. Coop came over promoting some new affiliation of churches. I said, “Now Coop I just want to continue to do good as we have all our lives. I am not trying to tell you what to believe. I want each of us to sincerely pray and listen. Try to find the heart of Jesus.” Coop wanted to give me all sorts of information and arguments for his wishes. “No, I will pray.”
Coop is quick to buy into hoaxes: Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii, he was a Muslim, his tan suit was a sign of disrespect. Now that Obama has served two terms he believes other things. Covid-19 is a hoax, climate change is a hoax, Trump won the 2020 election, the January 6th insurrectionists were really Black Lives Matter, there is no systemic racism in the U.S.A.
Coop even denies Aaron Rodgers is the greatest quarterback ever, and the Packers will win the Super Bowl on this Last Cheese. Sorry, that last one I just threw in; Coop says he is done with NFL games, too much wokeness. I think too much wokeness is just something not white supremacy and Lost Causey enough.
Back to our current agitation, the gays. Yes, we used to sing ‘don we now our gay apparel’ and no one giggled. Homosexuality didn’t exist when I was a kid in school. At least, I didn’t know about it. I have known many a man and woman not fit for church, yet I never told them they couldn’t come. I have also known many who came as often as I did who were not fit for church. I just want to welcome everyone and do good things. I suppose the church broadly is any who follow in the aftermath of Jesus’ ministry.
I have to say Coop’s track record, in things to be all ‘end of the world’ about, has been somewhat checkered. Maybe Coop is right, if I don’t join his new church, I will go to Hell. I’ve always had much affinity for Huckleberry Finn. I suppose it is because my appearance is slightly less than proper, and I seem not to be welcome by the finest in society. Huck said if the proper Christian thing to do was turn in a runaway slave, then he would just have to go to Hell. Well Coop, I hope we can just continue to work together and do good things. I still have to follow where my years of trying to be like Jesus leads. I cannot follow you. Besides looking over your track record of things to be all worried and agitated about it wouldn’t be wise.
Now, with my vaccinations I had hoped we could rebuild. Coop didn’t like masks or distancing restrictions. I love potlucks and singing in the choir, but we must be sensible. Coop I have loved working with you, if your church is one of rigid rules instead of a temple for forgiveness and compassion, it is not Jesus’ church. I believe we could each seek God in our own way in the same church.
Oh by the way, this Delta variant thing is also a real threat. I’ll just pray Aaron Rodgers takes the Packers to next year’s Super Bowl on this season of the Last Cheese. It doesn’t hurt to toss that in with other prayers. My little church, still the only one, is open to everyone in our community.
Originally written June 2021, revised August 2021
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