Hey my friends,

Today's newsletter is going to be a bit different than usual. While I will often tackle a certain topic that intersects between theology and politics, I wanted today's to be a bit more pastoral. I have had so many of you message me expressing your exhaustion and grief over all that has been taking place here in America. So, I just wanted to share a simple process I use to evaluate the structure of my hope in times of weakness and grief in the hopes that you might find it helpful as well.

Recommended Resources:

​-Into The Gray: Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to my sermon podcast if you'd like to be notified on when my Sunday sermon becomes available every week. This week, I'll be preaching from Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, the famous parable of the prodigal son. You can also find it on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

​-"The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born." Given the news of yet more illegal seizers of people by ICE and the cutting of funding for unaccompanied immigrant children to have representation in court, I wanted to include my recent newsletter on immigration as it includes a list of organizations that you can join in to help our immigrant neighbors.

​-50150 movement This is a pro democracy grassroots movement that has successfully led more than 80 protests in all 50 states against the over reach of the executive branch. They have local chapters in every state and you can find ways to get involved through the link above.

​-5 calls app I found this app recently and it has been very helpful in contacting my local representatives. It populates all the ongoing issues and all you need to do is select the issue you are concerned about and it brings up the phone number for all your reps and even a script for you to read if you are nervous to talk on the phone. It makes the process so simple and quick. Thought I would pass it along here.

Okay, onto today's content.

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The Structure of Hope

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Growing up as a boy here in Idaho, I absolutely loved birds of prey. I have memories of camping with my dad and watching Ospreys and Eagles swoop down to scoop trout from the rivers and lakes. As I got a little older and was fly fishing in the same waters they were catching their trout, I felt connected in some small way by just being able to stand their and witness their beauty, grace, and strength. Feeling called to the ministry at an early age as well led me to fall in love with Isaiah 40:31, which says, ”But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”

I had that passage posted everywhere. It was on my school books, in my journal, and on pictures hanging in my bedroom. This was accompanied by numerous statues and pictures of eagles too. I was just so enamored by them and how their strength symbolized the kind of strength trusting in God could bring.

Well, if you’re anything like me, you’re looking for that renewed hope and strength in our time right now. I am finding my soul deeply exhausted and grieving over things that are happening in our country. I also feel like I’m doing everything I can personally to make a positive difference, but it feels like it's making little to no difference in curbing what’s happening, which adds to the feelings of grief. I have had many of you write to me expressing similar feelings too. We are looking for ways to hold onto hope and renew my strength.

In times like this, along with practicing scripture study, meditation, and mindfulness, I have found it helpful to process the current structure of my hope and see if there needs to be improvements made to my perspective which would allow my hope to be made stronger.

This personal process of mine has four phrases. First, I name the things that cause my hope to be damaged by writing them out. Second, I ask why those particular things damaged my hope and what it says about “how” I structure hope. Third, I connect with others who I trust and who care about me to share my situation with them and ask them about their perspective. Fourth, I consider ways to restructure my hope.

So I thought I would walk through this process with you over a few concerns of mine today. Perhaps you might find it helpful to do in the areas you need to renew your hope and strength as well. My lists wont be exhaustive, but will simply touch on a few things.

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​1. What damages your hope?

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I find the onslaught against democratic norms, checks and balances, and the rule of law in our country deeply troubling.

I am distraught over what is happening to our national parks and what all the rollbacks of environmental protections will mean for our natural world and everything that depends on it.

I am enraged by how education and science are being targeted and bullied by ideology and religious dogma.

I am so concerned for the state of healthcare and social programs, especially for the most vulnerable members of our society.

I am deeply disturbed by the way immigrants are being targeted and treated in our country, some having their legal status and due process denied for simply voicing political perspectives the current administration doesn’t like. It makes me heartbroken for them and wonder who might be treated that way next.

I am still deeply heartbroken over the lack of moral integrity shown by Evangelical Christianity, which raised me and first introduced me to Jesus. Growing up, I remember hearing so many Evangelical Christians warning against giving way to “moral relativism” in our faith, only to see so many of them constantly move the moral goal posts in order to justify the character, decisions, and actions of their preferred politicians and wealthy elites.

I heard so many of them rage against Bill Clinton’s immoral behavior in the White House, demanding he be impeached over it while declaring “character matters!” only to watch them justify politicians over the last decade who have done things that make Bill Clinton’s behavior look mild in comparison.

I heard so many of them rage against Hillary Clinton’s emails, even demanding that she be “locked up” and how it should disqualify her from political leadership, only to watch them shrug their shoulders over Pete Hegseth’s texting war plans over a nonsecure app to a group chat that included a reporter from the Atlantic.

I heard so many of them declare “they have to obey the law” when it came to immigrants and refugees, but make clear justifications for why their preferred politicians shouldn’t be held accountable to that same law, not even by a jury of their peers.

I heard so many of them hold every ordinary person in our nation accountable to the most rigid interpretation of certain parts of the Bible, all while using other parts of the Bible to justify the worst character and behavior displayed by their preferred politicians and political pundits.

They told me to not give into “moral relativism,” yet their morality is clearly relative to the proximity of wealth and power.

I feel betrayed by their lack of moral integrity, refusing to stand against even the most blatant contradiction to the Christian faith out of partisan loyalty.

I feel dismayed when looking for a clear resistance movement.

I feel deeply concerned about the future for my kids, for my family, for my neighbors, for all my fellow human beings, and for the health of our planet.

It breaks my heart that I am considered a “radical” by some Christians for not supporting authoritarianism.

These are some of the things that damage my hope.

2. Why do these particular things damage your hope? What does it say about how you structure hope?

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I think that as a pastor, my hope is tied to our collective love for one another. Jesus calls us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves and as a pastor, my role is a shepherd, caring for those who want to follow Jesus towards loving God and others well. So when I see large collectives of people actively deciding not to love God or others well, actively deciding to not do what is best for the common good, but do the opposite of that instead, this damages my hope in significant ways. Especially when those collectives of people claim to be Christians.

As one who has a deep love and passion for history, I also understand how long lasting and damaging a lot of the decisions that are currently being made right now can be and it really breaks my heart how we have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips from all those who came before us, yet so many seem determined to repeat what they have long warned us not to.

I think what this tells me is that my hope for myself, my family, for Christianity, and for the future is tied to a deep desire to see the gospel of Jesus do its transforming work, which includes a deep desire to see my fellow human beings love each other well. I think what can make this so difficult is that I truly believe that the kind of love displayed by Jesus really can save us and I truly believe that if enough people loved that way, it would truly change the world. So it can be especially difficult to see people collectively choosing the opposite from that love.

3. Have you shared this with others you trust to seek their guidance?

Yes, I have. I found it really helpful. I asked three trusted friends to share what is giving them hope in our world right now. This is how they answered.

The first friend, a fellow pastor, reminded me of King Herod. How so much that defines those in power are very similar to him. Egotistical, unserious, unprofessional, and brash. Such movements always eat themselves alive. As with King Herod, the human cost is the greatest evil done by these movements. That needs to be our focus and we must remember they will have to give an account for that someday. They reminded me, “the wheels of time are bent towards justice.”

My second friend, who has a masters in political science, reminded me that this is by far the darkest time electorally, because given the space between elections, beyond protesting and speaking out, there is very little we can do individually, which can feel so hopeless. They said to remember that the midterms are coming, and while many voted with the economy in mind for the presidential election, the data suggests that the favor among that voting block is souring because of all that is happening, and political gravity has strong potential to bring the needed check on power we need.

My third friend, who is a legal expert and faithful follower of Jesus, said simply, “all my hope is in the medium to longterm. Short term is very bleak.”

In talking with my friends, I was reminded of all the good people I talk to everyday who are doing such needed and important work in the world. I was reminded of all the people who have messaged me and commented on my posts about changing their mind about politics and theology for the first time in a long time. I was reminded that we aren't alone.

4. What ways might you restructure your hope based on the observations from this process?

I have learned that I lean towards the “big picture” a lot, so that when things are going wrong collectively this has an overwhelmingly negative impact on me personally. I also have learned that while my hope is “big picture” oriented, it might need to be refocused more on the medium to longterm rather than just on the short term. I have also relearned the important lesson from the scriptures, that having despair isn’t a problem at all. We all will deal with despair in some way in our lives. Rather, the goal is to not allow despair to define me. The goal is to move towards hope, persisting in doing good, even in the midst of concern and despair. "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

I have been reminded yet again that one of the central tactics of authoritarianism is breaking the spirit of anyone who would resist it. Authoritarians work very hard to overwhelm its opponents into apathy or silence. This means that persisting in hope is an act of resistance. This means that persisting in hope is a refusal to allow authoritarianism to define who I am and is an insistence that the teachings of Jesus will define who I am. This means that persisting in hope is to proclaim my loyalty to loving God and loving my neighbor as myself, no matter what happens or what loyalties authoritarians demand from me. This means that persisting in hope reveals that my allegiance does not belong to those who are trying to gain dominion over our world, but rather to the One through whom the world was created and to all my neighbors, whom the One called me to love as myself.

I have learned that persisting in hope means my strength is drawn from the incredible possibilities of all that could be accomplished by love, rather than drawn from what is happening in front of me.

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​How might this work for you?

I know each person is different and that this process may be helpful for me and not for others, but I thought I’d offer this process for you today and see if it might be of some encouragement to you too and possibly strengthen your structure of hope. If you have anything you would add to the process that you find helpful, I would love to hear about it.

Prayer: God of hope, we pray for these things that are so outside of our control yet so disturb us and disrupt our confidence. Would you grant us the wisdom to navigate these events in solidarity together as we move into such uncertain times. Would you grant us the strength to do all we can do with the time and resources you have given us and help us to trust in You and each other in the areas we simply feel powerless to change. Would you remind us that we are not alone. Would you point us in the direction we need to go united together in the work of making true and lasting justice.

We ask these things in the name of the One on whom our hope is built, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let me leave you with these words from Romans 15:13: “Now [may] the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”