I don’t like Wisconsin winters, but here we were, February 2011, marching around the capitol in Madison. We had ridden the bus down with other protesters to march against Scott Walker, our new governor. In less than five weeks in office, he blew up our state by announcing his plan to repeal public unions. On the weekend that we protested, the crowd swelled to over 100,000 people. The majority were probably liberal, but we weren’t the only conservatives there.
My Catholic upbringing ingrained in me a deep sense of social justice, but we had raised our kids in evangelical churches. I listened to Focus on the Family and Christian radio and regularly attended church. I believed in personal and fiscal responsibility and working hard. I was a consistent pro-life voter. But in my mind, because workers’ rights are a moral issue, Christians should have been the first people on the buses down to Madison. I was shocked when they weren’t. The Christian bubble I’d been living in was fine until I sensed that we no longer fit.
Apparently, I had become a contradiction. How could I sit on the Board for our local pregnancy care center and also protest candidate Trump’s visit to Eau Claire? Is it feminist of me to think that pro-life should include policies that force men to take their responsibility for the children they have fathered? Am I communist because I support a ban on assault weapons? Am I radical if I support fair wages for workers and policies that protect the environment? Am I un-American if I support the refugees who seek safety in our country? Am I just crazy to think the church should call out toxic candidates when they make openly sexist remarks or single out groups of people to cast blame for our country’s woes?
My husband and I, we are the odd Christians. In our liberal circles, we’re the most conservative people they know. In our conservative circles, we are suspect for our progressive beliefs. But where did we get such radical beliefs? Um … the Bible.
If this resonates with you, let me just say that our numbers are growing. We don’t fit neatly in the church, yet we are doing our best to do what Jesus taught. This blog is about thinking out loud, sorting out what it means to live out the Gospel.
I invite you to journey with me and join the conversation. You can subscribe free of charge for now. I hope this is helpful for those of you who also feel displaced, who feel there’s just more to the Gospels.
Thank you for voicing what so many of us are feeling.
Hail to the odd Christians!!