As you are well aware, it has been an incredibly emotional, troubling, and confusing few weeks across the border in Minnesota and in communities like ours all across the country.  My heart aches for the state of our world.  I’m sure yours does too. And I can promise you, God’s heart aches over what is unfolding as well.

When national tragedies like this take place, I often feel the pressure to share what I think or to make a statement on behalf of Midcurrent Church. Perhaps some of you have found yourself wishing that I did.

I want to be honest and start by saying that, generally speaking, I am growing increasingly uncomfortable with the “make a statement” culture that seems to be growing in our world. I don’t always find it fitting or helpful to expect that local business, community, and faith leaders “make a statement” in the immediate aftermath of national tragedies—events of which they were likely not a part and can only initially interpret through social media posts and unhelpful reporting from today’s media sources of all perspectives.

Additionally, I often get a sense that too many people seeking a statement after a national tragedy (i.e., COVID, George Floyd, Charlie Kirk, Laken Riley, Renee Good, Alex Pretti, etc.) are looking not for genuine guidance on how to respond, but rather for validation of conclusions they have already reached. That’s not necessarily a situation I want to step into with the leadership God has entrusted to me.

With this in mind, the only statement I want to make today is that what we are witnessing is so very sad. And that is not a reference to only one particular end of the problem. It’s a reference to all parts of the problem which is what I believe Jesus followers should be grieving most.

And so, while I don’t have the kind of statement that is becoming more common at a time like this, I do want to write with an encouragement for those of us who follow Jesus.

On the whole, I wish more of us truly exemplified what the New Testament writer, James, encourages of us—that we would be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. I am genuinely shocked at how quickly people of all perspectives can arrive at a place of absolute certainty about a headline they read in the news and how angry and unkind they can be while expressing it.

I also wish Jesus followers felt more free to acknowledge that two (seemingly opposite) things could be true at the very same time rather than feeling tied to a single perspective that is voiced most loudly by the national figures with whom they are most aligned.

I wish more Jesus followers could openly lament the tragic and unnecessary loss of a life regardless of how it played out AND openly lament the rising tension on the streets and the protests that have moved beyond peaceful.

I wish more Jesus followers would boldly call for dignity to be restored to our immigrant neighbors who are scared and vulnerable AND to law enforcement officers who are being verbally assaulted only inches away from their faces.

I wish more Jesus followers would advocate for the role and the presence of law enforcement officers AND freely admit the moments when law enforcement gets it wrong.

I wish more Jesus followers could acknowledge the reality that decades of past immigration policies have created some real challenges in the United States AND that we have a responsibility to care for those in our midst who are scared, hungry, and vulnerable no matter the circumstances.

These are all principles, informed by the teaching of Jesus, that should not change depending on whose team is winning.

On that note, I want you to know that I am in conversation with some local partners who support Arrive Ministries and a few immigrant families facing added challenges due to the current climate in Minnesota. There may be a need for increased support—groceries, hygiene products, or financial assistance—in the weeks ahead. If specific needs arise that our church can help meet, I will be sure to share those with you so that you have the opportunity to contribute and put compassion into motion.

I don’t know if any of this will lead to as many tangible solutions as we might wish for. But I do pray that all of it it would lead a lost and broken world to see its need for Jesus.

I am praying that as more and more people embrace His call on their lives, the Kingdom of Heaven would become more of a reality here on earth. And I am praying that all of us at Midcurrent Church would do our part to make it so.
Sten