Over the last several days I’ve felt a sadness that I only remember feeling a few of times in my life:

• The Challenger disaster
• 9/11
• The attack on the US Capitol Building

As I’ve contemplated this sadness, I realized the importance of lament – my need to invite God into my grief and allow Him to help me process and inform it. As I’ve prayed into that, I’ve discovered some things…

1. The Church’s role in this situation may be what makes me most discouraged.
2. The Church’s need to repent is imperative.  Hosea 10:12 describes a time when Israel was experiencing the judgement of God and God, through Hosea, invites them to “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” The Church needs revival and if we are to be revived; we need to plant the good seeds of righteousness, plow up the hard ground of our hearts and seek the Lord. We can’t just go back to our “normal” or “get past this.” 
3. Social media isn’t a help. While scrolling, I’m watching people who are connected by blood, years or grace cancel each other over a political candidate. Social media seems to have devolved our ability to listen, reason and calmly consider. I remember the days of letter writing. We would receive letters in the mail, read them and sit down to write a return message. All of that took time and in that time, we could contemplate and think about our response – to consider our words. Even better, there was a time when we would speak to people with whom we disagreed. Having to look into someone’s eyes to say hurtful things is far more difficult. Owning the impact of our words by watching them hit changes things. 

That being said, I don’t believe social media has done anything to help us to become better people and so I left. If you want to know what’s happening in my life or you have something we don’t agree on that you like to address, send me a letter or better yet, let’s talk face to face.