Profane

We spent the first ten minutes of Mom's Group talking about penises. Or is that penii? 

I'm not sure who brought it up, but that same person kept trying to teach the baby boy in the room to say, "Nobody wants to see that." I think it's important for boys to learn this early, especially if they are going to be the only child in a room with twelve wild women.

I love our squirrelly Mom's Group and I love serving in a community of faith that hasn't fired me yet. 

Here's the thing. Get ready for the shock. . .

I'm not a prudish pastor. 

I think prudishness actually works against the freeing nature of the Gospel so you might find us talking about nearly anything at church. 

I don't want people to imagine grace is meant for the person they think they ought to be; grace gives us the freedom to live in the person we are.

That doesn't mean we stay where we are. There's something amazing that happens when people get to share their pain, laughter and questions together. 

We can be honest about what is lovely and what is absurd; what is broken and what has found healing. The defenses drop and we can be truthful with ourselves about what needs to change.

Maybe a dog with a deer leg will distract you
from the mention of penises

We don't do Bible studies at Mom's Group. I have no pithy devotional, but the living word is moving and grooving in that room. We've talked about hairy lesbian porn and penises, but it's also one of the most sacred hours of the month. 

Or at least one of the most real. 

Folks get to show up and be present in the mess without trying to pretend.

One of the things I love about Jesus' life is how he takes the profane and makes it sacred with a touch and a word of thanksgiving. Water, bread, and wine all become unexpected vessels of grace. I might be doing this pastoring thing all wrong and someday the church was be utterly scandalized and find someone who will behave. 

But, until then, we keep creating spaces for grace, places where folks get to show up in their messes, be touched, and a word of thanksgiving offered. That's how I witness the profane becoming sacred.