I am suspicious of those who talk about spirituality. I am more suspicious of those who talk about spiritual warfare, and powers, and boast of their gifts: who celebrate the prophets and let such speak without the leadership vetting their words.

I mistrust the spectacular.

THis may be my natural bleakness and misanthropy, but I think it is more than that. Christ worked many miracles, and died on a cross. And Paul silenced the demons that tortured a slave girl.

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

	But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

(Acts 16:16-24 ESV)

When I look at the twitter streams of the churches I see a lot of talking points. About funding ministers to go to the Papists to learn how to worship.

New grant received will fund #PCUSA campus ministers’ pilgrimage to Taizé, France http://t.co/Fi6X5zPmKX pic.twitter.com/dptgTALR82

— Presbyterian Church (@Presbyterian) July 18, 2015

About racism, guns, women becoming leaders, old church buildings… new Air conditioning, saving archives.

Last night I was ordained as a pastor in the @Presbyterian church. Thankful for all who have journeyed w/me #pcusa pic.twitter.com/z9qGGGf6N2

— Kari A. Olson (@KariAOlson) July 28, 2015

I am hearing noise. I am not seeing or hearing us doing things which make us called un Roman, un-American, because we are not teaching the customs of this land, or living the way that the media requires us to live.

And I am not seeing our leaders arrested and put into the stocks. If we preached the gospel, and the life that follows it, we would be so offensive: sexist for we would call Planned Parenthood for the murdering scum they are, racist because we would confront Jesse and Louis, those hucksters who preach collective enslavement and remaining as a nice voting bloc for the Democrats, and homophobic for we would help those struggling with their illicit attractions, the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric association be damned [1].

For there is money in being a social justice activist. There is power. There is exploitation. There is profit from those oppressed.

And as Paul freed this slave girl from the thoughts that bound her, so should we. Society strictures be damned: we must do our duty.

_______________________

1. It has been deemed unethical to help the faithful struggling with homosexuality. By all psychiatric and psychology groups, including the craft group I have to belong to so I can work. THis work has not got to be done within the church, by the lay, and not called therapy.