Stephen Yeargin

Prior to a recent decision by the Southern Baptist Convention to purge member rolls after a period of inactivity, I was (presumably) counted among the members of a small missionary Baptist church in rural west Tennessee. I joined the church by baptism in 1997 and have never had the kind of conflict of faith that would call that experience into question.

My wife and I have attended Sunday morning services at two Unitarian Universalist churches in Nashville, seeking to open our minds through their all-inclusive view of the world’s religions as equal. In fact, they held that having no religion at all was just as sacred as professing faith in a particular god.

Most recently, we have attended a small Disciples of Christ church in East Nashville. For me personally, the experience has been more in line with what I am familiar with from childhood. While I am yet to hear Just As I Am piped through the building, I can still find what I am seeking within its congregation.

Why organized religion matters

Attending a church fulfills a need for community. There are certainly many other ways to find community in the world around you, but church is the one that society has specifically set aside a time and a place for each of us to partake. We each need that sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves.

I believe that each person must seek inner peace. This theme is central to the Christian faith. When you take away all of the scaffolding of sects, denominations, ritual and historical context, the majority of the world’s religions convey a message of hope, peace and love. Organized religion serves as a means to communicate that message to the masses. Society as a whole can only prosper when it remains true to that central theme.

Politics from the pulpit

I was shielded away from most of what some find difficult about church: the politics, the quickness to judge, the philosophical differences. I do remember many a spirited debate over other denominations and the imperfect vessels that tried to lead the discussion. When you vary from the central theme of Christianity, trouble always follows.

I hear on the news, by word of mouth and even a bit through my own encounters that some ministers, pastors and priests have trouble staying on topic. If not the religious leaders, influential people within the congregation can and have lost sight of the central theme of hope, peace and love. We debate “moral” issues rather than caring for the sick and the poor. I am reminded that politics played a pivotal role in the life of Christ too (around 36 AD), and that should serve as a warning.

Persecution complex

As I mentioned earlier, I identify myself as a Christian. Prying my personal testimony from me is reserved for a very select few, but I believe that it is ultimately my purpose in life to lead a fulfilling life that follows in line with the teachings of Christ.

I struggle with the idea that the Christian faith, particularly in the southern United States, is under siege. When a corporation extends a benefits to same-sex partners, your mortal soul is not in any danger. We have not descended into Sodom and Gomorrah because a woman has a choice. When a local county fair starts offering a Faith Day discount to atheists, it does not mean your faith is being undermined. Holding to that central theme of hope, love and peace renders and of these perceived threats trivial.

Just as I am

In all the years that I have shared my thoughts on religion and faith, I have never met another person that would angrily reject them as heretical or un-Christian. I have certainly had several cordial differences of opinion with quite a few, but in the end we realize that we are both seeking ways to strengthen our faith, not dismantle one another’s.

I also willingly admit that my views can change with the seasons and from life’s experiences. I take comfort in knowing that we are each important in the larger context, and as long as we hold strong to a few core concepts, religion will never divide us.