MAGA Sermons And An Open Letter. #WWJD ? What Would #Dolly say?

Dear MAGA pastors of <any US> County.

I have an offering I would like to lay upon your alters. It is my personal abundant collection which I freely give in its entirety; sighs birthed of deepest sorrow conceived from all the wickedness you’ve not only endorsed but ascribed to the name of Jesus. It is a wealth of despair—a quantity greater than a tithe to be sure, but you’ve earned it. I am not terribly concerned about how my gift is utilized or where it goes. I will say however, I have a slight preference that you line your pockets with it—I give permission for this grift-- as I suspect it will burn holes in them. Would that be a similar effect as that of the love letters you claim were slipped into those same pockets, stealthily placed missives from witches who have gazed lustfully upon your glory from the pews? But like my offering of sighs, it is unlikely you will be able to reach into your pockets to produce evidence of the existence of such correspondence. (Such notes may exist, but if they do, the pastor receiving them has likely never mentioned them from the pulpit. Some may be as anti-public shaming of women as Jesus.)

Last week, I sat in some of your virtual pews and visiting 3 different sites to observe 3 sermons. Having witnessed astonishing statements from the pulpits of each, I posted a video on social media stating my concerns, in service to others within my orbit about whom I care deeply, as they are also people who pursue truth. In the first one, the pastor stated of his beloved wife, before the entire attending congregation-- in person and online--, “My wife is a total slob. Drives me nuts!” In my video I shared that there exists no circumstance, sermon illustration, or scripture reference in which making such an announcement before a large audience, is appropriate or justifiable. This brought to mind how scripture characterizes the church-at-large as the bride of Christ. I wondered if this pastor held as much contempt against his congregation as he apparently does toward his bride. His talents may be put to better use in customer retention for Hobby Lobby, assisting Krafty Karens with their questionable returns for no-receipt refunds. Not sure if they’re “total slobs”, but he may encounter actual witches needing deliverance.  Moving on…

The second sermon was delivered by a young man filling in for the lead pastor. The sermon kicked off when in one breath he expressed how important our witness to the love of Christ is, then in the next he shared that while at world-popular theme park, having seen 2 women kissing on a park bench, looked at them and vocalized “ewww!” I wondered if, at the time he’d thought, “Wow—what a drive-by BURN!” Seemed kinda proud of himself. My bible indicates that Christ would be more inclined to say “ewww” to self-righteous pharisaism. My Lord. Just ignoring that couple would have constituted better Christian witness if kindness was not on the table for him. I thought to myself,” You have no relationship with them—move along, young fella.” Then I asked myself, “If every accusation is a confession, how much girl-on-girl porn is he consuming?” Sigh, well…he’s young. There may be time for a course correction. Moving on…

In the last sermon, the pastor stated there was no such thing as “white privilege” unless you’re talking about the white privilege, brown privilege, black privilege, etc., through Christ, therefore DEI is racist. In my bible, the Lord’s prayer includes the words, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.” Jesus is big on justice. I am astonished how those scriptures apparently did not land for someone whose career is sharing Jesus’ mission on earth(as it is in heaven). DEI as policy, although not perfect, helps us work toward justice on earth, because it helps place QUALIFIED marginalized people in front of the line rather than, as our national white supremacist, trans and homophobic traditions would have, the back, where slavery, jerrymandering, demonizing, dehumanizing systems have caused injury and still do. DEI is the fruit of repentance. The following week, his wife preached in his apparent absence. In her docile, demure, innocuous tones, she served up a sermon of tepid tea steeped in subtle hints of microaggressions that go down easy and deliver the proper amount of delusion-preserving intoxication for the audience to keep themselves convinced they are not a collective of racist, transphobic, homophobic, xenophobic, and antisemitic clan of bigots. Moving on…

So, have my sighs. Toss them like confetti. Roll in them as if they’re billions of hundred-dollar bills. Stack them up and build a monument to your white Jesus pride. It is unlikely I will visit your online sermons again any time soon, especially the church that has apparently blocked me. I will keep moving forward in the days I have left on this side of eternity, one at a time.

Sincerely,

A soul doing her best to follow Jesus like Dolly did

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I drew this a few years ago. Added colors today. I am no portrait artist, but a person can't get better at it unless they keep trying.