Category: SuperFast!

Having been a United Methodist all of my life I’ve been paying close attention to the issues currently facing us. I spent some time this morning reading comments on the Wesleyan Covenant Associations page, something I really shouldn’t do, and I found myself asking how, after 2000 some odd years of “Christianity” have we still not gotten it? How did we become the Pharisees picking over the “laws” and details, sitting in judgement of others, forming our exclusive club? We have mistakenly embraced the following of the “laws” and totally missed union with God!  It should be painfully obvious by the comments I’ve read that the “Traditionalist” way of thinking in the Methodist church has not worked, and thankfully in the end will never be adequate. This inadequacy, while troubling in the present is most certainly the catalyst for great change.

When we interpret the scriptures only in a literal sense we are simply surfers upon the “words”. To find transformation we must become deep sea divers of the truths just beneath the “words”. We should read, and respect other God inspired writings to help us along our way in remembering that we are all children of God, and he loves us all unconditionally as any loving parent would. Yes, other God inspired writings do exist beyond the Bible. If one is to truly believe that the Bible was written by humans through the inspiration of God, then why would we think the door closed following the last book to be canonized? It didn’t. While I respect the need for form within religion, we simply can’t allow it to obscure the truths. What does this religion that embraces form and formlessness look like? That I don’t know…but we have no choice but to push whole heartedly toward that end.

Brad Elliott

Forgiveness friends, is the miracle worker, it is the mountain mover, setting in motion all that is true for you to see clearly. Jesus didn’t speak very much, or not at all, about many of the issues we battle for today. He did speak of forgiveness…in his final hour what did he say? “Forgive them father”…and of course our creator did. I don’t believe Jesus spoke those words so God would forgive those who brought him to the point of the cross, that was already done and Jesus knew that. He made that statement so that we could see more clearly the true face (nature) of God.

Brad Elliott

(This little passage can be seen as a conversation between friends, brothers or sisters, husbands to wives, whatever fits for you.)

He said to his friend “I’m sorry for what I have done to you, please forgive me.”

Reply by friend “I don’t need to forgive you my brother.”

“What do you mean? I have hurt you greatly by what I have done, I must know that you forgive me, or the sadness of what I have done will linger with me forever.”

“There is no need for forgiveness if I have not been hurt…and you have not hurt me.”

“I must have, there is no way that my actions against you have not hurt you!”

“I tell you again, my friend. You have not hurt me, you owe me no apology, and I owe you no forgiveness. I see a simple error. Errors are not personal, they are not directed at anyone, they are just an error. There is no greater or worse error in my eyes, just a simple mistake that you will be able to correct within yourself, when there is no weight of guilt placed upon you by me. I place no weight on you my brother, nor on myself, there is no hurt felt by me and in turn none can be passed to you, no guilt.”

“I don’t understand…what is this?”

“This is Heaven”

B. Elliott

The experience of God is not like bowing before a King on a golden bejeweled throne. Its like sinking your feet into the dirt and laughing as you share your joy with God’s joy! The Trinity in action, each giving and receiving fully to the other. We need to sink our feet into the dirt.

-Brad Elliott