"When people are deconstructing and de-colonizing their theology they are not trying to be deep, they are trying not to be shallow."
Rev. Timothy Careathers
In Christendom, we spend a lot of time encouraging people to “have a personal relationship with Jesus” or to “make their faith personal,” and for that to happen, we have to give folks room to work out how their faith applies to their lives and the lives of the people around them.
How is this Jesus we hear about real? How does everyone feel his love? How does he think about abuses of power and marginalization? Does he care about people hurting here on Earth or just helping people get by until they get to this mysterious place after they die? Does the love that Jesus’ people talk about actually affect how they treat other people?
These are all questions of generations of people trying to make their faith personal. And in the words of some of my Orange friends, the opposite of shallow is personal!
The younger generations, Millennials and younger, are repulsed by a shallow religion that cannot withstand the hard questions of our existential reality. They are, however, fully invested in a personal faith that allows them to ask questions that matter and affect the livelihood of people. Their willingness to refuse the shallow is helping the whole world accept the truth of how personal the love & work of Jesus really is!