letter

Here is the first draft of the letter. Please suggest any changes on here. Caleb and I will be reworking it tonight or sometime soon to make it promote dialogue rather than condemn, ya know....





ATTENTION HARRISBURG CHURCHES

In a nation of ignorance, complacency, self-interest, and an emphasis on materialistic individualism, the American Church, busy with internal disputes, has neglected to face the realities of its calling to follow Christ. We have removed Jesus “Christ,” his actions and teachings, from “Christianity,” morphing the religion for self-benefit rather than holding to the counter-cultural suffering and passion essential to bearing the Cross. We realize that all Christians are inescapably tied to the hypocrisies of the Church, but because of this we see the systematic mockery of the Gospel as being too large to ignore. As students attempting to imitate Christ in all of His Lordship, we present you with just a few examples of how our local Church has violated the direct words of Jesus. We hope this movement of the Narrow Way includes your congregation so that we may continue growing with local examples to mentor us in advancing the Kingdom of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
God cares for the poor, yet in recent years there have been well over 7000 babies and children living in poverty in Dauphin County.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
We have refused to mourn the death of Rachel Corrie, an American run over by a home-demolition bulldozer in Palestine while working for peace and justice.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Not only has the American Church forsaken its call to active nonviolence, but it has violated several ground rules of the “Just War Theory.”

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
The American Church has partnered with the state to advance its hypocritical agenda.

....Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
American church leaders have been welcomed with open arms by government leaders because their agenda has not been viewed as radical nor subversive.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
American churches have endorsed the American Dream of upward mobility and material gain.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
The American churches serve coffee on Sunday which has been harvested by the blood of children across the globe.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
We are slaves to entertainment. The Christian movie “Fireproof” was the highest grossing independent film of 2008 – Over $33 million could have been invested into better housing and education for the urban and rural poor.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
The popular Mega-church model for up-and-coming churches is a system used by capitalist, corporate America.

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
The American Church has jumped behind the national political agenda to engulf the foreign world with hatred. We have become the terrorists as we accuse those we oppress. Muslim families are rarely invited into our homes for dinner.

If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
The American Church has retaliated against a country uninvolved with the tragedy of 9/11. Rather than comforting and praying for families of terrorists, we have condemned them openly.

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
The American Church has bought into the notion of personal property to the extent that we are afraid to invite the homeless into our seldom-used (and expensive) church facilities in fear of theft.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
The American Church has endorsed a society based on economic competition of tearing others down to work oneself up the ladder, rather than encouraging communal collaboration.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
We compliment the white man in the suit and tie, but would lock our church doors as the Middle Eastern man most closely resembling Jesus tries to enter the sanctuary.

And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
We reciprocally reward the middle class families like ourselves with Christmas gifts, yet we tell the urban poor to get a job.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.
As foreclosures increase in the neighborhoods of Harrisburg, we neglect to fund housing costs for poor, hardworking families because it is not “sustainable.”

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The American Church has not sufficiently forgiven the Islamic community for the injustices of a minority extremist sect.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Hesitant to trust God's provision, we rely on the illusive security of large bank accounts to handle our congregational funds, rather than the hospitality and collaboration of the Church body.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
We are eager to embrace the popular, secular, political, and worldly ways of those who do not profess Christ, rather than supporting churches who counter-culturally live as Christ lived.


Our prayer is that your congregation is walking in the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ. We hope that together we can reclaim the verve of the Harrisburg Church as a whole. Should you desire to continue dialogue and collaboration with us, we have set up an email account at LetterToAHarrisburgChurch@gmail.com.

“If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.