I grew up in a very conservative, Mennonite home. When I say Mennonite, I don’t mean plaid shirt wearing, no electricity having, bearded Mennonite. We were just a reasonably evangelical Anabaptist denomination. My dad taught at a Christian college, which I later attended, and pastored a local congregation.

I grew up opposing “the gays”, and thinking a six day, literal interpretation of the Genesis Creation story was the only possible interpretation. We avoided drinking, smoking, and movies. I lived in a protected bubble with all of my young echo chamber protected by layers of scripture and Bible teaching.

When I went to University I started to write for the University of Saskatchewan’s newspaper, The Sheaf. This was my first foray into the “pagan and lost” part of the world. I thought it was kind of weird that we talked about bringing the gospel to the lost, but wouldn’t actually hang out with them. My first experience at a dance was in my teaching internship where I had to take a drunk student home from a school dance. My world was expanding quickly.

Fast forward to today. I’m not a seven day literal creation believer. I have friends who are gay. I am passionate about truth and reconciliation and social justice.

How did I get here?

I think the answer is that I truly have tried to hear the gospel and respond to what Jesus was asking his disciples to do with it. I actually have friends that don’t fit the lifestyle requirements of most of our churches today. I want to be a walking embodiment of what the gospel should be to the world. So, when I see our PM walking in a Pride event, I’m happy and proud. When I hear GOP members in the US talking about defunding the poor and needy of their healthcare for tax cuts, I am angered. When conservatives in our country speak about how climate change isn’t real, I am saddened that we can’t allow ourselves to believe that we have such an impact on our world and that it’s up to us to help fix it.

I find that I am sad a lot more these days than happy. My people, small “c” conservative Christians are more of a menace to the planet, and would happily be aligned with neo-Nazis and Fascists in order to push their agenda, than any other group in the world. Weren’t we supposed to be “the light of the world”? Now we’re giving that up for tax cuts, greater comfort, and racist, xenophobic positions? What ever happened to the cause of the “widow, the orphan, and the stranger among you”?

The way I read scripture is that I will be judged by how I treat those three groups, not for how right or how theologically sound I might be. I’d rather fail at that, then lose out on the care and protection of the other three groups.

How about you?