tylerramsbey Uncategorized

I guess I’m a pastor again (sort of)

Uh… how did this happen?

I left pastoral ministry years ago. I was burnt out, my faith was deeply scarred, and I considered leaving Christianity. The boiling point was a simple request at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic – I asked people in my church to please wear a mask out of consideration for those among us who were scared to attend church due to COVID.

After faithfully teaching the Bible and sacrificing my time and personal health to serve people for 10 years – I was accused of being a “liberal”, a “pharisee”, a “false teacher” – heck, one person even sent me a YouTube video on how me encouraging people to wear masks was a promotion of the “Mark of the Beast” from the Book of Revelation.

By the grace of God, I did not leave Christianity and I did not leave the church. I don’t think we even missed one Sunday, we quickly got plugged into a local church where I serve as the Vice President of the board, help lead children’s church, and preach occasionally.

So what now?

I have said repeatedly I never want to be a pastor again. Making $30k/year to be on call 24-7 and to deal with adults who act like toddlers – isn’t worth it to me. I have immense respect for pastors who continue to serve the church. It is an incredibly difficult and low-paying job.

I watched Alex Pretti be disarmed and then shot by federal agents. I then watched the US government spread propaganda at worst and misinformation at best. He was referred to as a terrorist with a mission to massacre law enforcement. Even commentators like Ben Shapiro, who is VERY conservative, called out the misinformation (this isn’t a right v left thing).

I have watched the church fall prey to the false gospel of Christian Nationalism and “America First” since Donald Trump was first elected in 2016. In 2017, I was preaching through the Book of Galatians and preached a message titled “MAGA is a False Gospel” – in rural South Dakota (you can guess how well that went over…)

What is Christian Nationalism?

I should probably define my terms. What actually is “Christian Nationalism” that I have been calling out? This isn’t about loving your country. I love this country. I am grateful to live here. Patriotism is a natural affection for your home; it’s healthy.

Christian Nationalism is something else entirely. It is a syncretistic religion that wraps the Cross in the Flag and demands you bow to both.

At its core, Christian Nationalism is the belief that America is God’s chosen nation – a “New Israel” – and that the primary goal of the Church is not to spread the Gospel of Jesus, but to seize political power to preserve a specific cultural identity. It is a framework that says to be a “true” American, you must be a Christian, and to be a “true” Christian, you must vote for a specific type of politics.

It is a false gospel because it swaps the Kingdom of God for an earthly empire.

  • Jesus taught us to love our enemies, bless those who persecute us, and lay down our rights for others (like wearing a mask to protect the vulnerable). Christian Nationalism teaches us to fear our neighbors, arm ourselves against “them,” and fight to maintain our dominance.
  • The Jesus I preached for ten years washed feet and died on a Roman cross. Christian Nationalism seeks to take over Rome. It operates on fear (fear of losing status, fear of demographic change, fear of “the left”) and fear is the opposite of faith.
  • When we equate the success of the United States with the will of God, we have stepped into idolatry. The Church existed long before America, and it will exist long after America is dust.

When people in my former congregation called me a “false teacher” for caring about public health, they weren’t defending the Bible. They were defending their political identity. That is the fruit of Christian Nationalism: it convinces good people that political allegiance is the ultimate test of spiritual faithfulness. It is a poison in our churches, and it is starving the Church of its true power.

Where are the pastors?

So… where are the pastors? A few have had the courage to call this out. One of the most notable is John Piper in his article – “My Kingdom Is Not of This World“. The majority of pastors I know agree with me that Christian Nationalism is a distortion of the Gospel, but recognize if they call it out with clarity it will lead to them being fired from their jobs (or losing half their congregation).

I don’t have a congregation, and to be blunt, I’m okay offending you and being unpopular. Jesus once said it this way, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26).

I do not need or want financial donations. I am not limited by what I can say, based on the “large givers” I might upset. There is incredible freedom and the ability to speak with a prophetic voice in my season of life.

What is next?

I will be live streaming every Sunday at 8pm CST on Facebook and YouTube. My goal is to re-introduce people to the Jesus of the Bible by teaching verse-by-verse through the Gospel of John. We will spend 30 minutes looking at Scripture, and then I’ll take another 30 minutes to do Q&A.

This isn’t a political stream, and I am sure I will equally offend conservatives and progressives… which is a good thing.

Even if you disagree with me, I sincerely want to invite you to join me.

I hope to see you there.

tylerramsbey Christian Life

Forged in Fire: Suffering & Christianity

forged-in-fire-hero-2

I’m not a big fan of television. I don’t have moral reasons against it, I just find it horribly boring most of the time. There are two shows that I will watch when they are on: The Walking Dead (of course) and Forged in Fire.

Forged in Fire is a contest show that awards money to the person who has forged the strongest blade. Many people view bladesmiths as an ancient career of the past but these men & women are beyond impressive with their craft! The finalists are given the task of re-creating a famous weapon from history. Each of them returns to their workshops, labors over the intricate details of their blades, and then returns to the show to have the blade tested.

Each person’s blade appears beautiful and well-crafted. The blades are tested through a series of stress tests. Each test is intense and has the power to shatter the blade and expose the blades imperfections. Every blade looks beautiful until it is under the scrutiny of pressure.

Might I suggest this is a perfect illustration of the Christian faith?

Peter, one of the leaders in the early church, describes the Christian faith this way:
6 You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials 7 so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7) 

Suffering, trials, and conflict reveal the true condition of our faith. If we are not deeply rooted in the Scriptures, committed to authentic community, and living by the power of the Holy Spirit we will not be able to endure these “stress tests.”

Are you going through a trial right now? What are you learning from God as a result? Let me know by leaving a comment, I’d love to hear from you! 

tylerramsbey Christian Life

If We Were Having Coffee…

coffee

I am going to begin participating in the #weekendcoffeeshare on WordPress. These are going to be special posts going along with the theme shared by the Daily Post –
“Each weekend, bloggers publish posts about what they’d say to their readers if they were sitting down together over a cup of coffee. Some bloggers do it every weekend, while others dip in and out.”

As a point of clarification, I hate coffee. So while you are drinking your coffee, I would probably have a soda or fruit smoothie.. Just saying.

While I sip on my virtual Mountain Dew, I want to share with you a few things God has been teaching me this past week:

1. Pride is subtle yet exceedingly dangerous.
I am preaching this Sunday at The Rescue Church. Teaching the Bible is one of the ways God has gifted me. I absolutely love spending time reading slowly and meditatively through the Scriptures while pondering how God’s timeless Word applies to our lives today. I will be teaching on Exodus 14:10-18 and I am absolutely PUMPED to be doing so!

But can I make a confession?

Often I turn my gifting into my god and seek to worship it.

I released a Facebook status on Monday sharing that I had the honor of preaching on Sunday. Rather than getting one “like” because I forced my wife to do so, over 12 people shared it and invited friends to church (and they weren’t even related to me!) My first reaction was to applaud myself for the platform I had built among my church community… This is simply evidence of pride and spiritual arrogance in my walk with Christ.

The only platform I should be building is Christ’s. If I get opportunities along the way to teach about Him, the teaching should be about HIM.. not my cleverness or preaching techniques.

Pride is extremely subtle and can turn good things into god things. Are you worshiping the gift or the Giver?

2. True faith which brings salvation is practical and full of good works.
I wrote a paper this week for seminary which answered the question on how good works and faith interact when it comes to our final salvation. Specifically, I used James 2:14-26 which SEEMS to contradict that salvation comes through faith alone and grace alone.

Ultimately, faith is a gift that comes from God. The same way that a child does not decide when to be born but it is the will of its parents; Christians do not decide when to be saved but it is the will of God (see James 1:18).

True faith which comes about through the Gospel will reveal itself in practical acts of service to fellow man. If you claim to be a Christian but have a heart that is cold and distant from the pain of humanity, you are deceiving yourself and your faith is useless, dead, and impractical.

We are not saved BY works but we are saved FOR works.

What opportunities has God placed in your life to serve your fellow man?

How was your week? I’d love to have you take a break from the caffeinated beverage you are drinking and tell me about YOU. What has God been teaching you this past week? What was difficult? What brought joy? Let me know by leaving a comment!