Why I'm a Follower of God

Why I’m a Follower of God in the Way of Jesus Living This Out within the Lutheran Tribe by Jill Rowland
I have learned that the sacred scriptures of the Christian tradition, i.e., the Bible, are not a model of morality but a mirror for identity. In these stories, I learn about people who have screwed up their lives and the lives of others, and God continues to see in them great potential. God continues to love them and work extraordinary things in and through their lives. I have found my stories in their stories.

I have learned of God’s great passion for all the world through the life of Jesus. I have learned that to be one who reflects the Christ light to others is to be one who lives into her full humanity—warts and all. I have learned that the Trinity is not some complex theological doctrine. The Trinity is the experience of God the Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit in relation, in community with one another and in relation, in community with all the world. The Trinity is the perichoretic God—the God who circulates and dances through the neighborhood, working healing and wholeness. The Trinity invites all of us into this incredible work!

I love the Lutheran church, and I am often deeply hurt by the Lutheran church, but it is my home. I love how Lutherans sing with gusto, how they break into 4-part harmony at ease. Our singing can bring me to tears. I love that I know the liturgy by heart. God sings through me and in me. I love that our Lutheran confessions call the church the gathered people of God who share God’s word and celebrate the sacraments (baptism and Holy Communion). We can do this anywhere, and it strengthens us to be the church always everywhere—and all the rest, Luther said, is adiaphora.

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