Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

matter, that is.

OpinionEric Minton  |  August 7, 2015

When you’ve spent your entire life asking the world for permission to exist, it can be rather unnerving when it repeatedly answers back with a resounding “no.”

Growing up, I enjoyed a rather typical existence for a middle class white dude from the burbs (emotionally vacant and generally absent father included at no extra cost).

This, of course, keeps in mind a time long before people began taking out second mortgages in order to send their kids to segregated, sorry, I meant “Christian,” schools in parts of town closer to the good mall.

So please give my gritty public school existence — featuring only, like, eight AP courses and no salad bar — the weight it so rightly deserves.

During my early days, I began to notice a quiet hierarchy guiding most of my community’s appropriation and understanding of existence, in that there are some among us who are here on purpose. These folks were the expected, the planned for, the cherished, the prayed over, the cried about and the cheered on as they took their first messy beats and breaths on this giant spinning ball of gas and college football playoff scenarios.

They’re the Varsity,

the A team,

the hand-picked.

Maybe you know them as the ones whose teeth and shoes and accents and tans and test scores belie the fact that they’ve always had season tickets and a seat at the table. And whose existences invite those of us who weren’t and aren’t quite so lucky to ask what went wrong in the cosmic machinery to produce so many other, let’s say, more questionable, cuts of meat expiring in the “manager’s special” bin of humanity?

By “questionable” I mean those whose arrival likely elicited a few tears, but probably not ones of joy. Or whose birth ended relationships rather than cementing them.

Or who entered the world alone, without the fanfare of multi-hued “CONGRATULATIONS” banners and cigars and back slaps and weak-kneed relief.

They’re the JV,

the B team,

the expendables.

They’re the ones whose teeth and shoes and accents and tans and test scores belie the fact that they’ve always slept on a couch or a sleeping bag in the front room of their dad’s rental. And whose very existences invite those of us who were and are so lucky as to be driven to school with lunch money and parent-reviewed-homework to ask why we’re always forced to slow down for these folks?

Or, as Judge Smails from Caddyshack reminds those of us within earshot of his woeful short game:

The world needs ditch diggers too, Danny.

From inception, citizens of our great land are invited to become intimately familiar with where they might fit in the “meritocracy” of American life, and to then assume the expected behaviors, relationships, faiths and lives associated with his or her place in the world. In the pocket of our nation I call home, the religious expression of people from my particularly middle-class-Caucasian rung on the ladder is to refer to oneself (especially in mixed company, preferably with a “THESE ARE MY CHURCH CLOTHES” t-shirt) as a Christian. And with that self-identification, one should understand both implicitly and explicitly that the decisions emanating outward from that place are not only wholly acceptable in the eyes of God, but again, are the expression of his or her divine right to exist.

God has chosen us for such a time as this,

or something along those tired lines.

Permission is never something about which these folks must inquire, because, as they’re often told, God knows the number of hairs on their heads and the dollar amount their starter homes are worth, so by all means live boldly and don’t settle for the early bid.

In the second chapter of the book of Mark, we encounter a brief story outlining Jesus’ interactions with a fella named Levi:

“Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphas siting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ’It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

For much of my life I’ve heard this tale used to justify a great number of things:

from high school smoke pits at $700 a week Younglife camps, to theology and beer night at the cool church plant, and even to Evangelical concert protesting sign holders handing out bulletins to confused Parrotheads simply trying to drink enough in the parking lot to actually enjoy two hours of Jimmy Buffet’s music.

Personally, I don’t find these interpretations to be an altogether helpful rubric for navigating Jesus’ invitation to Levi and his rather seedy dinner guests, namely because they — from either side of the spectrum — still understand the world to be comprised of an inescapable hierarchy of worth. One carving the universe up into camps of sinners, saints and cubs fans, and in so doing, utilizes the actions of Jesus as a baptism of all the ways we already categorize people and their places in the world.

Jesus, a card carrying member of the A team, spending time with the JV,

how incredibly scandalous?!

“Oh Mr. Beauregard, I DO declare!”

However, what if — instead of implicitly affirming the sacredness of our inherited worldviews — Jesus’ actions were performed in an effort to save not just the sick or the sinners or the powerless or the profane, but all of us parading under the auspices of our own worth, chosen-ness or lack-thereof? Because all of us — both sinner and saint — need to ask a different question of the universe. One that, rather than meekly inquiring about our permission to exist, instead asks how and where we are to continue existing, as we take the preeminence of our breath and bones to be a rather firm “yes” to the first question.

The invitation greeting Levi doesn’t begin with a discussion about what he does for a living, who he sleeps with or how he spends the hours of 9-11 a.m. on Sundays, it is instead a simple offer to pour out the gift of who he is on the altar of the world’s need.

Which would quite naturally lead to a night spent with friends over a meal and a decent bottle of wine.

When understood in this manner, the way of Jesus is a quiet reminder to everyone and everything filling our world that the most foundational truth of our lives is that we already possess within us — despite from where or from whom we came — all the permission we need for existence.

We are, all of us, already chosen.

Occasionally, we might simply need someone to remind us of the good news of who we are.

Personally, I’ve found the most tuned-in among us never ask for nor demand permission because they’re too busy reminding others they run across of all the ways their existence is exceedingly integral (and interconnected) to the ongoing redemption of a world desperate to discover a “yes, of course” where it once heard only “no” or “maybe one day, with enough effort.”

So,

whether you’re black

Republican

straight

gay

caucasian

middle class

or, god forbid, even a Parrothead

the invitation of the orthodox Christian faith isn’t to open your heart and dinner table to Jesus in order to be told your life is now finally worth something. It’s to share a meal and a conversation with people you care for (and even some you don’t) in order to remind them (and you) that you always have and always will matter independent of all those consenting to or rejecting your right to do so.

I mean, why else would you be made of so much of the stuff in the first place?

matter, that is.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Eric MintonChristianFaithful LivingSpiritual FormationMental HealthScripturematterInspirationsaintdestinyCaddyshackexistencehave-nothavesMark 2sinnerwhy are we here
More by
Eric Minton
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • BNG dinner will bring together Anthea Butler and Beth Allison Barr for a conversation on race and gender

    Two of the most prominent voices speaking to the American church about race and gender will appear together at the Baptist News Global dinner during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Dallas this June. Get your tickets now!

  • Featured

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      Opinion

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      Opinion

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      News

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      May 19, 2022
    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      May 19, 2022
    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      May 19, 2022
    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      May 19, 2022
    Read Next:

    ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Becoming UNSTOPPABLE Christians

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why American democracy is threatened in Ukraine

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Roe v. Wade, the great divider

      AnalysisErich Bridges

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Bailey and Perrin named Vestal Scholars

      NewsBNG staff

    • Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC presidential candidate wants ERLC leader fired for joining 75 other pro-life leaders in urging compassion for women who have abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • $100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education

      NewsBNG staff

    • No formal name change proposed for SBC, and entities report back on use of NDAs in annual Book of Reports

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Accountability to God increases sense of well-being, study finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Campbellsville University custodian receives degree after stopping education in the 1990s

      NewsLinda Waggener

    • Progressives need to stop letting Christian nationalists set the agenda, author asserts

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In reelection year, Texas governor proposes statewide voucher program for private schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s a path for Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. but the process remains too slow

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • After days of unrest sparked by religious clashes, Ethiopians are beginning to get back to normal life

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • First review of SBC sexual abuse report begins today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In Charlottesville, an effort to reuse bronze from Lee statue for new public art

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • United Methodist Church split draws celebration, lament and soul-searching

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Choose Life: Putin reminds us how bad theology can turn nuclear

      OpinionJillian Mason Shannon

    • I’m disappointed with the world but still wanting to hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Racism from the perspective of a white man

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • ‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What is a Baptist?

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • In our dystopian world, I’m leaning into the Korean concept of han

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Letter to the Editor: Wingfield is wrong on ‘performative Christianity’

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Do or donut; there is no try

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Will we be silent as stones or voices of light?

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • It is a lie

      OpinionDwight A. Moody

    • A brief history of the Hateful Faithful threat to democracy through the Supreme Court

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Gov. DeSantis should learn a lesson from Southern Baptists about taking on Disney

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A rabbi who ‘speaks to Christians’ condemned them on Twitter. It cost him his job.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deadly explosion damages historic church, Baptist offices in Cuba

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith on the ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo executive director Denise Walden

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Is Antisemitism? Evangelicals Favor Different Definitions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Religious Communities Opposed To Ukraine War Face Pressure And Censorship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Not All Pro-Lifers are Celebrating

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana pastor J.D. Hall, Pulpit&Pen founder, charged with DUI, carrying weapon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Grove City board accepts full CRT report, says college promoted CRT

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What you need to know about the antisemitic ideology behind the Buffalo shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘personhood’? The ethics question that needs a closer look in abortion debates

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Interfaith group asks Starbucks to drop vegan milk surcharge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Cuba hotel explosion badly damaged major Baptist church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Op-Ed: Conservative Christians will regret overturning Roe. They’re sacrificing religious liberty to do it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Global COVID-19 Summit left children off its agenda. The church should not.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • No more murder charge for women in Louisiana abortion bill

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Vatican Expresses ‘Concern’ Over Cardinal Zen Arrest For Ties To Pro-Democracy Fund

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Study: Girls raised by Jewish parents outperform Christian girls academically

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Report: Christians May Have Helped Run Half of Native American Boarding Schools

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS