It was a hot summer day.

A few women of the church and I were sitting around a table, folding bulletins.

Janice walked in and said she felt like she was going to pass out crossing the hot parking lot.

“Oh, that feels so funny,” said Nita, “looking down on your body like that.”

We stopped folding.

We knew there must be a story. Nita said:

Well, I passed out once. My husband and I were in a hot New Orleans eatery in the days before air conditioning.

I passed right out—fell out of the booth onto the floor. Then I was above myself, looking down on myself.

I saw people rush over to help me.

But I could see only the upper part of my body. My lower body was under the table. I was really worried.

All I could think about was, ‘I hope my skirt is pulled down.’

Then I got my breath, and I returned to my body.

After that, Nita thought “passing out” meant leaving the body.

She had never heard of out-of-body experiences.

Nita was able to see herself—and to think from a place outside her brain.

Take this seriously.

This is a common event.

Events like this—if we are truly reasonable—force us to consider the reality of the soul.

The Nita watching the body on the ground was the real Nita.

If she had died, the real Nita would have left her body behind and continued with her life. The body is not us. We are eternal.

We talked about this in class last Sunday. If you would like a Thursday evening Discovering God class, let me know.

Come. Grow in hope.

Worship is at 11:00.

I’ll try to get off this subject, but I am still in shock mode.

Because it is largely church people who have gotten us into this pickle.

I have been a pastor for 43 years. I love the church. But the church is deeply divided.

We Methodists know this. A large chunk of our denomination left about a year ago so that they could continue to mistreat gay people.

And now, after the election, it seems clear that many Christians simply do not know right from wrong. They can’t tell a lie from the truth.

They can’t tell a cruel and oppressive person from a decent person.

Many Christians seem to lack any firm ethical standards rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

They don’t seem to know that core scripture in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:38-42.

I call it “core” because the understanding of God here is the foundation on which Jesus builds the rest of His teachings.

Here, Jesus tells us that we are to love others, even if they do not love us.

He tells us that there is no room for retribution in our lives.

So, why would a follower of Christ also support the Leader of the Dark Side? He is all about retribution. He is consumed with it.

This is obvious.

It is not hidden.

I can only assume these Christians like the idea of vengeance.

Which means they don’t much like Jesus.

You know—you can help balance out this picture. The church needs more people who will work for love and peace in our world. Take a stand.

Our service is at 11:00.

The lies are clearly lies. There is no effort to make the lies sound true.

The leader of The Dark Side once said, “Nothing you say has to be true. If you say it, people will believe it.”

Nor is there any attempt to hide the evil: cancer research ended, food withheld from children, and medicine for HIV patients stopped.

The poor will be poorer. Millions of people may die.

And democracy, “the great experiment,” the dream of our founding fathers, may be over.

Yet the latest poll says that 53% of Americans are all for it.

That tells us something.

The great Carl Jung said that, in a crisis, you can depend on only 40% of people to act rationally.

A study has shown that, on the other end, 40% will act selfishly and without compassion.

That leaves 20% in the middle who can swing either way.

So, there is no “moral majority.” There is only a moral minority.

Democracy is always up against these numbers.

And so is the church.

And, sadly, much of the church is in the morally confused category.

The firm moral standard of unconditional love, which Jesus preached, is not popular with many Christians.

Jesus is not popular.

Someone checked the sermons of Rev. Jerry Falwell over 10 years; 93% were based on Old Testament scripture.

Not much talk of Jesus.

So, no wonder! We see why so many conservative Christians have gone to the Dark Side.

They don’t hear much about the Light.

Many Christians pay little attention to Jesus.

Take J.D. Vance, who proudly wears the name Christian.

He has been in a spat with Rory Stewart, a podcaster, about biblical teachings.

Vance says we love people in this order: “First, you love your family, then your neighbor. After that, it’s your community, then your fellow citizens in your own country, then the rest of the world.”

Stewart says that sounds pagan.

Vance says loving your family, friends, and people of your own country first is just “common sense.”

Stewart says that’s a “bizarre” statement.

And Vance says Stewart “has a low IQ.”

(Time for someone to say, “So’s your mama.”)

Stewart, of course, is right. What Vance says is pagan.

It’s doing what comes naturally.

But it’s not the Gospel.

It’s not what Jesus taught. He says in Matthew 5:46 that if you love those who love you, you get no reward.

Why should you?

Jesus said, “Even the Gentiles (the pagans) do that.”

Jesus tells us to love people who do not love us just as we love those who do.

Jesus calls us to love all people everywhere.

That must include gay people, trans people, and immigrants.

I won’t comment on Mr. Vance’s IQ. I suspect it is pretty high.

But he doesn’t know how to love.

Listen—our Discovering God classes start with NDEs, beginning Wed., March 12, at 6:30 PM.

Drop me an email if you are interested.

Corruption like we have never seen.

Disregard for the most vulnerable.

Blatant dishonesty. Cascades of lies.

The most unqualified in the highest places.

Homes broken. Lives damaged.

How do we make it through the coming years?

I have struggled with this question. And I know there is nothing I can do to change our situation. Seriously, how do we live?

I have found my answer. I will center my life on God’s work as never before.

I am powerless to stop the carnage, but I do not have to keep my life focused on it. I will focus on what I can do. I will do the work God has given me.

I will pour my heart into my sermons and speak Gospel truth. I will encourage as many people as I can reach with the message of Christ. I will finish the book I have been working on for 20 years, Discovering God.

You, too, may want to shift your focus—away from what evil is doing and toward what God can do.

We cannot stop the lies, but we can stand for the truth. We have little power in the great big world, but we have great power in our little corner of the world.

Stand up. Stand firm. Do our best—and let God do the rest.

I will be starting a Thursday evening class on Discovering God on March 14 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. I need a minimum of 12 people to sign up. If you are interested, send me an email at revmaxb@tx.rr.com.

Worship is at 11:00 AM.