Dear St. Lukers,
When I was in elementary school, the idea of “peer pressure” was one of the hot topics of the day. Largely attributed to the anti-drug movement of the 1980s and 1990s, the phrase “peer pressure” was everywhere when I was a kid.
Although I, like most of my peers, did not actually experience the kind of substance-related “peer pressure” that our D.A.R.E. programs taught us about, I do think there is a universal experience that we have as humans that makes us want to fit in with those around us. There is something about popularity of a type of clothing or brand of sneaker that somehow catches on, and especially as children and teens yearning to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, often we see those material possessions as the way that we can achieve that belonging and acceptance. As we age, those sneakers turn into particular jobs, cars, or houses. But the core desire to “fit in” never quite goes away, I don’t think.
And while the phrase “peer pressure” only emerged in the 1950s, we see that human desire to “fit in” or “be respectable” throughout history, even in our Old Testament history. This week in worship, we’ll be exploring a pivotal moment in the history of the people Israel, where they sought respectability over particularity (I explore this extensively in this week’s Your Week with St. Luke’s podcast – be sure you’ve listened or watched before you come to worship on Sunday!). We’ll be intersecting that Biblical history with our Methodist history, as we look at how as the movement became an institution, the desire for “respectability” and the prioritization of numerical growth drew Methodists away from their roots as a counter-cultural movement.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we move on to chapter 3 of our book Wesleyan Vile-tality by Dr. Ashley Boggan, and confront some unpleasant realities about our church’s history, in order to seek to reclaim the “vile” nature of our counter-cultural movement of revival and faith.
Blessings,
Pastor Melissa
