Start Good Trouble

So: Am I Really a Dangerous Radical Activist?

So on a Baylor discussion board about this Turning Point counter-rally, a person--student, alum?--has asked how come there’s no conservative figure at Baylor who will stand in opposition to my radical activism. (Sidebar: I think there are plenty of conservative Baylor folks who do.)

I was, at first, excited that someone imagined I was a radical activist. I’m a 64 year old straight white Christian male with four kids, a joyous marriage, a hefty mortgage, a beat up Prius with a ton of miles, and a job that I’ve held for 36 years and hope to hold for many more.

So: Beloved, I am not the radical activist in this scenario. Jesus is. Jesus says we are called to love everyone on the margins. Jesus says that we are called to love God and our neighbor, and that our neighbor is everyone everywhere. Jesus says that that there is no greater love than giving ourselves for those around us. Jesus models all of this for all of us.

It is Easter, after all, when our risen Lord reminds us that we are called to live into the reality that life can change, that hope has wings, that love is ascendant, and that we don’t have to live in fear behind locked doors.

If that makes me a radical activist, so be it. Dr. King said if he was going to be remembered, he hoped that he’d be remembered as a drum major for love and justice. I’d be happy to have that on my tombstone.

Let justice roll like a river, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

And let’s start good trouble.