On Pufferfish and powers - faith beyond opposition and inflation
- Rachel Humphrey
- 12 hours ago
- 6 min read
A New Year Resolution for Inclusive Faith
Rachel Humphrey is a Baptist minister, an organiser of Fruitful conferences and Two:23, and a convenor for Inclusive Evangelicals.
‘Fruitful’ is a charismatic worship gathering of LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ affirming evangelicals which is now going into its third year and growing as goes. (1) We started it because we realised a large number of leaders in evangelical churches were exploring the inclusion of LGBT people, but were terrified to make the jump, fearing they’d lose God’s blessing. We wanted to bring those people together with others who could say to them “We’ve done this already; this was our process; and look, it’s worked out fine.”
[Fruitful] started because we realised leaders in evangelical churches were exploring the inclusion of LGBT people, but were terrified to make the jump. We wanted to say to them “We’ve done this already; this was our process; and look, it’s worked out fine.”
We echoed the words of Joshua and Caleb, the spies who are sent into the Promised Land in Numbers 13, and who come back to say to the people of Israel: “The fruit is good. We can certainly do this.” (my paraphrase). Sometimes the grass is actually greener on the other side. I have contributed a chapter in IE’s forthcoming book, Evangelical and Inclusive - a future and a hope. ‘How being gay made me a better evangelical’ says more about the good fruit we see when evangelical believers and churches become inclusive.
But it’s hard to read that passage in Numbers without being deeply aware of its impact on current events. As Christians we’re watching, some with approval, others with horror, as the current Israeli government seems to be trying to rid the land Joshua and Caleb explored of its non-Jewish residents, using the events recorded here as their inspiration. So while we’re used to the way God often uses an out-of context passage to provide us with personal comfort, it seems worth reflecting on the dangers therein.
The interesting thing about the historical background for this story, is that from the archaeological evidence it appears that the violent military conquest by the Hebrews of the land of Canaan probably didn’t happen. Rather, their migration was gradual, consensual and peacefully negotiated. (2)
So why is this story included in the Bible? Of course we can learn truth from fiction; there’s barely a sermon in some churches that doesn’t quote from Narnia or Lord of the Rings, but it’s different when it comes to Scripture. If the scribes who edited together the Hebrew Bible chose to represent a story of peaceful settlement as one of a violent dominating empire, what is God trying to teach us through this?
Maybe it’s worth remembering that not everything in the Bible is supposed to be copied? The characters of Scripture are, except for Jesus, deeply flawed and give us frequent examples of things to avoid. Maybe it matters that at the time, the scribes were facing the threat of violent dominating empires in the form of the Assyrians, Persians and Babylonians? Perhaps they felt it would raise national spirits to portray their own country as a God-fuelled military powerhouse? Like pufferfish, who when threatened by a predator, inflate their bodies to many times their normal size ,we can be tempted to respond to threats by trying to appear larger and more powerful than ‘they’ are.
We can be tempted to respond to threats by trying to appear larger and more powerful than ‘they’ are.
Perhaps the truth in this story is to recognise the reality that we love the myth that violence solves problems far more than the story of a self-emptying God who comes not to be served but to serve and give his life for his enemies. And if we’re not careful, we might find ourselves emulating the pufferfish version of the story rather than God’s better reality.
What does that mean for us as inclusive evangelicals? I notice a temptation for us to buy into narratives of “them” and “us”, of “sides”, of “enemies”, of “victory” and “defeat”. I hope it’s obvious, but this is not the way of Christ. Jesus models forgiveness even for the soldiers who killed him, kindness to Judas who betrayed him, giving up his life rather than asserting his right to it. I do not count anyone my enemy, but if another Christian does feel that way about me, Jesus’s instructions to us are clear: love your enemies. The great American prophet Audre Lorde famously said “The Master’s tools will never dismantle the Master’s house.” That means, we can never build the kingdom of God with tools of hatred, manipulation, power-grabbing, obsession with money or exclusion. Like Sauron’s One Ring, these things can only build the kingdom of darkness. We might think we’re building the kingdom of God; we might even get the apparent ‘win’ of success or power, but if we are tearing down another human, we are doing the devil’s work. So the challenge for those of us who see inclusion as Christ’s way is to actually live by Christ’s values, despite what anyone else may do, or threaten to do.
the challenge for those of us who believe in inclusion is to follow Christ’s way and to actually live by Christ’s values, despite what anyone else may do, or threaten to do.
That’s not straightforward - we live in a society that still has the values of Empire. Success is seen as being the biggest, the richest, the most powerful. People both in and out of churches use their money to try and build power bases that are so large and well funded that those in power have to listen to what they say. These large institutions become what Paul calls “principalities and powers” (Eph 6:12), and because an institution cannot love, only legislate, they reinforce their own dominance over society (see Walter Wink’s classic “Engaging the Powers” for further discussion). (3)
It can make us want to “pufferfish” right back at them and respond with equal force. It can make us want our inclusive churches to be bigger, richer and more influential so we can compete. But Jesus does not call us to build churches in order to be big, rich or influential. He calls us to serve our communities. Your neigbourhood may not need a megachurch of middle class people. It may benefit more from a slightly dilapidated community centre where the homeless folks can come in and have a cuppa without worrying they’ve dirtied the carpet. Most people don’t want a church so big that no one knows their name. Some of the most significant churches I know are doing vital work on estates where few people have a secure enough income to tithe, with little support from their denominational centre, but they love and they feed and they pray; they see miracles and they build bridges and become the glue that hold those communities together.
Paul ends Ephesians 3 with the magnificent prayer that we, “being rooted and established in love, may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” He continues in chapter 4: this is so that we may “live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Believe me, as a gay married minister in the Baptist Union, I’m fully aware of the tensions and difficulties of trying to keep the unity of the Spirit within an institution that has issues with my existence.
But the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.
Believe me, as a gay married minister in the Baptist Union, I’m fully aware of the tensions and difficulties of trying to keep the unity of the Spirit within an institution that has issues with my existence. But (if evangelicals are allowed to quote Richard Rohr) the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better. If we want to provide evidence that inclusive churches can thrive, and that the fruit of inclusion is good, then I believe these are the best things we can do:
put our roots down into God’s love and find our security there, not in being right, denominational acceptance or our online follower count
continue to play our part to build healthy churches that grow great fruit
resist the temptations of Empire to worship power, money, size or appearances
celebrate joyfully the good work the Holy Spirit is doing in our communities and churches as we continue to work together to build God’s kingdom based on God’s values of justice, peace and joy.
Let’s make these our IE resolutions for this coming year.
Sources and resources
Instagram: @fruitfulconference
2. On the archaeological evidence around the settlement of Canaan:
3. On the Powers and the myth of redemptive violence:
Wink, Walter, 1992. Engaging the Powers, Fortress Press, Minneapolis.
