Come To My Window

Dear Melissa Etheridge,

I must begin by saying that I'm not really fan. It's no big deal; your stuff just isn't my stuff. But your obviously a brilliant song writer and seem like a great person. I want to talk to you about something you said in your Rolling Stone interview last month. I want to talk about it because in one sentence you rejected and affirmed everything I'm trying to do with my life. And I quote, "Religion is an oppresive form of crowd control, but what I understand now is the idea that we are all one, that we come from this one higher consciousness and that we are here to create the kingdom of heaven on Earth." You can probably guess what I'm going to say: I agree with the latter and reject the former.

Ms. Etheridge, I am an United Methodist pastor, a representative of religion, and I must apologize for the ways religion has been used in the past. Religion, as I understand it, is simply the search for a connection between humankind and the rest of creation to the divine. So, whatever, however, wherever, one connects to the divine, that's religion. And, again in my understanding, creating the kingdom of heaven on Earth is exactly what religion should be doing.

Your faithful friend,
Brad Bryan


I'm tired, my friends. Tired of the way secular society sees us. Tired of how Christians are portrayed in the media, tired of how Christians portray themselves on the street. This Melissa Etheride thing is really only the last straw. I first watched an episode of 30 Days that housed an Evangelical, anti-gay rights mother with a gay couple that had two adopted kids. While the gay couple seemed intelligent, open-minded and compassionate, the "good Christian woman" who wouldn't be moved or changed in any way seemed like an ignorant, hate-filled bigot. Since then, I've been watching the tv shows for portrayals of Christians and Christianity. We have Robertson of the 700 Club, we have John Hagee who says "God caused the Holocaust" (WHAT?!), Obama's former pastor with "God Damn America" from the pulpit. Last night on Nightline they interviewed a faith healer. A faith healer! What century is this? I'm not going to put a limit on how God works, or through whom, but as I listened to this man scream at me, scream, that Jesus wants me, I thought "this guy?"

Message to the secular world, those people who happen not to go to church, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CRAZY! Not all of us are hateful, ignorant, arrogant, spoiled brats. Yes, about half of us are against civil rights for homosexual people. But, that means half of us are for them! And even those people that I know who hold opposite positions than I on the subject, they don't object from a place of hate, they aren't hateful, bad people. Misguided and a little naive maybe, but not hateful.

In fact, Ms. Etheridge and the rest of you with a negative opinion of Christians, most of us are quite normal; intelligent, free-thinking, hard-working, fun-loving normal people. Like everyone else, we are trying to find our way in this world and through this live and we just happen to find meaning and purpose, love, hope and peace in the life and teaching of Jesus. I am sorry for the hateful and hurtful words and behaviors of some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am sorry for how we have represented our tradition. I am sorry for people like Robertson, Falwell and Hagee who say things that are, frankly, just stupid.

And to all my normal Christian friends out there, stand up and be counted. People are laughing at us. The people we are supposed to be reaching. Stand up! Anyone who doesn't have all the answers, stand up. Anyone who's just trying to figure out why we're here, stand up. Anyone who knows that reading Harry Potter does not, in fact, turn children into witches and wizards, stand up.

It is time, brothers and sisters, to take Christianity back from the crazy people.
Love, peace, rock n' roll, Brad