The Option

The parson was sitting in one of his favorite eating establishments. An old friend from his earlier years sat across the table from him. They'd been engaged in remembrances of classmates, where they were now, what the latest gossip about whom was, and when the next class reunion would be held and if either of them would attend.

The parson's friend turned the talk in another direction. “Parson, how in the hell have you stuck with it all these years?”

“Stuck with what?” asked the parson.

“You know what, Parson,” his friend replied. “How have you stuck with the church?”

“Why would I have not stuck with the church?”

“Because of what the church is,” said his friend. “You know as well as I do the church is out-of-date. Science is advancing human knowledge, and part of that science, Parson, is archeology that is discovering inconsistencies within the scriptures. But does the church adjust? Nope. The church meanders along tooting the same old message, singing the sing old songs, praying the same old prayers.”

“That's not entirely true.”

“Well, of course, it's not entirely true. If it were entirely true I wouldn't be sitting here with you.” The friend took a sip of his coffee. He leaned across the table and said in a lower voice. “And, to be honest, Parson, it's pastor's like you, the ones who are open to other voices, the ones that are inclusive in their outlook, I cannot understand. If you guys would speak up more powerfully. If you guys would be more forceful, the church as it is today would be destroyed.” His friend sat back and then said, “I'm sorry but I really believe that's the truth.”

The parson studied his friend for a moment, somewhat taken aback by the obvious intensity of his friend's conflict. Then the parson leaned forward toward his friend and said in a quiet voice, “But that's just the point. I don't want to destroy the church. With all the inconsistencies, with all the exclusiveness, and, frankly, with all its failure to follow the teaching of Jesus, I don't want to destroy the church. I want to make the one I have better.”