Pastoral Misconceptions

As a pastor I find that when people learn my job title that they infer several things about who I am and I think it's time I set the record straight.

I am not a Republican.
I do not believe that there should be mandated prayer in school.
I do not believe that LGBTQ people are an unwelcome group in the church.
I do not believe that poor people are lazy and just working the system, nor do I believe that just because you are wealthy or healthy or wise that you are blessed.
I do not believe that if I don't share my love of Jesus every time you tell me to that I am denying him in front of people.
I do not believe that God helps those who help themselves.
I do not believe that people are dirty rotten sinners, though I have joked about it before in a sermon.
I do not believe that I am a better Christian or even a better person because I am a pastor.
I will not give you a dirty look if you say a curse word in front of me, unless it is one that is derogatory to someone else.
I do not believe that Muslim and terrorist are synonyms.
I do not believe that we should keep all immigrants out, nor do I believe we should kick all illegals out.
I do not believe that you should always follow the directives of those in power.
I do not believe in a whole host of things you think I do.

I do believe in hope, and when we hope instead of despair we are closer to God.
I do believe in love, and in every act of love bringing pieces of heaven to earth..
I do believe in grace, and I try to show as much as I can everyday in hopes that it may be shown to me.
I do believe in mistakes, because I make them almost every hour of every day.
I do believe in acceptance, and what I mean by that is loving people as they are, not as I would like them to be.
I do believe in coexistence, just because we believe in different things doesn't mean we have to hate each other.
I do believe in a God who loves us all so much more than we could ever understand.
I do believe that if I am to forgive 7 times 7 or 77 times or whatever the number is that God will forgive a lot more.
I do believe that the church judges people too much, has too many rules, and thinks too highly of itself.
I do believe that in order to follow Jesus we need to tell the truth, and while I do not do it enough, I am working on it.
I do believe that how I treat people is more important that what my statements of faith are.
I do believe that this life is a journey and that we are all on a different one, so we should always be kind to people who haven't gotten to the same place we have, and remember that we haven't gotten as far as we should have.

Peace and Love,
Pastor K