Seeds of Confusion - Jim's Next Blog

Wild Things is a movie that careens through a mind-boggling series of plot twists and character surprises. The film starts simply enough, depicting the arrest and trial of a young male high school teacher who gets accused of rape by the teenage daughter of a wealthy local businessman. In the courtroom, however, the riveting plot twists begin.
We learn that the teenage girl concocted a false accusation, because she has been secretly in love with him and is jealous over the teacher’s relationship with a former student from the wrong side of town. 

Soon, however, we learn that all three of these characters are in cahoots, and they have agreed to split the money from a lawsuit that the teacher files against the girl’s father for having his career ruined. 

And that’s only the beginning of the deceptions and the surprises.

By the end of the film, we learn that former student (who has an IQ over 200) has engineered this entire scheme, which also involves a local policeman and a personal injury lawyer. The audience doesn’t know this, however, until the final scene - when both the teacher and the policemen are killed, and the genius former student splits the money with the shifty attorney.

Now if you didn’t follow all that, don’t worry. I had to watch the film three times before I understood what had happened. It’s very confusing when people are not who they seem to be, when roles are constantly shifting, when loyalties are violated, and when one is never sure of another’s intentions.

In sixteen years of ordained ministry, I have sometimes experienced church communities that function like this dubious band of conspirators. 

No, not literally. But I have found myself swimming in mind-boggling situations and shifting narratives that are just as confusing - even if they aren’t conscious conspiracies. In fact, confusion in the church is the theme of this new blog. 

What I have been noticing is that as we move from one historical era to the next  (from modernity and Christendom into whatever is coming), is that many of us feel like the characters in Wild Things, or least like a first-time viewer trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Roles are changing. Loyalties are shifting. What we were convinced was foundational to our story now no longer makes sense. 

In Wild Things, one watches for 30 minutes thinking it will be a movie about a young teacher fighting to prove his innocence. But it turns out to be something completely different. That is how many of us in the church are beginning to feel, and we are struggling to keep up with the new narratives.

In this blog, I will seek to unpack the perils and possibilities of this shifting landscape.
The discussion will be framed by the dichotomy of individual confusion (brought by anxiety, fear, and grief) and cultural confusion (brought on my political and economic instability). Ultimately, I will point toward a larger historical process and how the cycle of disorganization and reorganization moves us forward.

Admittedly, my particularity as a 45 year-old straight male Presbyterian pastor in the South will color this analysis. So will a few other aspects of who I am that I will reveal in future posts. 


I encourage you to read along and share your thoughts. I hope it doesn’t get too confusing. 


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