A Creed for Woke Christians

A statement of belief for those of us who love Jesus and justice, but who often can't find either in the church

Photo by Will Gullo on Unsplash

It’s my birth month and all November, I’ve been sharing some of my favorite writing. When I started this series, I had not planned on focusing on the church. But it turns out that a lot of my favorite writing is about my own spiritual journey. Earlier this year, I wrote this creed in the midst of a debate about the term “woke.”

Back when I was working toward ordination as an elder in the United Methodist Church (that’s a story for another day), I had to write several statements about my belief in and adherence to Christian doctrine. I always struggled with those statements. Having been shaped by a seminary that prided itself on its adherence to orthodoxy, I could easily regurgitate the Nicene Creed even though I knew that it did not capture the core of my beliefs about the nature of God, Jesus, or the Church universal. It took some time in denominational exile for me to break free of the mental chains that bound my imagination and to begin to articulate what I believe.

There’s been a lot of pushback against the term, woke. Earlier this year, conservative media were railing against the term, with one writer declaring it to be the “greatest threat to the modern church since the first century.” Ironically, it was Scripture admonishes the followers of Christ to stay woke: “So then, let’s not sleep like the others, but let’s stay awake and stay sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6, CEB).

So today I offer a creed for those of us who are committed to staying awake.

The Woke Christian Creed

I believe in God the Almighty,
  Creator and Redeemer of the world,
  whose power is constrained only by Their mercy. 

In crafting the original blueprint for creation,
  God was not content to form one kind of any creature,
  but countless varieties,
  each with their own beauty and vulnerabilities. 

Themselves genderless, faceless, and formless,
  God created a rainbow of humanity,
  diverse in gender, hue, language, bodily form, and ability,
  yet uniform in our need for love, belonging, respect, and care. 

God imbued us with free will and the capacity to be co-creators,
  knowing it meant that we would have the ability to turn away from Them
  and to cause great destruction to ourselves, one another, and the earth. 

Throughout human history, God has issued the call, again and again,
  for us to live as beings created in God’s own likeness and image,
  for us to love justice, do mercy, and walk humbly with Them.  

I believe in Jesus Christ, Love Incarnate,
  the embodiment of the Divine on earth,
  who, having watched us mistreat each other for so long,
  decided to take up human form,
  not as the politically powerful, economically elite, or religious ruler,
  but as the most vulnerable of all –
  a baby conceived by a Jewish unwed teenage girl
  living under Roman occupation,
  betrothed to a carpenter who had no social standing. 

Jesus, our Rabbi, lived, suffered, and experienced joy among us,
  teaching us what it meant to offer love, belonging, respect, and care
  to the hungry, the sick, the outcast, the lonely. 

He cautioned us to stay awake to the forces of evil and oppression in this world,
  and to align ourselves with the needs of the marginalized. 

He demonstrated that righteousness is determined not solely by belief in Him,
  but by our feeding and clothing the destitute,
  caring for the sick and the imprisoned,
  welcoming the immigrant,
  and befriending the lonely and outcast. 

His love for us could not be contained by death,
  not even by execution at the hands of an unjust government,
  fomented by a bloodthirsty crowd. He forgave our ignorance
  even in his anguish. In His resurrection, he showed us
  that suffering and death do not have the last word,
  that power and new life are found in the most unexpected places, and
  that He would be with us to the very end.  

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Great Exhalation of God,
  breathed into humanity at our collective creation,
  moving within and among us
  not for our individual benefit
  but for the collective good of all creation. 

She affirms our diversity
  allowing each of us to receive the Gospel
  in our own tongue and culture. 

She affirms our unity
  gifting some of us with the capacity
  to speak in the universal tongue
  one understood by the spark of Her
  that is within each of us. 

She hears our groaning,
  the prayers too sorrowful for words,
  and she communicates them to the Almighty,
  interceding on our behalf. 

She sees our suffering and brings the balm of heaven,
  comforting, guiding, inspiring, and empowering us
  to embody the imago Dei within. 

Through her prophets, she continues to speak Truth
  to political, economic, and religious power,
  to advocate for the marginalized, and
  to challenge the church to fulfill its role
  as the body of Christ.  

I pray for the Church,
  which exists not inside walls of brick or wood,
  but in relationships where two or more gather
  to do the will of Christ –
  to comfort the brokenhearted,
  to make free the captive,
  to feed, clothe, house, and befriend
  the poor, the immigrant, and the lonely,
  to care for the earth and all of humanity
  across the boundaries of gender, race, nationality,
  citizenship, ability, or social status. 

I pray for the Church to live up to its mission as
  Christ’s agent of love and mercy in the world,
  to be a voice for the powerless and
  a beacon of hope for the hopeless. 

What resonates with you? Have you considered writing your own creed?

New Resource Guide for Sacred Self-Care

Subscribers can now access resources for creating their self-care rule of life, including fillable pdf versions of the worksheets in the back of Sacred Self-Care and a template for creating your own personal self-care plan. You can find it here or by clicking on the Sacred Self-Care link at the top of the home page on No Trifling Matter.

Give the Gift of Self-Care This Christmas

I admit it: I’m the aunt/big cousin who gives books for Christmas. I really love picking out books for my niece, nephews, and cousins each year. It’s a special joy to find just the right book for each age group: something that they’d enjoy but that their parents might not think to give them. Of course, it gives me an excuse to spend time in bookstores, including my favorite feminist bookstore, Charis Books & More. I try to buy most books from them and from other brick-and-mortar stores.

Sacred Self-Care is a great gift book. You can find it at all major bookdealers. I highly recommend Bookshop.org, which supports local booksellers. Use this code for 20% off!

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