Two Gods?

To the southeast of Springfield MO, in the community of Ozark, sits a megachurch that has been in the news frequently. Several years ago they hosted an annual Fourth of July celebration that eclipsed the City of Springfield's party to the point of shutting it down. Maybe we should have recognized the Christian Nationalism for what it was, but back then it was just the normal patriotic kind of stuff blown up in a way that only a megachurch could do it. 
"God bless America" didn't always mean God bless America -- only.
This past weekend they hosted a grand men's conference -- complete with a military tank cruching cars, patriotic pyrotechnics, and loads of other toxic masculinity inducing garbage. 

Meanwhile, on the northeast side of Springfield a small community church is transitioning from using their church buildings as a place of weekly worship to a place that shows the love of God by surrendering their buildings to serve people in need. They are converting all of their buildings into transitional housing to create a pathway from homelessness to housed and productive members of society. 

After spending the night at the current shelter, I had the opportunity to talk with the current residents over coffee this morning. They were excited about the work that was before them for the day. They shared their stories of addiction, jail/prison, losing jobs, housing, even children, and the hopelessness of living on the street.
And they shared their hope.
They shared what it means to have a place - a bed - to come "home" to every night.
...to have a purpose for going out each day.
...to have a path to making permanent housing a reality.

Thousands of people weren't there to hear their simple stories.
There were no fireworks, no bands playing music, no big show to draw attention and scream "Look at what we are doing in the name of God!" 
There was no flag waving.
And nobody preached that they had to follow Jesus or burn in hell.
They were given a safe place to sleep, a sense of self-worth and value, a purpose for each day, and they are given an abundance of love.

There is so much contrast between the gods of these two Christian churches that I have a difficult time reconciling them as the same god. One god seems to be about elevating us and the other is about helping others. One seems to divide us into those that follow and those that don't and the other seems to say we are all the same and of equal value and worth. One place looks like a carnival or theme park and the other looks like a simple, but safe shelter from the elements. 

I really don't know what God looks like anymore. The images that I grew up with and the images that I shared as a preacher don't work for me today. In fact, I've pretty much decided that I can't imagine God as a being. I don't know if that's because God is beyond my imagination or because I've begun to sense God as a presence rather than as a person. 
When I sense God, I feel peace - never violence.
...I feel love - never hatred.
...I feel profound joy - never anything else.

Is God a being or presence of our own creation?
I know many that would say - yes.
I still believe that we are beings of God's creation, and that we are connected to God and to each other.

John