Called to Learn, Pray, and Stand Together

Listening, Learning, and Bearing Fruit: A Moment of Discernment for the Independent Sacramental Movement

God willing, I will be spending two weeks this coming summer in Utrecht, the Netherlands, after having been accepted into the Old Catholic Theology: Contexts and Calling program at the Utrecht Summer School. I am grateful to receive word of my acceptance into both tracks of this intensive program.

Over the years, I have spoken with several people from around the world who attended this course. Again and again, I hear the same themes: deep learning, honest theological conversation, shared prayer, and the building of real relationships across jurisdictions, cultures, and ecclesial boundaries. That combination—study, prayer, and community—is something the Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM) desperately needs, and I am hopeful that this experience will further shape my own listening and discernment.

I will admit something else quite honestly: I absolutely detest flying. I ask for your prayers in the months ahead—for safe travel, calm nerves, and openness to whatever God desires to teach me through this experience.

A Nation in Pain, a Church at a Crossroads

At the same time, it is impossible to ignore the reality around us here in the United States. We are living in a moment of profound division. Many people are experiencing fear, marginalization, and a loss of trust in institutions. There are serious concerns about the overreach of government authority, violations of human rights, and the erosion of human dignity.

In the midst of this, I am deeply encouraged by the number of people within the ISM who are responding not with apathy, but with lawful protest, compassion for the vulnerable, and concrete advocacy on behalf of those whose voices are too often ignored. This is precisely where the ISM can—and must—offer a distinctive and faithful witness.

Yet I am also concerned. Our movement, like the wider society, is fractured. We have many prophetic voices, but too often those voices stand isolated, unsupported, and exhausted.

In my book, Faith Without Permission: The Story and Spirit of the Independent Sacramental Movement, I addressed this concern directly in the dedication. I dedicated the book:

To all victims of genocide, persecution, oppression, and every form of injustice—to those whose lives were taken, whose voices were silenced, and whose dignity was denied by the powers of this world.

I then went on to issue a challenge to our movement: unless we reform ourselves, unless we build structures capable of sustaining faithful witness, we risk becoming as helpless and ineffective as the Confessing Church in Germany during the rise of National Socialism.

Figures such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth spoke courageously and faithfully—but courage alone was not enough. Without strong, accountable, and connected ecclesial structures, prophetic voices can be ignored, sidelined, or crushed.

We have voices today within the ISM just as courageous. What we need now is the will to build the foundations that allow those voices not only to speak, but to endure.

The Time of Playing Church Is Over

The time of playing church is over.

If we claim the Gospel, then we must produce the fruits of the Gospel. That means grappling honestly with difficult questions—about power, authority, justice, human dignity, and our responsibility to one another. It means resisting the temptation to retreat into anger, bitterness, or ideological purity tests.

We must never respond with violence or hatred. The Gospel calls us to love even our enemies, not because injustice is acceptable, but because love is the only force capable of transforming hearts and societies. Jesus did not come as a king to dominate or coerce. He came as a servant—washing feet, breaking bread, and inviting people into relationship with God and with one another.

This is the “better way” we are called to embody.

First Fruits of the Kingdom

Our ISM communities are not meant to be replicas of the broken systems around us. They are meant to be first fruits—small but real signs of what God’s kingdom looks like when it is lived, not merely proclaimed.

That kingdom is marked by dignity rather than domination, solidarity rather than suspicion, and courage rooted in love rather than fear. If we are faithful to that vision, the ISM can become not just a refuge for the disillusioned, but a credible and necessary voice in a world longing for hope.

As I prepare for Utrecht, and as our nation continues to wrestle with its own soul, I remain convinced that this is a moment of discernment for our movement. May we have the humility to learn, the courage to reform, and the faith to bear fruit worthy of the Gospel we proclaim.

Peace,

Ben