Some local pastors had put something in the local newspaper and asked me to sign it that was like,
The church says one man,
One woman,
And you know,
All this kind of stuff.
And I was like,
That doesn't,
I don't believe that in any way.
I don't believe that's what the Bible says.
Well,
I knew that they can actually put that in the paper and they would never get called on that.
They wouldn't get in trouble for that.
You can say that from your pulpit and nobody's going to call you on it.
But if I actually spoke out about what I believed,
I can get in trouble for it.
And that really pissed me off.
And so I wrote it and hit send.
The editors of the news magazine gave it the title,
Pissed Off Southern Pastor Tells It Like It Is.
And within seconds of them posting it,
It went viral.
A friend of mine from high school that I hadn't talked to in forever had an online news magazine back in 2015.
And it was called Liberal America and blatantly liberal,
Completely all the way on the left.
And so she had seen a couple of things that I'd posted,
Like,
I don't know,
I'd posted some sermons I'd written or something like that.
And we started talking and she said,
You know,
I am way over on the left,
But I really,
She's very much a Christian.
And she said,
I would love to have a Christian left,
A liberal Christian voice on our news magazine to just write things reacting to current events from that viewpoint.
Because a lot of her writers,
Quite honestly,
Were agnostic or atheist,
You know,
Because it was so,
So far left.
And so she said,
I know a lot of my readers are,
You know,
They don't trust religion and all that kind of stuff.
And so I'd really be interested in you doing that.
So I said,
Sure.
I didn't have any editorial privileges or anything like that.
I would just write something up and send it to them.
And,
You know,
They would put a headline on it and do whatever.
I got mad about something that was happening in my community.
And so back then,
I mean,
I really,
I don't think I really understood the reach.
And that was when everybody was just starting to get into the blogging game and,
You know,
All the innocent.
And I don't think I had any idea of the reach that something like that could have.
And so I was really mad at something that was happening local.
And I sat down that night and just sort of spewed out this emotion that was burning inside of me and did it within that anger,
Fully embracing the anger.
Quite honestly,
It was about human sexuality and marriage.
And some local pastors had put something in the local newspaper and asked me to sign it that was like,
The church says one man,
One woman and,
You know,
All this kind of stuff.
And I was like,
That doesn't,
I don't believe that in any way.
I don't believe that's what the Bible says.
Well,
I knew that they can actually put that in the paper and they would never get called on that.
They wouldn't get in trouble for that.
You can say that from your pulpit and nobody's going to call you on it.
But if I actually spoke out about what I believed,
I can get in trouble for it.
And that really pissed me off.
And so I wrote it and hit send.
And while I was at it,
Like I got,
I was just,
I just was everything.
You know what else?
Not all Christians think that you ought to have 30,
000 guns in your house.
And so,
Yeah,
I just sort of spewed it all out there.
So the editors of the news magazine gave it the title,
Pissed Off Southern Pastor Tells It Like It Is.
And within seconds of them posting it,
It went viral.
People ask me,
And when I was writing in the very beginning in 2015,
When I was writing for that online magazine,
They paid like however many cents per hit.
And so one month I made $36.
And the biggest month I ever made,
I think I made $518.
But like there were months that it was,
They didn't pay you if it was less than $2.
So yeah,
Nobody ever got rich off of it.
So I have people ask me that all the time,
Do you make money off of it?
No.
As of right now,
It's just,
I have a place that I can get pissed off and just be pissed off on behalf of people when I need to.
And it's not about trying to change anybody's mind.
I don't think anybody goes to my Facebook page and goes,
Oh my God,
I was wrong about homosexuality.
You know,
That probably doesn't happen.
On the other hand,
There are people who go there and go,
Oh my God,
I'm not alone.
And even though I'm surrounded by these people who think differently,
I'm not alone.
There are others.
And it's not just me because it's created a community of like-minded people who pray for each other and support.
I can't tell you how many times when somebody posts a comment and says,
This really spoke to me today,
I'm going through a divorce,
Or this really spoke to me today,
I recently lost my mother.
Before I find that comment and post on it,
There'll be five other people on my page who are saying,
Oh my gosh,
I feel you.
I've gone through that recently.
I'm praying for you right now.
You know,
Or whatever,
Offering them that consolation.
And so a long time ago,
It stopped being just about what I post or what I say,
And it became a community.
Thank you so much for listening to Episode 44 of Bite-Sized Blessings.
The podcast is all about the magic and spirit that surrounds us,
If only we open our eyes to it.
And whether you choose to listen to our Bite-Sized offerings for that five to 10 minutes of freedom in your day,
Or the longer interviews,
We're grateful you're here.
I'd like to thank Pastor Melanie Topps for sharing her story with me today,
As well as the creators of the music used.
Lilo Sound,
Chilled Music,
Music L.
Files,
And Taiga Sound Production.
For complete attribution,
Please see the Bite-Sized Blessings website at bite-sized-blessings.
Com.
On the website,
You'll find links to books,
Music,
And change makers like Melanie,
Who will brighten and lighten your day.
Thank you for listening,
And here's my one request.
Be like Melanie.
Use your voice authentically and with integrity to make this world a better place.
