September 11, 2026
I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.
I Corinthians 10:1-6
My first job in ministry was as the summer as youth director for a rural Baptist church. For this Presbyterian-raised city boy, it was a culture shock. One of the newest and most beautiful experiences I had was to hear testimonies. They were real, brutally honest, and full of mistakes and trauma. I witnessed the value of honest reckoning and responsibility. I followed that summer with choosing a major in college - United States History. The approach was the same - honest reckoning with the mistakes and trauma of our shared history, and an expressed hope for the future, always amending our laws and public policies, an active citizenship of participation. It paired well with my theological education in the Reformed tradition - reformed and always reforming.
This week, the Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III announced he will retire, after 38 years with the Smithsonian. It comes with recent criticism that these museums don’t provide a positive enough or patriotic enough history of our nation. In an interview, he said, studying history without looking at the mistakes and the painful parts of it was like going to the doctor for a checkup and asking him to only tell you the good news. I grew up frequenting these museums with my mother, a history teacher. I never felt anything but a sense of wonder and pride after seeing the hard work people did to break from tyrannical rule, and the parade of heroes who fought for us to be more fair, just, and egalitarian. With my time among people of witness, grace, and reform, I cannot fathom the benefit of whitewashing our history, rather than learning from it.
As believers, we are called by a God who knows our past and calls us by name to a new life that requires the context of knowing our mistakes, turning from them, and moving toward grace and redemption. When we tell our stories, we diminish the good news of what God has done in and through us by omitting the truth of our mistakes and trauma. From Peter to Paul to modern testimonies of the wayward, the lost, the addict, we are called to honesty and humility as both individuals and groups. We are stronger and more resilient with this truth. We sing the song of our salvation in Amazing Grace, a song written by a repentant slave ship captain. We are called over and over to tell personal and national history that includes both the dark and the light, the amazing grace we have received and seek to honor.
Prayer
Lord, keep me humble enough to acknowledge my past, and grateful enough to honor it in the present. Amen.
Rev. Brian Daoust
Associate Pastor for Mission & Youth
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