A PASSION FOR THE TRUTH – THE CONFESSIONALIST GODVIEW
John 1:14; 14:6a; 18:37
Rev. Paul Wrightman 12/19/21
AN OLD PIONEER TRAVELED WESTWARD ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS
UNTIL HE CAME TO AN ABRUPT HALT
AT THE EDGE OF THE GRAND CANYON.
HE WONDERED AT THE SIGHT BEFORE HIM:
A VAST CHASM ONE MILE DOWN, EIGHTEEN MILES ACROSS,
AND MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILES LONG!
HE GASPED, “SOMETHING MUSTA HAPPENED HERE!”
A VISITOR TO OUR WORLD AT CHRISTMAS TIME,
SEEING THE LIGHTS, THE DECORATIONS, THE TREES,
THE PARADES, THE FESTIVITIES, AND THE RELIGIOUS SERVICES,
WOULD ALSO PROBABLY SAY,
“SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED HERE!”
THE GREAT GIFT THAT THE CONFESSIONALIST GODVIEW
BRINGS TO THE CHURCH IS THAT CONFESSIONALIST CHRISTIANS
HAVE SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME AND ENERGY
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT EXACTLY DID HAPPEN HERE
WITH THE BIRTH, MINISTRY, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION
OF JESUS OF NAZARETH.
WE CONTINUE OUR SHORT, FIVE-WEEK SERMON SERIES
ON A RECENTLY DEVELOPED PARADIGM CALLED “GODVIEWS” –
FIVE MARKEDLY DIFFERENT WAYS
IN WHICH DIFFERENT PEOPLE APPROACH GOD AND CHURCH.
THE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL POINT TO GRASP
IN APPROACHING THESE DIFFERING VIEWS OF GOD AND CHURCH
IS THAT NO GODVIEW IS BETTER THAN ANOTHER.
EACH GODVIEW HAS A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE,
AND EACH GODVIEW IS STRONGLY AFFIRMED BY JESUS.
THE GODVIEWS, TAKEN TOGETHER,
ARE A MAJOR WAY IN WHICH JESUS TEACHES
UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY.
THE IMPLICATION IS THAT A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE –
TAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH, FOR EXAMPLE,
IS MUCH GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.
MANY OF US WILL BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF
TO LEARN THAT EACH PERSON RESONATES
PRIMARILY WITH ONE GODVIEW,
AND OFTEN SOMEWHAT SECONDARILY WITH ANOTHER.
IT’S SOMEWHAT LIKE HAVING A MAJOR AND A MINOR IN COLLEGE.
THIS SHOULD TAKE SOME PRESSURE OFF THOSE OF US
WHO FEEL THAT WE NEED TO BE AND TO DO EVERYTHING!
JESUS HIMSELF DOES NOT EXPECT THIS FROM US,
SO WE CAN TAKE OURSELVES OFF THE HOOK
AND SIMPLY FLOW WITH WHO WE ARE,
FLOW WITH WHO GOD CREATED US TO BE.
FOR PURPOSES OF REVIEW, I’M NOW GOING TO BRIEFLY DESCRIBE
THE FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF APPROACHING GOD AND CHURCH.
HOPEFULLY YOU WILL STRONGLY RECOGNIZE YOURSELF
IN ONE OF THE VIEWS
AND MODERATELY RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANOTHER.
REMEMBER: ALL GODVIEWS HAVING BEEN CREATED EQUAL,
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO BASIS FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN
TO CONSIDER HERSELF OR HIMSELF SUPERIOR
TO ANY OTHER CHRISTIAN.
THE ORDER IN WHICH I MENTION THE GODVIEWS IS ARBITRARY,
AND SIMPLY REFLECTS THE ORDER IN WHICH
THIS SHORT SERMON SERIES WILL UNFOLD.
GODVIEW NUMBER ONE IS KNOWN AS THE TRADITIONALIST VIEW.
IN ANY LOCAL CHURCH, THE TRADITIONALISTS
ARE THOSE WHO REMIND THAT LOCAL CHURCH
OF ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
THEY ARE THE PEOPLE INSIST THAT WHEN CHANGE HAPPENS,
THAT IT GROW ORGANICALLY AND IN CONTINUITY
WITH PAST HISTORY AND TRADITION.
GODVIEW NUMBER TWO IS KNOWN AS THE DEVOTIONALIST VIEW.
THESE ARE PERSONS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO
AND DEEPLY ENGAGED IN WORSHIP AND PRAYER.
THEY TEND TO BE PERSONS
WHO HAVE A WARM RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD,
AND WHO HAVE LITTLE DIFFICULTY
TALKING ABOUT THAT RELATIIONSHIP WITH OTHERS.
GODVIEW NUMBER THREE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD,
IS KNOWN AS THE CONFESSIONALIST VIEW.
HERE “CONFESSIONALIST” COMES FROM THE ORIGINAL SENSE
OF THE WORD “CONFESSION,” WHICH MEANS “TO AFFIRM.”
CONFESSIONALISTS ARE CHRISTIANS WHO, LIKE MYSELF,
ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT SEARCHING FOR,
AT LEAST PARTIALLY DISCOVERING,
AND THEN SHARING THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD, JESUS, AND THE BIBLE.
WE WILL LOOK MORE CLOSELY
AT THE CONFESSIONALIST VIEW THIS MORNING.
GODVIEW NUMBER FOUR IS KNOWN AS THE ALTRUIST VIEW.
THE ALTRUIST GODVIEW IS FOUNDED ON JESUS’ ADMONITION
TO FEED THE HUNGRY, CLOTHE THOSE IN NEED,
AND WELCOME THE STRANGER,
AS FOUND IN THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER
OF THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ALTRUISTS ARE “DOERS,” FOCUSED ON THE PRACTICALITIES
OF MEETING THE CONCRETE NEEDS OF THOSE LACKING
IN ANY OF LIFE’S NECESSITIES.
JUST THINK OF OUR OWN CHURCH’S MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS
OF OUTREACH TO THOSE WITHPOUT HOMES,
AND YOU WILL SEE THAT WE ARE A CHURCH
WITH A STRONG ALTRUIST CONTINGENT.
GODVIEW NUMBER FIVE IS KNOWN AS THE ACTIVIST GODVIEW.
THE ACTIVIST GODVIEW IS BASED ON THE CONCERN FOR JUSTICE
WHICH WE FIND IN THE PROPHETS OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
AND IN JESUS HIMSELF.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, JESUS CONFRONTED
THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INJUSTICES
OF BOTH ISRAEL AND ROME.
ACTIVIST CHRISTIANS DO THE SAME IN OUR DAY.
THE CONFESSIONALIST GODVIEW,
THE GODVIEW THAT WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING TODAY,
IS A TERM WHICH COVERS HUGE DIFFERENCES
IN THEOLOGICAL STANCE AMONG THE CHRISTIANS
THAT IT DESCRIBES.
REMEMBER THAT THE ORIGINAL MEANING
OF “TO CONFESS,” WAS “TO AFFIRM,”
AND THEN THINK OF THE DISCONCERTINGLY LARGE NUMBER
OF DIFFERENT AFFIRMATIONS ABOUT GOD AND SCRIPTURE
AT PLAY THROUGHOUT CHRISTIAN HISTORY
AND STILL AT PLAY TODAY.
IF ONE COUNTS EVEN SMALL GROUPS
THAT CONSIDER THEMSELVES SEPARATE DENOMINATIONS,
THERE ARE MORE THAN THIRTY THOUSAND OF THEM
PRESENT IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD.
MOST OF THESE WERE STARTED BY CONFESSIONALISTS,
PEOPLE WHO FELT THAT THEIR TAKE ON THE BIBLE AND ON GOD
WAS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE’S.
A BIG MAJORITY OF THESE SMALL SPLINTER GROUPS
IS FOUND RIGHT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
A COUNTRY WHICH, AS A WHOLE, PRIDES ITSELF ON
“INDEPENDENT-THINKING.”
THE ONE THING THAT ALL CONFESSIONALISTS HAVE IN COMMON
IS THAT THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT FINDING THE TRUTH
ABOUT GOD, JESUS, AND THE BIBLE,
AND THEN EQUALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT COMMUNICATING
THAT TRUTH TO OTHERS.
TWO EXTREMES, AND ALL POSITIONS IN BETWEEN,
CAN BE FOUND COMPETING FOR FOLLOWERS
IN TODAY’S FRACTURED THEOLOGICAL WORLD.
THUS, ON ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM
WE FIND FUNDAMENTALISTS AND EVANGELICALS
WHO INSIST THAT THE BIBLE IN ITS ENTIRETY
IS INERRANT AND INFALLIBLE.
AND ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM WE FIND,
FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM,
CHRISTIANS WHO DESCRIBE THEMSELVES AS “LIBERAL,”
AND MAINTAIN THAT THE BIBLE IS MOSTLY MYTH AND LEGEND.
ACCORDING TO “LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY”
VERY LITTLE OF THE BIBLE’S “PURPORTED HISTORY” ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
IN BETWEEN, THERE ARE THOSE WHO, LIKE MOST OF US,
SEE SOME PARTS OF SCRIPTURE, SAY THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,
AND JESUS’ PARABLES ABOUT GOD’S FORGIVENESS,
COMPASSION, AND LOVE,
AS VASTLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHER PARTS,
FOR EXAMPLE, THE STORIES OF THE ACTS OF VIOLENCE
ATTRIBUTED TO GOD IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES.
SO-CALLED “MAINLINE” CHURCHES – CHURCHES WITH
DEEP TIES TO CHRISTIAN HISTORY AS A WHOLE,
AND NOT JUST THE LAST THREE HUNDRED YEARS
OF SPECIFICALLY AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY, WHICH GAVE BIRTH TO
FUNDAMENTALISM AND EVANGELICALISM –
ARE FOCUSED ON TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
AS DEEPLY AND THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE
WHAT CHRISTIANITY MEANS BY SUCH BELIEFS
AS INCARNATION, ATONEMENT, AND RESURRECTION.
TO DO THIS MAINLINE SCHOLARS LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE,
NOT FOCUSING ON A SINGLE THEOLOGICAL POINT-OF-VIEW,
BUT TRYING TO SEE THE MANY DIFFERENT THEOLOGIES EXPRESSED
IN SCRIPTURE AND THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
IN CREATIVE DIALOGUE WITH EACH OTHER.
THERE IS A CUSTOM WITHIN THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST TRADITION
WHICH I THINK WOULD BE A VERY GOOD PRACTICE
FOR CHRISTIANS, ESPECIALLY CONFESSIONALIST CHRISTIANS.
THAT CUSTOM IS THIS: EACH MONK IN A TIBETAN MONASTERY
HAS TO PERIODICALLY PRESENT HIMSELF TO BE QUESTIONED
ABOUT VARIOUS ASPECTS OF BUDDHIST TEACHINGS –
RIGOROUSLY QUESTIONED BY ALL
THE OTHER MONKS IN THE MONASTERY,
WHO, IF THEY DISAGREE WITH THE MONK ON CALL,
CAN THEN PRESENT THEIR VERSION OF THE SAME TEACHING.
THE BOOK I WAS READING SAID THAT THIS CUSTOM
KEEPS TIBETAN BUDDHIST UNDERSTANDING FROM BECOMING
FOSSILIZED AND STAGNANT –
AND PREVENTS ANY OF THE MONKS
FROM TAKING HIMSELF TOO SERIOUSLY.
OUR OWN DEE MACDONALD HAS WITNESSED
THIS VERY PRACTICE DURING A MEMORABLE TRIP
TO CHINA AND TIBET.
SHE TOLD ME THAT THE PROCEDURE FOR QUESTIONING
WAS HIGHLY DRAMATIC, WITH EACH MONK LUNGING FORWARD,
AND SHARPLY CLAPPING HIS HANDS BEFORE
ASKING HIS QUESTION.
THIS IS A REQUIRED PRACTICE WITHIN TIBETAN BUDDHISM.
WOULD THAT WE CHRISTIANS – ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US
WHO DISAGREE SO VEHEMENTLY WITH ONE ANOTHER –
HAD A SIMILAR PRACTICE!
WHAT MIGHT THIS LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF
WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
AT CHRISTMAS?
LIKE MANY “MAINSTREAM” CHRISTIANS,
I WOULD HEARTILY ENDORSE AN APPROACH TO THE MEANING
OF CHRISTMAS ALONG THE LINES OFFERED
BY THE FOLLOWING ILLUSTRATION:
CLARK COTHERN WRITES:
“ONE CHRISTMAS WE HAD AN UNEXPECTED HOUSEGUEST.
A SQUIRREL HAD FALLEN DOWN THE CHIMNEY
INTO THE WOOD BURNER STOVE
IN THE BASEMENT OF OUR HOME IN MICHIGAN.
I THOUGHT IF IT KNEW WE WERE THERE TO HELP,
I COULD JUST REACH IN AND GENTLY LIFT IT OUT.
NOTHING DOING. AS I REACHED IN, IT BEGAN SCRATCHING
LIKE IT HAD OVERDOSED ON ESPRESSO.
WE FINANALLY MANAGED TO CONSTRUCT
A CARDBOARD BOX ‘CAGE’ COMPLETE WITH A LARGE HOLE
IN ONE SIDE, INTO WHICH THE SQUIRREL WALTZED
WHEN WE PLACE THE BOX AGAINST THE WOOD BURNER’S DOOR.
WE LET IT OUT INTO THE SAFETY OF OUR BACKYARD.
LATER, I THOUGHT, ISN’T IT FUNNY HOW, BEFORE ITS REDEMPTION,
OUR LITTLE VISITOR HAD FRANTICALLY TRIED
TO BASH ITS WAY OUT OF ITS DARK PRISON?
IT SEEMED THAT THE HARDER IT STRUGGLED TO GET FREE,
THE MORE PAIN IT CAUSED ITSELF.
IN THE END, IT HAD TO WAIT UNTIL ONE WHO WAS MUCH BIGGER –
ONE WHO COULD PEER INTO ITS WORLD –
COULD CARRY IT INTO THAT LARGER WORLD
WHERE IT REALLY BELONGED.”
THIS ILLUSTRATION SUCCESSFULLY MAKES THE POINT
OF WHAT MOST CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS –
THAT HUMANITY WAS HOPELESSLY STUCK
IN ITS SELF-DESTRUCTIVE WAYS
AND DESPERATELY NEEDED SOMEONE
TO STEP IN FROM “OUTSIDE” TO SAVE IT.
TO ECHO THE EXAMPLE OF THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST MONKS
QUESTIONING EACH OTHER ABOUT THEIR BELIEFS:
RESPONDING TO THE ILLUSTRATION I JUST USED
AS AN EXAMPLE OF MY PERSONAL APPROACH
TO THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS,
A FUNDAMENTALIST MIGHT WELL CHALLENGE ME
ON WHY I DON’T MAKE A BIGGER DEAL OUT OF
JESUS’ VIRGIN BIRTH – WHAT THEY CONSIDER TO BE
THE MOST NMIRACULOUS PART OF THE WHOLE CHRISTMAS STORY.
IF I COULD CONTAIN MY DEFENSIVENESS,
THIS WOULD HAVE THE EFFECT OF PUSHING ME
TO LOOK INTO THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH
MUCH MORE SERIOUSLY -- CERTAINLY NOT A BAD THING,
AND A POSITIVE RESULT OF REAL DIALOGUE
WITH SOMEONE WHOSE POINT OF VIEW
WAS DIFFERENT FROM MY OWN.
ON THE OTHER HAND, DIALOGUING WITH A ‘LIBERAL’ CHRISTIAN --
SOMEONE WHO MAINTAINED THAT THE STORY OF JESUS’ BIRTH
WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A BEAUTIFUL MYTH
EXPRESSING THE DEEPEST YEARNING OF THE HUMAN HEART --
WOULD PUSH ME TO SERIOUS EXAMINATION
OF THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF CHRISTMAS –
ANOTHER POSITIVE RESULT OF REAL DIALOGUE
WITH SOMEONE WHOSE POINT OF VIEW
WAS DIFFERENT FROM MY OWN.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT MY OWN INSISTENCE
ON THE VALIDITY OF THE ILLUSTRATION I JUST SHARED WITH YOU
WOULD GIVE BOTH FUNDAMENTALIST AND LIBERAL
A CHANCE TO DO SOME MORE NUANCED THINKING OF THEIR OWN.
A QUESTION THAT BEGS TO BE ASKED WHEN TAKING A SERIOUS LOOK AT THE CONFESSIONALIST GODVIEW IS:
“HOW CAN A DENOMINATION OR LOCAL CHURCH
STAY TOGETHER WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENCES
OF THEOLOGICAL OPINION WITHIN ANY GIVEN LOCAL CHURCH
OR LARGER DENOMINATION?”
IN MANY CASES THE ANSWER IS THAT THE DISAGREEMENTS
ARE SO VEHEMENT THAT THEY LEAD TO THE FRACTURING
OF A DENOMINATION OR LOCAL CHURCH.
THE INSISTENCE THAT “OUR TRUTH IS THE ONLY TRUTH,
AND IF YOU DISAGREE WITH IT, THERE IS THE DOOR
WITH THE “EXIT” SIGN OVER IT,”
HAS LED TO MULTIPLE SPLITS WITHIN
THE PRESBYTERIAN AND BAPTIST DENOMINATIONS,
AND TO MULTIPLE SPLITS WITHIN LOCAL CHURCHES
WITHIN THOSE DENOMINATIONS.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
DENOMINATIONS LIKE THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
AND LOCAL CHURCHES LIKE OURS
HAVE LARGELY BEEN ABLE TO AVOID
FRACTURING ALONG THEOLOGICAL LINES
BY SEEING DIFFERENCES OF OPINION AS HEALTHY,
BY MAKING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS CORE VALUES,
AND BY STRESSING THAT A REAL AND LASTING UNITY
CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED BY EMBRACING A MULTITUDE
OF DIFFERENT THEOLOGICAL POSITIONS.
LAST WEEK, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DEVOTIONALIST GODVIEW,
WE SAW HOW THE SHADOW SIDE OF THE DEVOTIONALISTS
WAS A TENDENCY TO MAKE THEIR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
OF GOD NORMATIVE FOR EVERYONE.
THUS, THERE IS SOMETIMES A TENDENCY AMONG DEVOTIONALISTS TO CONSIDER CHRISTIANS WHOSE EXPERIENCE
OF COMING TO KNOW JESUS
WAS NOT AS DRAMATIC OR EMOTIONAL AS THEIR OWN
TO BE SECOND-RATE CHRISTIANS, OR NOT EVEN CHRISTIANS AT ALL.
WE MENTIONED LAST WEEK THE DANGER OF THE SHADOW SIDE
OF THE DEVOTIONALIST MEETING UP WITH THE SHADOW SIDE
OF THE CONFESSIONALIST – THE BELIEF THAT MY WAY
OF UNDERSTANDING GOD IS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS.
WHEN THESE TWO SHADOW SIDES COINCIDE
IN THE SAME INDIVIDUAL, CHURCH, OR DENOMINATION –
A HUGE DANGER SIGN SHOULD COME TO MIND.
THE STRONG EMOTION OF THE DEVOTIONALIST
COMBINED WITH THE PASSIONATE CONVICTION
OF THE CONFESSIONALIST CAN EASILY LEAD
TO DEADLY ABSOLUTIST POSITIONS:
THE CRUSADES AND THE INQUISITION COME TO MIND --
AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED
THAT A CRUSADING AND INQUISITORIAL MINDSET
ARE NOT JUST LIMITED TO SOME OF THE CATHOLIC PERSUASION,
BUT ARE ALIVE-AND-WELL IN MANY OF
THE PROTESTANT PERSUASION AS WELL.
WE’VE SEEN HOW IN THE GODVIEW PARADIGM,
THERE IS A BUILT-IN SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES,
AND THAT EACH GODVIEW NEEDS TO AFFIRM THE VALUE
OF EACH OF THE OTHERS TO BE POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE.
ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING THIS IS THAT IN ALL DISAGREEMENTS
CONCERNING THE BIBLE AND THEOLOGY
THE FINAL ARBITER, THE FINAL ATTITUDE, THE FINAL WORD
NEEDS TO BE LOVE, AND “LOVE” NOT JUST IN ITS EMOTIONAL SENSE,
BUT EVEN MORE IN ITS COMPASSIONATE, FORGIVING,
AND SACRIFICIAL SENSE OF HELPING OTHERS
TO BEAR THEIR BURDENS.
STAN GROBNIK, WHO SOLD CHRISTMAS TREES,
NOTICED ONE COUPLE ON THE HUNT FOR A CHRISTMAS TREE.
THE GUY WAS SKINNY WITH A BIG ADAM’S APPLE,
AND SHE WAS KIND OF PRETTY.
BOTH WORE CLOTHES FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BIN
OF THE SALVATION ARMY STORE.
AFTER BYPASSING TREES THAT WERE TOO EXPENSIVE,
THEY FOUND A SCOTCH PINE THAT WAS OK ON ONE SIDE
BUT PRETTY BARE ON THE OTHER.
THEN THEY PICKED UP ANOTHER TREE
THAT WAS NOT MUCH BETTER –
FULL ON ONE SIDE, SCRAGGLY ON THE OTHER.
SHE WHISPERED SOMETHING,
AND HE ASKED IF $3 WOULD BE OK.
SLATS FIGURED BOTH TREES WOULDN’T SELL, SO HE AGREED.
A FEW DAYS LATER SLATS WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET
AND SAW A BEAUTIFUL TREE IN THE COUPLE’S APARTMENT.
IT WAS THICK AND WELL-ROUNDED.
HE KNOCKED ON THEIR DOOR, AND THEY TOLD HIM HOW
THEY HAD PUSHED THE TWO TREES TOGETHER
WHERE THE BRANCHES WERE THIN.
THEN THEY TIED THE TRUNKS TOGETHER.
THE BRANCHES OVERLAPPED AND FORMED A TREE SO THICK
YOU COULDN’T SEE THE WIRE.
SLATS DESCRIBED IT AS ‘A TINY FOREST OF ITS OWN.’
‘SO THAT’S THE SECRET,’ SLATS ASSERTS.
‘YOU TAKE TWO TREES THAT AREN’T PERFECT,
THAT HAVE FLAWS, THAT MIGHT EVEN BE HOMELY,
THAT MAYBE NOBODY ELSE WOULD WANT.
IF YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER JUST RIGHT,
YOU CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING REALLY BEAUTIFUL.’”
EACH OF THE GODVIEWS IS INCOMPLETE IN ITSELF.
EACH GODVIEW NEEDS EACH OF THE OTHERS
TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ITS OWN UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION
TO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH AS A WHOLE.
WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE
AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DIFFFERENT GODVIEWS
FIND THEMSELVES AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER –
THERE IS A TWO-STEP SOLUTION READY AT HAND.
THE FIRST STEP IS DIALOGUE – LISTENING TO ONE ANOTHER
AND ALLOWING ONSELF TO BE IMPACTED BY THE POINT
THE OTHER IS MAKING.
IF CONFLICT STILL PERSISTS, STEP TWO NEEDS TO BE CALLED
INTO PLAY.
STEP TWO IS LOVE, AND LOVE IN THIS CONTEXT SIMPLY MEANS
TO ACCEPT AND TO HONOR AND TO CELEBRATE THE OTHER
IN-SPITE-OF ANY DISAGREEMENTS THAT WE MAY HAVE WITH THEM.
FROM TIME TO TIME YOU WILL HEAR ME MENTIONING THE FACT
THAT AT COMMUNITY CHURCH DISAGREEING WITH THE PASTOR
IS NOT ONLY ACCEPTED, BUT ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED.
THIS ATTITUDE OF HEARTY DIALOGUE,
AND SOMETIMES HEARTY DISAGREEMENT,
FLOWS FROM OUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT,
WHICH STATES:
“THE COMMUNITY CHURCH OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
ENCOURAGES SPIRITUAL EXPLORATION.
WE PRAY, WE SEEK, WE STUDY
INDIVIDUALLY AND AROUND THE TABLE
TO LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND FOLLOW CHRIST.
WE ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN OUR LEARNINGS.
OUR MISSION IS TO WELCOME
INDEPENDENT-MINDED PEOPLE OF ALL AGES,
BUILD A DIVERSE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY,
AND NURTURE ONE ANOTHER TO LOVE GOD, NEIGHBOR, AND SELF.”
I AM PROUD TO BE THE PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH,
WHICH, TO ME, HAS SUCH A DARING
VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT.
MAY WE ALWAYS BE EXPLORERS.
MAY WE ALWAYS BE EXPLORERS
BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A COMMUNITY.
MAY WE ALWAYS VALUE OUR INDEPENDENT-MINDEDNESS
AND DIVERSITY.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAY WE ALWAYS REMEMBER
TO NURTURE ONE ANOTHER
IN OUR LOVE OF GOD, NEIGHBOR, AND SELF.
AMEN.