When the conflict is more than you can bear

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I think about writing and discipline and what it takes to put words down on paper and pour out a little bit of myself — every day.

Photo Credit: Mike Linksvayer

Right now, I’m weary with words. Between Lifeway, Chic-fil-a, gender roles, Complimentarianism, and Egalitarianism, I’m exhausted. It seems as though the realm of Evangelicalism has reached a critical mass of words, opinions, and disagreement.

Evangelicals are no longer content to be at war with the culture, we must be at war with one another too.

I watched a sermon yesterday by a heavily tattooed female Lutheran pastor given at a youth event. I bristled at a lot of what she said. Honestly, I almost didn’t watch it because I was pretty certain I wouldn’t like it. Her approach was a little too “I’m just the way I am and I don’t have to change anything about me or stop swearing or change my attitude because God loves me and we’re all under grace. So there!” I’ve overstated a bit. It just wasn’t for me.

But before you think this is a rant about tattoos, or women pastors, or Lutherans, or teenagers, or combative Christians, hear me out.

Because this passionate speaker said a few things with which I can agree. She explained that for a Christian, we never work our way to God. He comes to us. She talked about how we have a huge capacity for destruction, both of ourselves and others. She described people who don’t look like an average church goer who need Jesus and churches where they can get to know Him. She said God is in the process of making us new, over and over and over.

As I watched, I knew that if we had dinner together we would disagree on a few majors and many minors. But I also believe that we could discuss our similarities and differences and learn from one other. Because the grace we’ve both received is greater than our differences.

I thought about Paul, and what he said to the Philippians:

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
(Philippians 1:15-18 ESV)

If Paul can rejoice over people preaching Christ out of selfish ambition, maybe I should also rejoice that Christ is preached from people with whom I don’t agree or understand.

There is a place in evangelicalism for healthy debate, indeed we need it. There is a place to describe distinctives and ideologies. There are forums in which it’s appropriate to define our belief system. Churches have the right and responsibility to be clear about their structure, membership, and theology.

But there is also a time to look out over the sea of evangelicalism and realize that everyone who believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord will be around the throne of grace forever. Everyone.

This side of glory, it is good and right that we gather in local bodies with distinct belief systems. We need a certain level of theological commonality to plant churches, provide aid, and share the gospel. But when the last day comes, we will all be perfected. We will all be changed. Our theological and ideological differences will be erased.

We will all be wrong about a few things.

So, at the end of a month that has been fraught with evangelical strife, take a moment to remember that the people you’ve been railing against will very likely be around the throne of glory with you forever.

Maybe we should start loving one another now.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” — Jesus