I believe Pastor Chris’s message this past Sunday especially resonated with many people, and I was no exception. The section about inclusivity being part of our church’s vision was what made me think the most, but I also believe inclusivity cannot be thought about apart from another aspect of True Life’s “spiritual DNA”, our desire to be authentic. Both these qualities have been pivotal in bringing about my own love for our church. They have also been perhaps the two qualities that have been most challenging.

One thing Chris said (this might not be an exact quote, but its close enough) was: “spend time with people even if something in their life bothers me, is offensive to me.”

Ouch.

Many of you who have had a chance to get to know me during my time at TLC know that I am pretty conservative. That conservatism tends to run across the board in my life but it is especially the case in my approach to practical theology or what might be more simply described as the desire to pursue, by the grace of God, personal holiness. For me this means, among other things, living a life defined by a trust in biblical inerrancy to the point where I allow the Bible to be the primary influence my life instead of any philosophy popular in this age that appears to contradict it. (It is, by the way, a desire that I’ve had some trouble living out during my time as a Christ-follower. Maybe you can relate?)

This approach has, at times, made it difficult for me to understand both the viewpoints and actions of some brothers and sisters I have come to know and care about in our congregation. I have viewed some of this difficulty as indicative of God’s desire to deal with something in me someone not long ago called “a religious spirit” to my face.

That phrase has a one-word synonym: Legalism.

I have no doubt that God has been using TLC to challenge some of my long-held assumptions about what can legitimately be a part of an authentic Christian life and what cannot. I suspect those less conservative than me at True Life have succeeded in turning what I might have once considered more black and white areas into ones that are now grayer in my mind. (In some cases they may even have turned a black into a white!) To the degree this has been the authentic work of the Spirit it can only have been a good thing in my life.

That said there are other areas of disagreement with some of my friends in the church that have not changed. These are areas where I continue to believe the Bible directly and overwhelmingly contradicts some of the new cultural moral assumptions being taken for granted in 21st century America. They are areas that, 28 years after my conversion from Atheism, I know I cannot ever accommodate, no matter how many people in my church accept those assumptions as being within the bounds of Biblical Christianity. (Two of them, for instance, are related to God’s will for human sexuality and the sacredness of all human life, from conception to natural death).

This is where our pastor’s advice about intentionally being with people with aspects of their lives that “bother me”, hit home. His answer, if I am properly interpreting it, was that we need to love, accept, and spend time with those with whom we might have a major disagreement or disagreements…no matter what the subject.

I do not believe that, by this, he means that church discipline of the Matthew 18 variety is never called for when someone is actively and unrepentantly advocating what the Bible clearly calls sin. What I do believe he is saying is that if we really want to change people’s hearts and minds, if they really do need to be changed, we must begin by loving them unconditionally. It is then and then alone that we may consider gently and respectfully challenging their thinking or action. We only earn the right to do so by showing that unconditional love. This means that we never judge their souls, even if we judge some of their actions or stated beliefs. This is a basic biblical teaching if there ever was one! It means we love them anyway (because ultimate judgment belongs to God and God alone, and because he commands us to love one another in the meantime, just as did His Son).

So while I suspect I will continue to remain one of the “conservatives” in our church I have also been clearly challenged in two areas.

1.To change my views when I truly learn I have been wrong and, perhaps even more importantly:

2.Not to show any less love and respect for the person-hood of those at TLC with whom I disagree than with those with who I am in complete spiritual accord.

That was the challenge of this past Sunday’s message for me. It was a challenge I needed to hear and it is also, by the grace of God, one I am willing to accept.