The Man I Don't Want To Be

This comes from the blog of Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA):

[We] have masterfully exchanged the intimating visual of bullet-filled weaponry with the divisive use of vocabulary and verbal jousting.

Here are just a few examples from good folks that have crossed my "desk" and what I think are the implications:

SHOT: "We are striving for Biblical faithfulness."
READ: "Our reading and interpretation of the Bible is the right one and, not only is your interpretation wrong, you probably are not even faithful in your reading."

SHOT: "We are loving, thoughtful and welcoming."
READ: "You are only driven by hate and ignorance . . . and you probably REALLY like injustice."

Gosh . . . when those those are the first shots fired why wouldn't we just be one meadow full of unicorns and butterflies? ...[We have] become a people that are more concerned with being right than being faithful.

One of my dearest friends from Seminary and I come down on opposite sides of the question of ordaining Gays and Lesbians. We deal with this by not talking about it much. On the tree of our faith, we share a taproot which is fed by the living water of Jesus Christ. When you begin with that, you can go a long, long way together.

Still, with all of my might and with all of my hope, while I would never have Bruce's dialogues with another human being--God knows those very thoughts have crossed my mind (one being spoken by me, the other being spoken of me). I know they are both contrary to my calling and my vocation as a child of God. Nevermind being an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament, this betrays my vocation as a child of God.

Through humility, through prayer, through discipleship, through fellowship with people I agree with and people I disagree with, through the Word and work of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit; I hope and pray that I may be saved from being the @sshole it is all too easy for me to become.

By the Lord our God, it is a fight worth fighting.