I am a self-avowed, practicing evangelical.
As part of a denomination which has in my view suffered at the hands of theological liberalism, I am not ashamed of my beliefs regarding the divinity of Christ, authority of Scripture, the reality of both eternal gain and eternal loss, and the urgency of gospel proclamation. Certainly not a fundamentalist, but clearly evangelical.
Yet there is a danger in this designation; there is a sickness in the “camp.”
It’s this: sometimes we are so concerned with being right that we forget to be nice.
I see this in myself all the time. In those debates within the United Methodist Church, I rely on sarcasm and arrogance to make my points. I surround myself with people just like me who serve churches just like ours. There are folks within the denomination I simply ignore because their label is wrong.
In my desire for truth, I’ve neglected love.
Jesus never said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you take strong stands on divisive issues.”
Instead: “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Perhaps being nice is the best way to be right.
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Amen Talbot! In many ways, I see this issue of doing whatever it takes to be “right” come up in MANY Christian circles regardless of denomination. It’s usually about the same old issues such as abortion, homosexuality, etc. I’ve seen so many Christians be so condescending against others who disagree to where we can compromise our witness rather than enhance it. And we wonder why no one wants to listen to Christians! Lord, please forgive us (even me) whenever we allow wanting to be “right” override how we should carry ourselves in a humble yet bold (which we should really reexamine how we think of that word) manner.
—Jesus never said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you take strong stands on divisive issues.”
Instead: “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”—
When you said these things Talbot, it reminded me of your sermon last summer during the unChristian series about homosexuality (“The Elephant in the Room”). Actually, you pretty much used the (near) exact same phrasing in this entry. Nevertheless, this same mode of thinking applies whenever Christians deal with controversial topics/issues.
I just hope more Christian leaders will become more honest and humble in shifting their approach like you have admitted Talbot. I really hope we do because the world-and Jesus most importantly-is watching!
Scott Chisolm