Eric Reece
Once I was serving a church that had two Sunday morning worship services, 9 a.m., and 11 a.m. The 9 a.m. service was upbeat and growing; while the 11 a.m. service was traditional and stable.
Some of the 11 a.m., folks decided we needed to cancel the 9 a.m., service to force those folks to come to the 11 a.m., service. I made it clear this was not a good idea. Instead of being able to sit down and talk it over, the 11 a.m. folks made demands.
The results were not pretty.
I have always mourned the fact that God’s people are not better at dealing with diversity. Not just in church, but in the community being able to have diversity, respect those diversities and still work together to solve common problems is sorely needed. People can disagree and still be on the same team when it comes to solving our community’s problems.
I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Tony Campolo, sociologist, speaker, pastor and author. He was one of the leaders in the Red Letter Christians movement which asked, “What if Jesus really meant what he said?”
Campolo is a devout Christian who reminds the church to be both concerned about social and justice issues, and proclaim the transformative power of Jesus Christ. He often had conversations with others of diverse opinions and while not always agreeing, he respected those persons.
It is known he and his wife, Peggy have different opinions on some social issues. His son, Bart – once a pastor – is no longer a Christian. They have had ongoing conversations about what this means.
Campolo loves and respects his son and talks of how sad this was for him.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas were friends and coworkers who had a difference of opinion over Mark going on their next missionary journey. Barnabas wanted him to go and Paul did not – because he did not think he would stay the course. They decided to go their separate ways, with Barnabas taking Mark and Paul taking Silas. This was good, in that there were now two teams going to two different areas to share the Gospel: but at the moment of decision, it must have been very painful.
Later, Paul reconciled with Barnabas and Mark and commended them for their work.
One of John Wesley’s famous quotes is from a sermon where he encouraged Christians in different denominations to work together.
He wrote, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.”
As our society becomes more polarized, we have less room for diversity. We have an opportunity to show people that they can live, work, play and worship together – even if they do not share the same opinions on a variety of issues.
Too many times we are divided and conquered. It should not be so.
In Graham County, we have a beloved community and we can become a beloved community by not letting anything divide us as we work together.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.