May 16 - Diversity

I have enjoyed a new experience in recent weeks. I was asked sometime ago to serve as a consultant to a congregation mired in some difficulties. This group is quite different from the ecclesiastical "niche" I have lived in and been most comfortable with for several decades. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The terminology is unique and I have had to learn a new vocabulary in some respects. Instead of "elders" it is "vestry". Instead of "pastor" it is "rector". Instead of board chair it is "head warden". The traditions are different too.

But, after that the differences soon end. What I have learned is that the leaders of this congregation are basically just like leaders in other churches. They have similar desires and aspirations. They use different forms and terms but they seek to worship the same God we all love. They look to Christ as the only Hope for salvation and for an eternity with God. And, I have learned they too have been impacted by the Fall. I am not referring here to a season of the year. I am speaking about human depravity. That is after all why they hired me in the first place. They were having trouble getting along. Is that unique? Hardly! Conflict and strife, misunderstandings and hurt feelings, are universal in all churches.

I must say that the work I have been doing for a number of years now involving various faith traditions has been among the most enjoyable of my entire life. Besides the church work I refer to above, in the last several weeks I have interviewed missionary candidates from several Latin American countries. In one case I needed an interpreter because my Spanish is not good enough for the work of assessments I do for missions. It has been a tremendous experience to interact with people who are so diverse. I am happy to say that I number among my friends today, people from all sorts of church backgrounds and traditions. I am learning more about what the body of Christ really looks like. It feels like my world has become much larger! I have learned to laugh with my friends about our differences instead of fighting with them.

I have written before about the beauty of diversity. God must like it too because He created all of us with uniqueness. Nowhere else on earth is there someone exactly like me! Good thing don't you think? But seriously, I believe differences ought to be celebrated and appreciated. Up to a point of course! Ultimately there needs to be common ground when it comes to our belief system. Not for a minute am I suggesting that we all can just believe what we wish or what our culture has taught us. No, I do not believe that at all. I believe in the one faith, historically delivered to the saints!

However, I think many people are just like I once was. They move in one faith tradition and rarely have much meaningful interaction with those who approach things from another perspective. In truth, I wonder if we sometimes are a little afraid of other expressions of worship and teaching. There is often suspicion, competition, ridicule, perhaps contempt, and even outright rejection of those who celebrate their faith in different ways. Maybe the worst of all my concerns is that we sometimes develop a kind of smugness where we believe we have a corner on the truth and that we are better than those ...............!

We dare not generalize and say that all Baptists, (Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, etc etc) all believe this or that! It is a very dangerous thing to place groups into predefined boxes. Within every group there is variety. There are those who are quite conservative on some issues and more liberal on others.

We ought to celebrate our common ground in Jesus and His provision of salvation by His grace and our faith response to it. When opportunities arise to explore our different viewpoints and practices let us do so but always with humility and charity towards others. Let us always approach others with an open, outstretched hand and never with a closed, clenched fist. On some issues the other guy may be more right than you are.

I am off to my next diversity challenge. I am assisting a young pastor in an independent church prepare for ordination. He has written a paper that I suspect about which some members of his ordination council will take issue. My job is to moderate this council. It should be interesting! I am really looking forward to it.

Have a great week thinking about the diversity of the Body!

By His Grace,

Rick