What can we do about Synod?

Two days  ago I wrote a pretty angry article, about the Synod packet. It isn't the only one I've written. 

Apparently, a lot of you share my anger. because more people read it than any of my other postings.  So if you passed around that last one,  I hope you will pass around this one , too. 

It's good to see people talking and responding ,  but honestly I have no passion for church fights. I only want to be faithful in saying what I believe God wants me to say.

And so I must.  The problems with this church cannot be fixed either by reforming Erskine or not reforming it.  They are spiritual, and have much more to do with our hearts than our heads. 

Considering the sad state of unity in the church, the decline in membership and giving, and the sad state of fellowship in a once gracious community of believers,  what are we to say?  It doesn't seem to me that we ought to be fighting.  There are other problems greater than these.   

I know some will disagree.  Some believe that purity of the church trumps peace,  and that we should have purity at any cost.  I wrote about that in one of my old blogs on four visions of the church (here) (here) 

But it is also a mistake to want peace at any cost.  Sometimes we have to fight. 

Even so, there's something we need more than either or them.  We need to change the conversation, and look for answers from God.  Without a rebirth of the spirit and a renewed passion,  we are doomed.

Our forefathers were men who lives breathed, and enjoyed prayer.  We take to it like a cat takes to water. 

Even so, our forefathers often failed when it came to loving each other.  We shouldn't make that same mistake. We should love God and love each other.

Do you remember Micah 6:8,

"He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

We'll disagree on things. We see the same circumstances differently.  But it would not matter if we gathered together around in justice, mercy, and humility.   nothing matters but what is good. 

1. First, let's be just.  "Justice" is a hot topic, but  in its most agreeable sense it means treating people with fairness.  Everyone should feel free to say what is on their mind, and not be afraid.  We can criticize what each other says without questioning that they have the right to do so. In a disfunctional organization, people are afraid to speak. They are afraid to speak or their voices are not heard. This should not be.  It's time to treat each other as equals.

Recently after church a man came up to me and made a comment about compassion. A businessman had recently told him there were two kinds of people--those who hurt him and those who helped him, and  the rest did not matter. It  that comment epitomizes to me the political mentality--people only count if they help or hurt the cause. 

Everyone counts, and everyone should be encouraged to speak. They should not be shushed, but should be respected.  It has always bothered me that the ARPs have not been able to handle conflict better than they do. They either have false tranquility or all out war.  There doesn't seem to be any way of disagreeing fairly.

2. Next, let's love mercy.  People needed to be treated mercifully,  as we like to be treated ourselves.   Their feelings matter, no matter, whether they be for us or against us. 

Politics is about making yourself look good while making your opponent look like a monster; exaggerating their problems while hiding our own. 

God requires us to love each other, even if it means we look weak doing it. The Romans persecuted Christians partially because they thought their mutual love made them look weak. They could not understand it.  Romans believed in demolishing enemies, not loving them.  They feared Christians because they believed their mutual respect weakened their iron resolve.  They were right. 

God requires it, though. We ought to be more concerned with reconciliation than retaliation, and with  love than winning.  Our battles of today matter less than our friendships.  I disagree with many of my close friends a little,  and  with some of them a lot.  If I only stayed friends with those who agreed with me, then  even my dog wouldn't like me.

3. Most of all, let's walk humbly with God.   As a denomination we very much need to pray. We all say it, but most people don't do it, and when they do, they often pray about the wrong things.  I  don't think we should be praying today for the defeat of that other side, whichever side we are on.  Instead,  let's pray for our own humility. 

We all have much to repent for.  I have been a terrible witness in many ways, and have often been more concerned about building my caree r and my reputation than getting close to God.

Ever since I left the pastorate for the school,  denominational concerns  not been on my mind.  Instead, I've been teaching an writing mostly on the disciplines of the faith,  Bible reading, meditation, praise,  thanksgiving, and  confession.  These are in my opinion far more important than being a denominational man.  Walk humbly before God seems much more important than what happens to ecclesiastical institutions. 

Could we focus more on getting humble and less on getting even?  Is it possible that we could have a time this year of confessing our own sins forgiveness each other?  It would be so much better for us to work on clearing relationships between people than cleaning house.  Then if anyone needs to go,  maybe we could part as brothers than as enemies. 

Most of the issues in our denomination are about running institutions,  power, money, and control, as well as what we believe about god.   But we don't need money, power, or control to be godly, and being right about God is not that important if we are not right with  Him. 

Ten years ago, my life was pretty much settled. I was on a good track.  Since then I've left two  churches full of people I  loved and started a new career as a teacher for which I feel woefully unqualified most of the time. I  still grieve for both congregations, and yearn to preach.

But this  isn't a complaint--on the contrary, it been a very good thing for me. Once I was out of my comfort zone, I discovered how much God provided.  My life had to be out of control before I could allow God to run it. 

What's true of us as individuals is also true of us as a group.  It's more important  for this denomination to walk humbly before God than that we settled and prosperous.   Let's pray and get humble before we come to Synod. 

In one of my previous blogs I threw out a suggestion.  Let's get some prayer partners and pray not for the synod, but for ourselves, that we can get humble before Him.