in an open letter to all Christians everywhere...

Dear all Christians everywhere (or, perhaps, especially in America):

Stop.

Seriously, stop.

Take a moment and reflect on the week you've just had.

Was it busy?
Infiltrated by failed expectations, change, worry, anxiety?
Emotionally exhausting?

I hear ya.

But I'm not as concerned of what happened to you this week than I am concerned about your response to the events of your week.

What have you thought?
...said?
......done?
.........have you regretted any of it?

Yeah, me too.

I am a blessed woman to have friends and acquaintances on polar opposites of the political and theological spectrums. Many of you, whether you realize it or not, challenge me and cause me to think differently about the world around me. And quite possibly help me solidify current beliefs and, um, liquefy others. :)

But frankly, I'm tired of the fighting. It greatly grieves me to read the verbal slams against each other in the name of "making a point" or "having right on your side", instead of treasuring the opportunities we have of connecting with one another at the touch of a keystroke. Now, I'm not saying that God is only affirming truths and beliefs held by theologically conservative right-wing toe-tapping evangelicals (heaven forbid!), nor does God only affirm truths and beliefs held by theologically progressive leftist head-banging evangelicals (again, heaven forbid!). Call me a crazy nut-case, but God's truth can be found...and is found...in Christians who believe differently than you do, whether you like it or not.

We need each other. And all the crazy that goes with it.
We've got to find some common ground again.
And it starts with emancipating our compulsive need to demand conformity to our own (read: preferred) beliefs.

To clarify: this does not mean, for example, that preaching the Word is unnecessary. Rather, preaching is an art form that is used to challenge, provoke thought or meditation, convict, or persuade. We do not forcibly demand people to repent of sin and choose to trust Christ as Lord and Savior; rather, we preach the gospel message to persuade, agree that the Holy Spirit convicts an unbeliever, and it is the choice of the person to respond to the persuasion of the Spirit-filled preacher and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

What I do mean is that followers of Jesus Christ are unified by the gospel message He brings:

1 - Jesus came.
2 - Jesus died.
3 - Jesus rose.

And while I wholeheartedly agree that discussions of theology and doctrine are imperative to our spiritual health and sanctification, we need to get back to the basics of loving God and loving neighbor...

...which, I would hope, includes treating one another with respect when we enter into disagreements about whether or not to endorse this movie or that book or that other issue. *insert growling here*

If we return to that common ground, maybe we can begin again to use our words for meaningful dialogue, not for weapons of mass destruction.