Argue

At our most recent Outside Church Walls meeting we prayed for one member’s granddaughter and her babies who had entered labor too early, and we prayed for another member’s mother, struggling with illness. We further settled in with a group reflection.

And then we argued – passionately and faithfully. It was tense at times, with several wanting to speak at once. As we broke for lunch the most fervent found each other in the next room, not to push their cases one last time but to acknowledge common ground despite their differences.

It felt like a faithful, grace-full time. We worked from prayer and connection, allowing us to remain centered on God, to see light in the midst of the heat. Because of our conflict in the morning (not despite of, but because of), we spent good time in the afternoon reaching clarity on work we’ve been doing for some time.

None of us holds a lock on God’s truth, so much larger than any one of us – or even all of us together – can comprehend. It’s important for us to push each other, to assert and to listen, so that together we can more closely approximate the mind of God.

We live in a fractured culture, fragmenting into ever-smaller groups, each insisting on conformity to its micro-ideology. One gift we can offer is the model of advocating passionately while still listening respectfully, then coming together over what we can hold in common.

Greg