An Example of Political Conflict Done Well

OK, it’s been a very long time since I’ve posted here – if you’re still looking once in a while, thank you! I’ve been on “summer schedule” which has meant relaxing a whole lot of my mental rules!

I came across this posting that caught my attention and thought worth sharing because I think it portends things in our future. Willow Creek church in Chicago was involved in a controversy. The adversary in the controversy was a gay group, but I think that’s not very important. What’s important to me about this controversy is two things:

1. Seems to me that in the future of our society, being a Christian will invite pushback. We’re moving into a time where being a Christian will give you no slack, no automatic respect, no “pass” from controversy and antagonism. I don’t wanna get all apocalyptic here; I’m just looking at what seems to be a trend stretching over my 60 years experience.
2. If that’s true, the question will increasingly become “what will be a truly Christian response to such antagonism and controversy?” I think Willow Creek’s response, at least as shown in the video, is an excellent one; one that we other Christians should pay attention to and practice now because it’s only going to become moreso.

Is this a bad thing or a good thing? Bad I guess because nobody likes to get into fights (ok some of us do!). But it’s a good thing too. Because Jesus never told his disciples “this will be a piece of cake” when talking about their discipleship. When times are easy it’s easy to fool ourselves about what we are. When times get hard and push comes to shove is when we find out what our true character is.

Here’s the post and video – see for yourself.