A Response to "Whose On First"

Whose On First

First, I cant help but be distracted by the use of "whose" instead of "who's," but I recognize that is not the issue...

I think that John and Andrew are right in their discussion about the church eating itself alive. Why do we need to fight incessantly about these issues? I hope that all of us are constantly looking at the fruits of our lives. If something we are doing or something we are saying is bearing bad fruit, I hope that we are changing our approaches. Why can we not trust each other to be seeking truth and the love of God? Why can we not all have a higher opinion of the holy spirit? If we did, we wouldnt worry about any of this becuase we would trust that God is in control and that he will see his people through. If we think someone has a bad theology, let God handle it. What are we really going to do? Has yelling at the street preacher who is yelling at those around him ever accomplished anything? I will stop there before I venture too close to "cant we all just get along."

I do want to note my support of Andrew's comment about feeling that the gospel is never about pissing someone off (a bit paraphrased). Everytime I have said this there is the inevitable response of "But the Gospel is offensive..." Yes, I agree that the gospel is offensive, but it is not our job to offend people with it. Our call is to always be able to give a defense for the reason we believe (note the word 'defense') and to do it with "gentleness and respect." The church would have less people pissed at it if we held this as a value with any kind of seriousness.