WE ARE ONE IN THE SPIRIT
By Gil Crosby, Moderator – Illinois-Wisconsin District
"When people love each other, an important kind of giving is giving in." (Leo Buscaglia)
I attended a retreat this past week end where our speaker brought to life the history of the Hebrew people and how Christianity emerged from that rich culture. Dr. Jason Zaborowski from Bradley University has the ability to bring people of the Middle East from stereotypes into everyday people who are trying to live their lives as they have been taught and their history dictates. When someone or something steps in the way that disrupts their way of living or doing things they react.
Church people react as well to things that impinge on the way they think things ought to be.. Some once said “If you want to see how forgiving a Church member is, try sitting in their pew.” Things that disrupt our routines are not looked upon kindly.. even little things like where we normally sit in Church. Churches have split over such questions as to whether we should pay the Pastor, or if the Pastor should be educated or not. After the split we find out later that maybe it is OK to pay an educated Pastor but by them we have dug in our heels and refuse to talk to the other group.
Congregations today continue to argue amongst themselves and within themselves over a lot of issues in which we all have pretty strong opinions. One saying that has characterized the Brethren and often quoted by my wife, “We agree to disagree.” We have a history of bringing concerns to District Conferences and Annual Conference and trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide us in one direction or the other. Sometimes the Spirit gives it back to us and tells us to think about it some more.
The Church of the Brethren grew out of a rural setting of self sufficient people who took care of themselves and their own. When the Church started to form in the towns and cities the rural Brethren were suspicious of those “worldly” people who worked in factories and shops and didn’t produce what they used. As the city churches grew in size and influence they began to look on the rural Brethren as backward and set in old fashioned ways. One thought the other was straying from the simple life and the other believed the first has forgotten Alexander Mack’s words of “New light may spring from the Word at any time.”
Over time and Christian love the two groups still do not 100% agree on the directions the Church may take BUT believe that our great heritage of using scripture, prayer and coming together to ask the Spirit to work among us overtakes a desire to take our marbles and go home. We can agree to disagree and still love our brothers and sisters and function as Christ’s Church of the Brethren.
We ARE one in the Spirit.. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10
"When people love each other, an important kind of giving is giving in." (Leo Buscaglia)I attended a retreat this past week end where our speaker brought to life the history of the Hebrew people and how Christianity emerged from that rich culture. Dr. Jason Zaborowski from Bradley University has the ability to bring people of the Middle East from stereotypes into everyday people who are trying to live their lives as they have been taught and their history dictates. When someone or something steps in the way that disrupts their way of living or doing things they react.
Church people react as well to things that impinge on the way they think things ought to be.. Some once said “If you want to see how forgiving a Church member is, try sitting in their pew.” Things that disrupt our routines are not looked upon kindly.. even little things like where we normally sit in Church. Churches have split over such questions as to whether we should pay the Pastor, or if the Pastor should be educated or not. After the split we find out later that maybe it is OK to pay an educated Pastor but by them we have dug in our heels and refuse to talk to the other group.
Congregations today continue to argue amongst themselves and within themselves over a lot of issues in which we all have pretty strong opinions. One saying that has characterized the Brethren and often quoted by my wife, “We agree to disagree.” We have a history of bringing concerns to District Conferences and Annual Conference and trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide us in one direction or the other. Sometimes the Spirit gives it back to us and tells us to think about it some more.
The Church of the Brethren grew out of a rural setting of self sufficient people who took care of themselves and their own. When the Church started to form in the towns and cities the rural Brethren were suspicious of those “worldly” people who worked in factories and shops and didn’t produce what they used. As the city churches grew in size and influence they began to look on the rural Brethren as backward and set in old fashioned ways. One thought the other was straying from the simple life and the other believed the first has forgotten Alexander Mack’s words of “New light may spring from the Word at any time.”
Over time and Christian love the two groups still do not 100% agree on the directions the Church may take BUT believe that our great heritage of using scripture, prayer and coming together to ask the Spirit to work among us overtakes a desire to take our marbles and go home. We can agree to disagree and still love our brothers and sisters and function as Christ’s Church of the Brethren.
We ARE one in the Spirit.. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10
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