Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Life Lessons from GRW Conference - Part 2

We've all heard the seemingly farfetched stories of churches splitting over what color to paint the sanctuary. When we hear these stories we think, "There's no way... this is the body of Christ. there's no way we could be that petty." But we are! We so are! How many times have you asked someone why they don't go to church and their answer has something to do with not liking the style of music or someone at the church is too different from them? It would seem that human nature is the biggest obstacle in the church. We are too selfish, too comfortable, too whatever to actually get along with each other.

That's a load of bunk.

During the banquet Saturday night it occurred to me that I had been spending the weekend with a startling variety of individuals. There, in a wild dancing crowd of women (well, it was a romance writers' convention) were tattoos, short skirts, and wild hair rubbing shoulders with diamonds, gowns, and sleek chignons. A group of people with interests running from inspirational influence to vampires and werewolves, erotica to super squeaky no-shirts-off clean and we were all focused on the same thing: becoming better writers.

We all love what we do so much that we put aside everything we do differently to improve the things we do the same. So is that it? As a church do we just not love Jesus enough to say the rest of it is details? Maybe there's too many options. If we don't like this church we can go find another one. Whatever it is, I had to wonder why, for that moment in time I saw more unity in a hotel ballroom than I see most weeks in a church sanctuary.

What are your thoughts? Why can't we, as a body of believers, unite on the one thing we have in common and move past the differences?

2 comments: