David Chats

Connecting with God through Community

My previous post on the Celtic Way caused me to reflect on the shift that has taken place within me over the years in relation to communicating the good news of Jesus. 

Long before I began to grapple with formal categories of epistemology*, I observed differences between those who came to faith in Jesus through belief in propositional truths and those who came through the experience of God in Christian community.
 
Both groups expressed clear faith, but those who first believed through intellectual assent often found it hard to ground their discipleship in a faith community, while those who experienced the love of God through community usually persevered in their faith journey.  Conversion without integration in a faith community sometimes resulted in seeds that sprouted quickly but did not survive the thorns and rocky paths.

I write this as one who came to faith through propositional apologetics.  Prior to "Belonging before Believing" finding its way into popular parlance, I observed the phenomenon in my congregations.  Welcome, acceptance, and a safe place became keys to the process (not event) of conversion.  So I want to suggest that relational, community based evangelism is contextually appropriate for today not only because it relates to post-moderns but also because it is more likely to result in fruit that remains.

*Defined narrowly, epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief. As the study of knowledge, epistemology is concerned with the following questions: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? As the study of justified belief, epistemology aims to answer questions such as: How we are to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal or external to one's own mind? Understood more broadly, epistemology is about issues having to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge in particular areas of inquiry. [Source]

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Believing/Belonging/Bounded/Centred

Commenting on my recent Celts and Post-Moderns post, Anne has asked for my perspective on “Invited people to Belong before they Believed” .  Here it is:

Some Christian communities in the past have drawn very solid lines between "insider" and "outsider".  For example, the first church that I served as Pastor used to have a railing and non-members had to move behind that rail while the members participated in the Lord's Supper (closed Communion).  Other churches draw lighter lines - it may be ok for a non Christian to play in the church soccer team but not in the Sunday morning band.  Yet others will accept the non-christian band member believing that their participation in a worshipping community could enable their transformation into becoming a worshipper.  Clearly, all traditional churches draw lines somewhere - leadership, preaching, communion.  But true acceptance and belonging has strong social, emotional and spiritual power: Jesus touched a leper and said to the tax collector "today I must eat at your house".  The passage I'm preaching on this Sunday includes Jesus' words:

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31) 

People who have a true sense of welcome, belonging and acceptance just as they are, are more likely to embrace the faith of the welcomer than those who are rejected, ostracised or judged.   They often have a sense of belonging before they believe.

Perhaps Stephen expresses it better in his earlier comment when he talks about bounded and centred sets:

"The centred-set model has Jesus at the centre and, the Word then becomes both the norming norm and the reference point. The boundaries, however, are fluid and elastic. This model does not completely do away with certitude, but does temper it. The model is a kind of "soft-postmodern" approach to knowledge. Positively, it gives room for reform and correction without lapsing into the utter relativism of hard-postmodernism."

Let me amplify Stephen's comment. In Australia, with its wide open spaces, large  cattle stations can't be easily fenced.  But, as long as there is water and food, animals will not stray far from their source of nourishment.  They don't need a fence. Furthermore, when a person is travelling toward the source of Living Water it is not just their proximity to the source but the direction of their travel that is informative.

I expect that there were both sociological (acceptance) and theological reasons that impacted the woman of Samaria at the well (John 4).

Over the years, I can think of several people in my congregations who found a true sense of acceptance and belonging before they came to belief in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

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There's something about The Cross

In a pluralistic culture, where diversity, tolerance and acceptance are highly valued, the absolute claims of Jesus are a stumbling block.  Is Jesus THE only way to God?  Can God be crucified?  Is the cross the supreme sign of grace and glory?  Melito, Bishop of Sardis in the second century puts it this way:

"O unprecedented murder! Unprecedented crime!
The Sovereign has been made unrecognisable by his naked body and is not even allowed a garment to keep him from view. That is why the lights of heaven turned away, and the day was darkened."

About 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, when writing to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul had this to say:

"For Christ (sent me) to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

Yes, there's something about the cross!!

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Celts and Post-Moderns

As  part of helping a friend with an assignment, I read this distinction between the Roman Model and the Celtic Model

Roman Model

• Nature of God--Emphasis on Transcendence
• Nature of Man--Total Depravity
• Power of God--Stability and order
• Organization--Preserving institutions and traditions
• Culture--Thought Roman culture superior
• Religion--Treated other religions as irrelevant or demonic
• Communication--Emphasized a "left-brained," rational, propositional, dialectic, doctrinal model
• Mission--Began churches when people believed

Celtic Model

• Nature of God--Emphasis on Immanence
• Nature of Man--Image of God in man blurred and twisted, but not beyond recognition
• Power of God--Dynamic activity
• Organization--Advancing a movement through community
• Culture--Worked contextually and indigenously
• Religion--Saw the religion of pagans as evidence of spiritual interest and preparation for the Gospel
• Communication--Emphasized a more "right-brained," imaginative approach
• Mission--Invited people to belong before they believed

While, like most either/or models, the differences are expressed too starkly, this is a good introduction to the work done by George G. Hunter* in alerting us to the methodological shifts that become necessary within culture shifts.  Rather than adopting a fortress mentality and railing against post-modernism, as many evangelicals do, we would do well to adopt a mission mindset and look for the signs of God already at work in our culture.

*Note: Dr. George G. Hunter III is the dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of numerous well-known books dealing with evangelism, mission, church growth, ministry and emerging ways of "doing church." His most recent writing project is The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach The West Again (Abingdon).   

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Learning Through Disagreement

I try to read theology fairly widely and learn from those with perspectives different from mine.  Usually they cause me to think through what I believe and my personal views are either strengthened or modified by engaging with their viewpoint. 

When I only engage with those of similar mind, I find my perspectives are likely to be strengthened but not modified or broadened.  On the other hand, sometimes an author has views that are so dissimilar to mine that I don't bother to engage. Bishop Shelby Spong fits the latter category - I've thumbed through his books in a bookshop but never bought or read one.

Similarly, when I meet to pray with folk from different denominations I find myself drawn to their different forms of spirituality and enriched by them.  But if I meet up with dogmatic people from the "lunatic fringe" I don't take the time to engage deeply.  Their views are fixed and I feel we have little to contribute to each other.

Usually I think that the approach I take, as expressed above, is sober and sensible.  But I've been reflecting on John the Baptist this past week.  I suspect that if I was one of the professional religious people of his time, I would have dismissed John, and his message.  And been much the poorer for it.

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Comments

I'm enjoying the way Comments on my Posts enhance, fill out and give perspective to the topics I raise in my Blog.  Because we have such insightful and articulate people who Comment, I've come to see my Posts as being merely thought-starters for a wider discussion.  By the time we move on to the next thread, I'm always richer for the perspectives raised in Comments.

Over the years, I've had similar thoughts about preaching.  Often one or two people will comment on a text or application after I have preached and I'd say, "I wish I knew that before I preached" or "That perspective would have really enriched my message". 

So I've toyed with the idea of collaborative preaching.  The concept would be to bring the text for the week before a group of people who would wrestle with how best to preach it in our local context.  Exegesis, links, illustrations, applications would be worked through by the group and then left for the designated preacher to weave together.  I expect this will enhance the message and also serve as a training ground for budding preachers.  We could collaborate on line but I think it may be best done face to face. 

So for those who live close to Canterbury, do you want to be part of such a group?  Let me know (and keep those comments flowing...).

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Balance

I have always thought that going to the footy was primarily a social occasion but yesterday, for the first time ever, I went by myself.  And enjoyed the experience.  It wasn't because the Hawks won a close match, and it wasn't because a stranger walked up to me as I was lining up at the ticket booth and gave me a free ticket.  After several days of being involved with lots of conversation, I think I enjoyed the experience of being alone - with 40,000 other people!!  As an extrovert, I still had the stimulus of the crowd and the action on the field but I didn't have to engage.

It reminded me that, in our courting days prior to marriage, when a movie followed by dinner was a standard date, Anita usually said "No movie, just dinner".  That pattern has continued through our marriage and we rarely watch a movie.  Why?  Because movies and conversation don't go together and Anita says that quality time together is about interacting with each other, not watching others interact on a screen.

The balance between engagement and disengagement is a delicate dance orchestrated by our personalities and social situations.  We live in interesting times: Video games and TV keep us remote from people while computers and mobile phones give us constant access to people.  All provide opportunities for "innocent" addiction - but to whatever we are addicted, by that are we enslaved.

Time to shut down the computer and head home - in an effort to strike the right balance!!

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Power and Control

Because I'm no expert on International Affairs, I'm perplexed by the actions of the Burmese military junta in restricting foreign aid to their people in need.  Perhaps it is because to give up control is to give up power. And to give up control is to be open to change - and change is unpredictable and difficult to manage.  It perplexes us that, to the Burmese leaders, exercising power by being in control is more important than the welfare of so many of their people.

Yet I observe a similar phenomenon in some churches.  Powerful people maintain control because of a fear of change and an inability to manage change.  And people suffer.

Perhaps we need to ponder the example of our Lord Jesus who gave up power and control and underwent the most phenomenal change: from the throne room of heaven to a cattle shed in Bethlehem; from the lordship of the universe to the cross - for our sake.

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Church Size

How large is too large?  My previous post, "Friendly or Friendship?", reminds me of the debate about church size.  Is there an optimum size for church health?  I think not.  Rather, churches need to restructure to optimise both mission and discipleship. 

Some may choose to remain small or medium sized by intentionally planting new churches or feeding people into existing churches.  That is a mission strategy.  But churches that choose to remain small for fellowship or discipleship reasons are plain selfish.

Others may choose to grow large because mission is easier, but they need to work harder on discipleship and fellowship so that people are not long term passengers or consumers who don't contribute.

All church sizes have their challenges and opportunities, but transitioning size has its costs.  And the pastors and key leaders need to be willing to pay the price.  For example, I remember when we were breaking the 250 barrier I knew that I needed to be willing to pay the price of a loss of intimacy with my people.  When we got to 500 there were several homes that I had never been into.  By the time we got to 800 I was facing the occasional criticism that I knew some people well but gave little time to others.  It was a reality that I had to live with, otherwise I would have limited growth by my desire to know all people well.  Instead, I needed to restructure and let go.

Not all churches can or will grow because of factors such as poor soil (for example in Islamic countries or where there are rapidly changing demographics or where there has been significant internal conflict).  But churches that choose not to deal with their growth or health inhibitors are sinful.  That's strong language - but lost people matter too much for us to be overly concerned about the niceties of language!

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Friendly or Friendship?

Our webmaster, Don, drew my attention to this blog that raises the well known distinction between a friendly church and a church where people can make friends.  For years church growth specialists have pointed out that a friendly church makes a good initial impression but disillusionment sets in unless people are able to make friends.  There is a strong correlation between incorporation and friendship.

 
Church growth theory helps us understand that, despite good intentions, there is a sociological basis to the poor incorporation of newcomers.  Newcomers who do not have a defined role (task) or who make few or no friends (relationship) tend to drift out the back door while those with a task, or with five or more friends, remain.  Churches make the twin mistakes of waiting a long time before trusting newcomers with a role and expecting their long term members to be at the forefront of making friends with newcomers.  But long term members often have their friendship quotient filled. True friendship requires time and energy.  While most people want to invest this time and energy,  their existing church relationship mitigate against this desire.

 
The solution?  Link newcomers with newcomers - people who are actively looking for new relationships and have the time to develop them - or link  them with small groups that meet regularly.

 
Does this mean that friendly people are unimportant unless they have the time and capacity to develop friendships?  Not at all.  Friendly people have a key role in the initial welcome and being the link persons who assist friendship to develop.

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Faith and Depression

"Faith and Depression" is the title of the ABC TV Encounter program this coming Sunday (May 11).  But a major sub-set is hope - and the loss of hope.  Focussed around the experiences of several people from an evangelical Christian tradition, the program explores the complexity of depression and, thankfully, does not come up with pat answers.  Churches don't always deal well with people who are depressed but, overall, the advantages of a faith community are significant.

The interplay between psychiatry, counselling and a faith community is touched upon and, amidst the pain of depression, the recognition that life can be deeper, and richer because of the experience.  Reflecting upon a "failed" ministry experience that led to his depression, Rowland Croucher says,

"That experience was a great help, it opened up areas of my life, created a journey towards a more intuitive spirituality." 

And Dr Eugen Koh says,

"I consider people who experience mental illness and depression as people who are, if you like, more real. They have lived. They have confronted the reality of their inner being, in a way. They are the ones who have sailed to the edge of the emotional world, and come back to tell us, if they can, through their art, perhaps, what that was like. To tell us it was awful, it was scary, and there's a dark, dark abyss down there. But they have sailed to the edge."

Only a masochist would choose depression, but I'm pleased there is a silver lining for many who experience depression.  [By the way, the soundtrack on the program includes the Jeff Buckley version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah (see my post on 11 April)].

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Pay Rise for Teachers

Paul's comment on one of my recent posts, "Faith at Work", coherently summed up motivation in the workplace:

"As an employer, it didn't take me too long to work out that it wasn't money that motivated most people - it was job satisfaction/happiness. Provided the wages weren't an issue, ie. that they were sufficient and competitive with the market place, bonuses and incentives fell far short of their expected motivational value.The things that turned ordinary performers into exceptional ones were, job satisfaction, a sense of fulfillment, an alignment of personal values with corporate values, and a genuine expression of appreciation for a job well done from the employer."

 

Well said, Paul. 

But I was so pleased to hear yesterday about the pay rise for teachers in Victoria.  For too long teachers have felt undervalued and unappreciated.  Jokes about long holidays and short working hours don't help - especially when I know how hard teachers really do work.  We entrust our children to teachers - not just for literacy and numeracy, but as those who will assist in developing their social and emotional maturity, their life skills and the values that they hold. 

Yes, I'm so pleased that our teachers feel valued by a pay rise, but I hope they will also get a deep appreciation of their value in shaping our children, our nation, our world.

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Partnership Covenant

Who participates in informing the decisions and direction of a local church?  What are the responsibilities and privileges of being part of a local church?  What boundaries define belonging to a local church? 

To have no boundaries means that the local footy club could walk into a church business meeting and influence its outcomes.  Or a person who was baptised many years ago but is not in close relationship with either his Lord or the church can have significant input on the basis of a past decision that has no continuing fruit, while an active, fruitful non-baptised person is excluded from full participation in the community of faith.  These are the kinds of issues raised in my recent post about membership "Faith plus What?"

I mentioned that I had used a Partnership Covenant that addressed living relationships and responsibilities, renewed periodically, and that I would post it for information and comment.  So here it is:

PARTNERSHIP COVENANT

Together with one another, we covenant with God to exalt Him who has called us into a relationship with Himself, each other and the world.

Recognising that God has called me to be a part of the [Church name] and to build relationships with people and God,

I covenant:

1. To be faithful in the worship of God within the context of Christian Community while seeking to discover and apply His revealed truth.

2. To explore my spiritual gifting and to offer my gifts and abilities where possible in the service of the Church and the wider community, and to help others in the discovery, validation, strengthening and expression of their gifting.

3. To do my part towards building a genuine community of love by offering acceptance and forgiveness and being compassionate with other’s failings as we seek healing and growth towards wholeness in Christ.

4. To proclaim Christ in word, deed, and the power of the Holy Spirit, to serve people as a community of the Servant King, and to work for justice.

5. To give of my financial means systematically, joyfully, sacrificially and lovingly, recognising that such giving does something for God, others and self. (2 Corinthians 8: 1-15; 9:  6-15)

6. To seek to grow in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22, 23) and to live ethically and morally to the glory of God so that the cause of Christ is not weakened nor the Kingdom shamed.

7. To do all this within the context of permeating prayer as we live to the glory of God who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2: 9).

Signed ----------------------------------

Name ----------------------------------

Date   ----------------------------------

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Faith at Work

In reflecting upon the Emerging/Missional Church reclaiming the work place as a primary place of mission, I'm coming to the conclusion that the Missional Church does not go far enough.  Yes, there is a need to get the gospel out of the traditional local church structures and into the workplace, but the work place needs to be valued and celebrated not just as a conduit for effective mission, but because of the intrinsic value of work.

God is a worker - not only as Creator but "my Father is still at work" says Jesus (John 5:17) - and humankind, created in His image, is given a mandate to work in both Genesis 1 and 2.  Yes, the Fall made work harder and less productive (Genesis 3) but we are still called to serve and provide for others through our work (Ephesians 4; Colossians 3).

Whenever we think simply in terms of "I work to live" or "I work to earn enough to provide for my family/my church etc" we devalue God's purpose in work and our role as workers.  Often Pastors are the culprit for we tend to value more highly work done within the church than work done in an office, factory or farm.

The problem of overwork or a lack of balance in life does not take away from the value of either work or the worker - let's remember the injunction of Paul, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Col 3: 23, 24).

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Bad or Broken?

Churches can be places of great hope and healing when things go well, and places of hurt and hostility when things go badly.  The pain usually revolves around poor behaviour and broken relationships.  What lies behind this?  The issues are often complex but my good friend, John Sweetman, Principal of Malyon College in Brisbane, invites us to begin by asking a foundational question: "Is this person bad or broken?"

Few people in churches are "bad" and intentionally cause hurt, but many are "broken" and their dysfunctional behaviour arises out of their brokenness.  Behaviour that reveals a lack of security, significance, and self-worth often stems from this brokenness and is highlighted in the intensity of church interpersonal relationships.

Understanding root causes enables us to look beyond the surface and deal with the bad behaviour of broken people with compassion instead of rejection, resolve instead of avoidance, and love instead of hatred.  This leads to neither tolerance nor acceptance but to what David Augsburger calls "Care-fronting" - caring enough to confront.

(By the way, this links with my last post on Membership - the first qualification for being a member of Christ's Church is knowing that I don't deserve to be a member; it's all about grace).

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Faith Plus What?

Membership in most Australian Baptist Churches is closed to those followers of Jesus who have not been baptised after coming to faith in Jesus.

Apart from the fact that there is little evidence of formal membership in the early church, it strikes me as odd that a person who is a member of the Kingdom of God can be denied membership in His church. 

Don't get me wrong - I believe that the New Testament teaches that the normative pattern is for a person to be baptised by immersion following their coming to faith in Jesus.  I teach and practice this pattern.  But this is a matter of obedience and discipleship - not a marker for inclusion or exclusion.  Should it require more to be a member of a local church than a member of the Church?  There are lots of nuances to the question but this is a starting point.

Let's hear your perspectives!!

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Leonard Cohen

Listening today to yet another cover version of Cohen's "Hallelujah", I reflected upon my appreciation over many years of this poet, singer-songwriter. 

I was hooked from his very first album with songs like Susanne; So long, Marianne; Sisters of Mercy becoming songs that I listened to repeatedly as I pondered the various possible nuances of their lyrics.

I think its the complexity of Leonard Cohen that most attracts me.  With biblical imagery, sexuality, and depression woven through his lyrics, this "suicide singer" (he was sometimes suicidal and his dark lyrics could lead a depressed person to consider suicide) was on a constant search for meaning and purpose in life.

It seems to me that many creative, thoughtful people are prone to depression.  Complex people can be hard to live with, but there is something about their unwillingness to coast through life with simple formulas and something about their wrestle with life that I find deeply attractive.

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Tassie Musings #2

Last week, on our way to Port Arthur, Anita and I stopped by the Tessellated Pavements and marvelled at the symmetrical cracks in the rock caused (most likely) by salt deposits as the tides washed in and out.  A few kilometers further, we viewed a blow hole caused by the oceans relentless pounding on the rock.  Tiny granules of salt that expanded and contracted and the fluid movement of waves both caused change in seemingly impervious  rock. 

We returned to storms in Melbourne and a large tree branch on the road opposite our driveway.

It seems that change, whether it occurs imperceptibly or suddenly, is inevitable.  Nature impacts nature; life impacts life; people impact people.  We shape, and are shaped, by every interaction that occurs in our life - whether we notice it or not.

What implications may this have for the way we live?

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Tassie Musings #1

Visiting Port Arthur last week had a greater impact upon me than I anticipated.

The dual images of an inhumane penal system combined with the site of a more recent massacre caused me to reflect upon the consequences of deliberate choices that people make and the arbitrary actions of others.  Twelve years after the massacre, visiting the site raised  memories and emotions that I had forgotten.

The Port Arthur massacre rallied us as a nation.  I remember putting aside my previously prepared sermon and preaching about the issues raised and our response to them. 

As a nation, one response was to change the gun laws (despite the militant objections from a strong pro gun lobby).

I wonder whether we went far enough.  Today a friend told me how, earlier this week, she was walking with her mother on a secluded beach in Queensland when a single gunshot shattered a knuckle in her mother's hand.  It appeared to be a random but deliberate act.  The trauma will live on.

Will we ever learn?

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Positive Energy

Earlier this year, on our first day back in Melbourne, we were taken to an Indian restaurant, Aashiana, in Belmore Road, Balwyn.  We have since returned there with both friends and family and have told several people about the restaurant.

By the time you read this, I expect to be in Tasmania.  Anita enjoyed her visit to Tassie as a schoolgirl and has often said that she would like me to experience the beauty of the place.  It's taken us a long time to get there, but it has never dropped off our shortlist of "things to do".  There's something about a positive experience that invites us to share it with others.

Church can be like that.  During this season, there is a vibrancy and vitality about life at Canterbury that encourages us to invite others to be part of it.  People are enthusiastic - positive energy is contagious.

A good review makes a significant difference.  What kind of a "review" do you give to others about God, about Church, about life?

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Labels

I've just had a stimulating conversation about the pros and cons of attaching "Labels" to people.  Sometimes labels help to identify and clarify. 

I notice that when visiting a new place I often comment: "That reminds me of..." or "That looks like...".  We categorise and systematise in relation to our frame of reference.

On the other hand, labels can mislead and cause us to prejudge as well as prejudice.  When we categorise others or ourselves, we leave less room for growth and development.  But all people are dynamic; we change constantly as we engage with life and labeling can be most unhelpful.

It seems to me there is a delicate balance: we need to label in order to understand but labeling can also diminish and distort our understanding.  I'm grappling with my understanding even as I write and I'm not sure where the solutions lie.  What do you think?

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Go The Hawks!!!

It may be appropriate that week one of the AFL season coincided with Easter, our season of Hope.  It seems that AFL fans begin each year with renewed hope.  Maybe this year...  By midyear, hopes have faded for many and loyal fans are already beginning to think about the following year.  Maybe next year...

I've just returned from my first funeral service at Canterbury.  It was for a 97 year old saint who overcame significant hardships and brought joy to many.  But the theme of hope was based not upon what she had done for others but upon what Jesus Christ had done for her.  Easter hope, not based upon our accomplishments but His.  Not based upon "maybe" but founded upon the resurrection of Jesus.  The author of Hebrews calls this hope "an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19).

By the way, the Hawks crushed the Demons (how appropriate on Easter Sunday!!) and, for week one at least, are on top of the ladder.  My hopes are high!!!

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Bruised Reeds

Henri Nouwen's comment on wild reeds (see my previous post) led me to thinking about some of my favourite words from Scripture: "A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not establish" (Isaiah 42:3).  I love the gentleness of a God who cares for hurting, struggling and despairing people.  These words became a reality through the life and ministry of Jesus (Matthew 12:20).  No wonder hurting people sought Jesus out.

Sometimes though, God's church is much too judgmental about hurting, broken, sinful people.  No wonder such people often avoid the church and, when they are among us, they are quick to cover their wounds lest we reject them for their woundedness.

Yet this is particularly the season when we reflect on One who was "wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities".

Yes, it was "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".  If God loves us enough to accept us, surely the least we can do is accept one another.

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