new church life: march/april 2015
students in Bryn Athyn College who are new to the New Church and have their
own faith and convictions. It does no good to hammer them with “the truth.”
What works, he says – and is a model for all of us – is not to compromise our
beliefs but to “hold our differences lightly” so that people can reason together
and come to a sense of common ground and unity.
Within the Church, which seems increasingly divided by differences on
such issues as women in the ministry and gay marriage, that sense of reasoning
together while “holding differences lightly” – in a spirit of charity – should be a
model for our larger “classroom” as well.
(BMH)
what are our expectations?
Jeremy noted that one of the challenges in devising strategies for the future of
the Church is that we place few expectations on our members. Many churches
have clear expectations, such as annual renewal of membership with specific
pledges, including tithing.
We rightly honor the principle of free will, which should be a call within
each member to demonstrate commitment. A great many do. But part of our
reality is that historically only about 20% of members financially support the
uses of the General Church. That is free will but not what we should have a
right to expect.
In his 1995 best-seller, The Purpose-Driven Church, the Rev. Rick Warren
said: “A healthy church cannot help but grow, and an unhealthy church will
never grow.”
We are challenged on many levels to manage the change and challenges
confronting the Church, but this is not just the responsibility of the
administration and the Board. It is for all of us. We all need to be involved in
the life, growth and health of the Church – holding differences lightly, working
together in charity, and doing our best to be led by the Lord.
(BMH)
free speech and its abuse
Freedom without responsibility does not last. Preserving the right of free
speech, for instance, requires that it be exercised responsibly; there is no right
to yell “fire!” in a crowded theater.
Free speech is a “right” because our Creator endows us with the gift of
thinking freely, and the ability to put our thoughts into words. This is why
freedom of speech is an “inalienable” right; it follows from something inherent
in human nature itself.
We have a right to use the gifts we have from the Divine, but that right is
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