Pursue Peace & Holiness at General Conference?
“Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
This verse was one John Wesley was drawn to many times. As the people of The United Methodist Church approach the 2008 General Conference, it would be worthwhile for all of us to spend some time meditating on the meaning of this verse. What kind of conference could we have if everyone, every caucus group, took seriously the command to “Pursue peace with everyone”? What could happen at a General Conference if the members took seriously the Wesleyan goal of pursuing holiness of heart and life?
I am tired of the constant bickering over homosexuality. It does nothing but distract us from our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. My fear is that it will ultimately lead to schism. And, if that happens, it will be a grave sin against Christ and his Church.
Rather than continuing the same old pattern of political posturing, argument, and character assassination, what if we actually followed Christ and pursued peace with one another and holiness of heart and life? Imagine what could happen at such a General Conference.
posted by Steven Manskar at 9:15 PM
2 Comments:
It's impossible at this juncture for the two sides to get along.
Let's get real for a minute, how many UMC'ers really know anything about John Wesley?
How many know the basics of their bible? How many attend bible study?
How many know the basics of Christianity vs. New Age pantheism?
To have a civil discussion that doesn't digress into an emotional ad hominem shoutfest, would tend to implicate that there has to be some background knowledge of the discussion material.
I hear and read many statements that start "well I feel.." or "I think that..." instead of starting with statements from the New Testament and the 2000 years of church history and tradition.
12:22 PM
The answer lies in those on both sides of the argument putting Christ and the center and loving each other. If we can do that then perhaps we would discover that we can serve God together in spite of our differences.
Unfortunately we are letting political and theological arguments let us forget that there are people we are talking about. This group of people are pushed out of the church and away from God by those claiming to be Christian.
Both sides need to have a forgiving heart and put Christ back in the center.
9:01 PM
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