Why unity is better than uniformity and Why do we turn to violence and turn away from talking...?

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then our attitudes are more powerful than gunpowder or ammunition.  Yet, our culture has normalized hating the people we disagree with — apparently we all want to be the one holding the microphone controlling the conversation.  But this is to our detriment because when we lose confidence in each other, we lose confidence in ourselves.  We are like cars merging on the highway refusing to yield to one other, causing a catastrophic pileup from our inability to dialogue.  

What is interfering with our ability to hold civil conversions?  Like boiling all of the flavor out, we’ve rendered all of our views down to “either/or” thinking and we’ve lost the “both/and” option because not only do we disagree on what’s best for us all or the path towards whatever is best for us, we lack a mutual respect for opposing viewpoints.

Why can’t the government just make us behave nicely?  Growing up we never had a house key, when I asked my dad why we didn’t lock our doors he told me, “Locks keep honest people honest.”  Stringent laws will not solve our society’s differences, especially the ones that turn violent.  

We need to really examine why we turn to violence as a solution and ask, is all violence preventable?  London England plans to make the purchase of pointed kitchen knives off limits, which makes you wonder how far can a nation go in their attempts to regulate what a criminal can get their hands on.  

As Cain conspired, he never conceptualized or considered a carbine — when deranged people are determined, there’s little to no deterrent that can distract them from devastation.  For example, if we had the ability to legislate morality effectively, then the citizens of Chicago could enjoy walking their streets at night and their rowdier residents wouldn’t look like Swiss cheese every weekend.  

Do differences generate violence?  Any student of the four Gospels knows that Jesus surrounded Himself with a diverse group of apostles, He had tax collectors and fishermen and zealots; the early church had to learn how to deal with different views, if you read the Gospels and Acts it is abundantly clear.  Tragically, we’ve lost sight of the value of diversity as political violence now seems to be an acceptable fact of life.  

There are certain people who we either idolize or demonize, polarizing personalities have the ability to capture our attention, they attract likeminded people, and of course they infuriate people who refuse to be influenced by them.  When it comes to polarizing people, we are either impressed with or intimidated by, we are either drawn to, or threatened by them.  Mature people know how to ignore ideas that are illogical, without feeling the need to shame or insult the people who promote foolishness, immature people on the other hand feel the need to slander everyone and anyone who holds a contrary view that’s different from theirs, but wise people can listen to people with whom they disagree and learn from them too, without feeling hostility towards them.  

Much of the empathy and sympathy that many progressives expressed last month seemed clouded by caveats and clichés, conservatives lack a stellar record of supporting detractors who suffer as well.  What we need is unity, not uniformity -- indoctrination is abominable and conformity is claustrophobic.  Tolerance for and common respect for the rights of others to form and articulate their own views is what is needed now more than ever. 

We have to be willing to accept challenges to our perceptions, if we are to challenge the views of others. We must hear people out as we would like to be listened to. We must give people the same benefit of the doubt that we ourselves wish to receive. We have to find common ground with which we agree upon and build upon that and offer the same amount of acceptance that we would hope to be accepted by.

Consider I Peter 3:8-9 &:15, “[8] Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. [9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing…, [15] but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”  When we lose sight of the reality that the people on the opposite side of the aisle are created in the image of God, that is when we have begun to idolize our ideologies -- we hold so much more in common and our differences are, for the most part, trivial and temporary.  

People who refuse to fight fairly aren’t winning arguments, they’re losing credibility.  Our deepest problem is that we are selfish and the laws our government enacts are powerless to resolve that, violence is the fruit of and ultimate expression of selfishness, once we solve our selfishness all the rest will fall in place.  

Originally published in the Kingsport Timesnews 10/10/25 Click here for the original newspaper version

Do I really have to “go to church…?”

Maybe instead of getting stumped trying to answer the old question, “Do I really have to go to church to be saved, to go to heaven, to be a Christian, etc...?” maybe it’s time congregations ask ourselves what is it about our reputation that turns people away or leads them to believe churches are phony? Sadly, many people skip gathering with a church even though they are curious about matters of faith.    

In other words, perhaps churches need to think about why many people are interested in “the Man upstairs,” these same people who say “Give me Jesus, keep the church...” and as a church we need to think about why are they looking for a hall pass, a loophole, a permission slip, an absence excuse?  What is the source of their contempt or disinterest in Sunday morning worship services?  

Most believers subscribe to the idea that to be considered faithful, church attendance is a responsibility, a duty, an obligation.  None of those categories sound fun, interesting, or exciting.  So maybe, the first reason people evade and avoid the church building is because they assume it will be boring -- once in a while even a broken clock is right, so they might have a point here.     

Another idea is the fact that there are congregations who are more than critical and less than welcoming.  If you don’t fit their mold, you remain on the outside looking in.  These same congregations appear to be on the judgmental side.  

Then there are people who believe worship services are out of touch with the real world and that we are geared towards promoting blind faith, being anti-intellectual, anti-science, and we are more or less a gathering of flat-earthers -- not necessarily mouth-breathers, just irrelevant and uneducated.   After all, didn’t the church blind Galileo?

Then, there’s the opinion that the church is only interested in your money.  The hypocrisy of it all.  

Perhaps these are our consequences when instead of becoming fishers of men, we became keepers of the aquarium.  Maybe those resistors have a point. 

Has the church lost sight of the value of differing viewpoints, backgrounds, and ethnicities?  Paul was clear, the church is one body that is made up of various members who are attached by the Spirit, not by their similarities: “12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (I Cor 12:12-13)

Has the church misunderstood the purpose of gathering together?  Some misuse Hebrews 10 to make the case for gathering on Sunday mornings, but the passage has nothing to do with any day of the week or for that matter a building: “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  The Greek word for “meet together” isn’t “ecclesia” for church assemblies, it is “episunagoge” which is deeper and more significant than sitting in a pew, it is about an inspirational community-based integrated lifestyle that goes far beyond a Sunday morning worship service. 

So yes, the next time someone asks if they “have to” go to church, yes let’s remember that we are the church and the church isn’t a building, it is the people, people who gather in the name of Jesus to break bread, share scripture, pray together, and nurture and encourage each other.  And, instead of being annoyed or irritated by this age-old question of the necessity of church attendance, be inspired to help restore their trust in the church through authentic friendships, genuine care, and Christian love -- instead of just inviting people to a church building or event, let’s actually be the church.  

Originally published on 1/3/25 in the Kingsport Timesnews click here to see

 

When we only talk with people who already agree with us

Have you noticed how difficult it has become to disagree with other people? Trump is a great example, he gets everyone talking -- we’re just not talking with the right people. How so? People on one side think that he can do no wrong, while other people believe he can’t do anything right. You either have a zealot-like loyalty to him, or you find him utterly loathsome. Just like the topic of abortion, there is no middle ground when it comes to talking about Trump.

The same could be said for discussing transgender people teaching sex-ed to preschoolers, current events in the Middle East, or immigration. We are too polarized these days. Worse yet, we can’t even seem to have a civil conversation with people “on the other” side of any issue.

FYI: It is okay to be neutral on the topic of the President, and, not every discourse is “hate speech” simply based on the fact you that disagree. You are not homophobic or Islamophobic whenever you voice a different view than what is held on the TV talk-shows. Yet, our culture has bullied us into silence when it comes to speaking up in the public square whenever we voice our conscience about the moral decline we see daily.

I find it ironic when a relativistic culture that on the one hand claims “what’s true for you isn’t true for me” (discarding logic and reason) wants to set a standard for diversity that is dependent on the stipulation that you can speak up only as long as you are in complete agreement with their views. There really isn’t room for exchanging ideas within this false diversity when their standard tells the other side to be quiet or acquiesce because you are hateful whenever you disagree with them.

How has our culture kept you quiet? They shame you and guilt you into silence, as they marginalize your mainstream-traditional virtues, claiming you are “intolerant.” And you probably think that you should remain quiet, since that’s the polite thing to do. The people who would suppress your voice, they are banking on you to be polite. And it works after-all, since all good Christians are polite like Jesus was.

Forget the fact Jesus braided a whip and drove out the money changers. Ignore the disciples asking Him in Matthew 15:12, “Don’t you realize the Pharisees were offended...?” by what He said. Jesus wasn’t killed for being polite. We somehow imagine Jesus to be charming and witty, almost like a candidate running for office or a TV game-show host, all the while forgetting He was killed for speaking the truth which offended people.

Jesus wasn’t combative, critical, or judgmental when He disagreed or when He voiced His unpopular ideas. He was confident, compassionate, creative, and caring when He shared the truth. Unfortunately, we as believers don’t even practice Jesus’ example on dialoguing with other Christians. Until we can do a better job of disagreeing amongst “ourselves” over the gray areas of theology or faith, are we really in a place to correct the world? It doesn’t have to be an either or, i.e., either we finally achieve unity or we can’t reach out period. But, we certainly need to avoid hypocrisy. And, we need to do whatever we are going to to improve our ability to dialogue soon.

When it comes to discussing our differences in the public square, it seems like both sides are merely perpetuating echo-chambers where all we are doing is sharing our opinions with other people who already hold the same views which we do. Sure, it’s comfortable, but it’s also catastrophic. Revolts, riots, and revolutions happen when you suppress people. There’s a reason Proverbs 27:17, “As Iron sharpens iron” is in your Bible. It’s healthy to respectfully disagree and to challenge each other.

The only way we will grow and mature as people is through comparing and contrasting ideas and through open dialogue. When we lose our way in this matter, the church becomes irrelevant and we are lost as a civilization.

The Constitution, Kavanaugh, and Christian Hypocrisy

At one time, we as a country could rally together around a common good. Think of WWII and the Victory Gardens, the willingness to sacrifice, and the way we were able to prioritize our resources. Why was this possible? The energy and the will for achieving a common good slowly coalesced by acknowledging a common threat, identifying a true source of evil, by agreeing on what the real problem was.

This isn’t to say we’ve always had a stellar track record. Slavery, which was allowable constitutionally, was hotly contested; it was partially the reason for our Civil War. The Constitution isn’t perfect, it’s a guide, it’s important, but being written by fallible men, it will never be the end-all resolution.

Our great nation has had dark periods of wiping out Native Americans and banishing their tribes to the reservation long after they were no longer a threat or of placing Japanese Americans in internment camps, and then again, we are known for doing incredible good for all of humanity in other periods. We are a mixed bag of embarrassments and achievements.

We are living in the best country on this planet, and we have so much to offer the world, if only we could agree on what is good & true. But, therein lies the rub.

It’s hard to settle in on a common good if we disagree about or ignore the real threat. And, you can see where this discrepancy has gotten us as a nation. While it’s nothing new for us, we are so polarized, we can’t replace a Supreme Court Justice without politicizing the entire process. We can’t gain any traction on the Russian interaction in an election that should be far removed from the news-cycle, and we have lost the ability to be bipartisan on nearly every front.

We as a nation have lost our ability to be objective. Why? In part, everything is “left” or “right,” it’s “liberal” or “conservative,” and “We the People” are at odds with the very people we eat dinner with.

Perhaps there’s a solution to our strife. A simple answer to the anger, hatred, and division. I’d like to say Christianity is, but how can I when we have dozens of denominational roadblocks that have segregated even us as the Body of Christ. Have we who confidently sit in our pews and piously observe the Lord’s day, have we really set the example for world peace and cooperation..., or love?

As long as we practically hate other churches while we hide behind our traditions and hang names over the doors of our structures that identify our theological/doctrinal correctness, we are no better than the politicians we criticize & their circus in D.C. I believe in the autonomy of each congregation to follow the Scriptures wherever they think God is leading them, but I don’t believe any of us has the right to feel superior or to condemn one branch or the other.

If we can’t love other folks who do call on the name of the Lord but meet in a different sanctuary, we will never love those who vote differently or speak another language or have a different color skin or sing to the tune of a different anthem.

Until our separate and individual congregations embrace our universal unity in Christ, and until we stop labeling other churches, and until we stop judging other believers, we have nothing to offer to this world except our hypocrisy. May God have mercy on our souls and may we take seriously Jesus’ words which He delivered to a very diverse group, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (JN 13:34-35)

What we need to unlearn from 2016 in order to overcome inequality & division in America

I am basically frustrated to the point where I will soon have to pare-down my social-media news feed.  Maybe you can empathize.  The problem is, 2016 made it socially acceptable to post divisiveness and be combative while we hide behind our keyboards.  Did our verbal attacks solve much, or have we made matters worse?  You tell me.

Currently we have a culture of victims who demonize the people they disagree with, or feel oppressed by.  Everyone is the enemy and everything offends us.  From Corporate America, the Feds, Wall Street, religion, our history, to politics or the school system, it's like there's a cosmic conspiracy against humanity, that is, if you listen to the news or spend much time on social media.

And, the way we discuss our very real distinctions are dividing us culturally even further.
Rich vs poor
Educated vs uneducated
Blue collar vs White collar
Straight vs Gay
Men vs Women
White vs all ethnicites
Deplorables vs Losers...
Left vs Right
Green Energy vs Fossil Fuels
Vegetarians vs Omnivores
The list really seems endless....

Am I missing something, aren't we all humans?  Don't we all share the same DNA?  Don't we all want the world to be a better place?

From Black lives matters, to Blue lives matters, to Islamophobia, homophobia, White Privilege, and to boycotting the Oscars, we've become a nation of protesters.  The problem with protesting is that it puts everyone on the defense, and when we are defensive we build walls, emotionally and otherwise.
Your message, no matter how accurate or well thought out, will never penetrate a closed mind. 

Here's an example.  Does a movie like Hidden Figures, which is about minority women who helped the space program during the Civil Rights era, does it help or hurt our our Nation's divisions?  If that questions offends you, you might be part of the problem.  It's a fair question.  I see no harm in it.

My point? How the movie is promoted, portrayed, and discussed will be what makes all the difference.  It boils down to agendas.  You are either part of the solution, or you will continue the problem, and I'm not sure how much longer we as a nation can afford to perpetuate our divisions.

In our home, from an early age, we discouraged our boys (from preschool age) to leave out the skin color of other people they told us about.  For example, when we went over their day at the dinner-table, as they recounted an experience with a classmate, if our children said, "You know, the black kid?" we would, as parents, correct them and say, "You don't tell us when another kid is white when you are telling us a story about your day, do you?  See, there's no need to say someone is black either.  We are all the same."

I share that part of our household to say, a major preliminary step to overcoming our differences and to healing what divides us is to eliminate "us vs them" from our thinking, and our vocabulary.  Highlighting or spotlighting what makes us different from each other has the potential to exasperate the divide.

Does this mean we turn a blind eye to the inequality and differences in our nation?  No.  Well, what can we do then?  We move from protesting, to participating in creating something better.  

We need to recognize some people do not want to cooperate or change, and we need to marginalize their influence.  Don't waste your time & energy on ignorant people.  You will not change them with any tactic, the more attention we give them, the more credibility they gain...  It's hard enough to change yourself and to make self-improvements, it's impossible to change other people against their will.

We have ugly, mean-spirited, prejudiced people we will have to deal with.  But there's hope, because there's nothing stopping us from collaborating with people from all backgrounds who want to work towards peace and unity.

We have hate-mongers and toxic people out there.  But we can make progress when we contain the vitriol/venomous hate-speech ourselves..., and refuse to be vindictive or seek retribution.

We can make a difference, we can be better when we cease to see ourselves though a victimized past and begin to look towards a victorious future that overcomes hate & division.  How you see yourself and others does matter.  Let's make 2017 a year where we forget what we look like on the outside and where we all do a better job at looking at what counts.

America, has it ever been "great" and where should we focus anyway?

Trump won his election by focusing his constituency's attention on the past, a past that many people see differently.  To be simplistic and direct in his branding, Trump repeated his mantra, "Make America great again"  It's the "again" that strikes a nerve with a varied demographic.

So, besides the fact the phrase was plagiarized (Ronald Reagan used that phrase when he ran for office) what's really wrong with the phrase?

It falls short because it's claiming a future that's tied to a past, a somewhat unshared past experience.  We can't go back in time, even if we wanted to, so its a waste of time to wax nostalgic.  Regardless if you think America once was great, we can agree that not everyone thinks so, in fact about 50% of the population takes issue with this phrase.

How can you govern effectively if half of your people feel alienated?  We could say, "Who cares? Let's move on." But that's not feasible in a democracy or a republic.  That type of "suck it up and get over it" stance only works under a totalitarian regime, and even then the cooperation is only a thinly veiled attempt to acquiesce to the leadership.  

I don't buy into any "privilege" movement, it seems to be denigrating to those who feel someone else is privileged.  I love what Donald Miller posted today on twitter, particularly the end of his post:

Click here for the link to Miller's post if that image was too small to read: "Victims love to call Heroes "Privileged"

I couldn't stand Hillary Clinton, so this post isn't about gnawing sour grapes because Trump won.  I'm interested in our nation finding some healing from our massive division.  So..., what would work better for Trump, if he wanted to united America, again?  Drop the word "again" from his slogan, and simply say "let's make America great, together"

I doubt Trump would take advice from someone of my station in life, but if I could give him advice that he'd listen to, that would be my piece of advice, forget about the past and look forward to a future we all can participate in.

Sadly, when you polish off the golden age, you find it's only a pile of pyrite.

Tearing each other down is easier than...

It’s always easier to break out a windowpane than it is to glaze one in place. Dragging statues down to the ground is easier than sculpting them. Smashing, whatever comes to mind, takes less effort or mental energy than it does assembling something new. For example, it’s easier to critique a book than it is to write one.

Whether it’s taking a car apart or tearing down an old house, the act of demolition requires less from us than creativity does. Never forget, it’s easier to bend and warp than it is to make straight. I imagine the same is true of raising kids, relating to your spouse, or the way we treat someone else’s reputation.

Right now, America seems more divided than at anytime in recent memory. Between both of the recent RNC and DNC conventions (along with their ensuing the political circuses), the senseless violence where police officers have been targeted lately, and the perpetual erosion of solid family values, we are obviously in big trouble as a nation.

I’m not telling you anything new, am I? These are dark times, troublesome times. Times such as these spark intense turmoil and tend to demoralize the best of us. And, the more we focus on our differences, the more divided we become. The church isn’t immune to this division either.

Unfortunately, as MLK Jr. once pointed out, Sunday mornings have the most segregated hour of the week. But this segregation isn’t as simple as an ethnic divide. If you look around most congregations, you might notice the lack of socioeconomic or cultural diversity as well.

Until our local congregations can realize there is no competition between lighthouses and until we show the world what radical unity really looks like, we have very little to offer to a wounded and bruised world in these dark times. By the way, when jihadists behead Christians or blow up innocent believers, they aren’t looking at denominational affiliations. Therefore, we might need to consider that other Bible believing people aren’t our real enemies...

Sadly, I don’t own a magic wand or silver bullets -- there are no simple solutions to the problems we presently face. I do know, we owe our young people a better future than the one we’re setting them up for. I can’t claim to know what all we need to reconcile our splintered nation, but I’d venture to say a little less hatred and lot more healing would help.

What we don’t need more of though, is more fear-mongering, more racism, or more vitriolic rhetoric which lambastes one’s political opponents. I have never had to point out to my wife 15 other guys who don't love my wife, to simply say to her, “I love you.” Political candidates (and as far as this goes, church leaders too) shouldn’t layout their negative perceptions about those they view as competition. No. Leaders who want to persuade their followers, should stand on their own strengths without ever pointing out the weakness in others.

At one time, we here in America were known metaphorically by sociologists as the great melting pot, as when many ethnicities merged together. Then, later we were referred to as a salad bowl, where the different ingredients ended up in the same bowl but never coalesced. Pretty soon if we aren’t careful, we’ll come to be known as an empty, grease stained, fastfood bag.

Why not say, “Jesus is the answer” to all these problems we face? A wonderful cliche some might claim.

Perhaps if Jesus is the answer to this whole crappy set of circumstances we are presently facing, then perhaps the church will begin to take our partnership with God more seriously. By that, I mean spreading love, peace, unity, and the message of salvation through Jesus to a lost and wayward world -- and ceasing to stake superiority-claims under different church banners/marquees/signs, or worse yet, claiming “God loves our Presidential candidate more...”