Brave Old World

It happened today, as I reflected on the posts and comments on the blogs4God controversy. I knew it before, but it came to me with greater force today, especially as I tucked my kids in bed. With all my generation’s talk about the emerging church, about escaping from Church, Inc. and becoming the body of Christ incarnated, of authenticity and love, we are just as capable of going so far off target that our kids will shake their heads one day. I’m not frustrated that bloggers disagree on an issue. We should. Uniformity is not something to be desired. Unity is, but unity doesn’t require uniformity. Given our differences, and the fact that we’re all in process, it’s not surprising that we have differing perspectives on various issues (Iraq, anonymous bloggers, etc.). I’m frustrated with the tone of the disagreements. We should disagree, but I find ourselves in danger of condemning too quickly, of writing off others with the wave of a hand, of viewing the world through the lens of cynicism. Jordon Cooper quoted Len Sweet today: “No wonder why Len Sweet talks of the great spiritual awakening happening outside of Christianity and the church can’t see out of its box far enough to see it.” What scares me is the danger that I, and my generation within the emerging church, will fail to see it too. Update: Dean writes:

We are currently working on a technical solution that will allow for anonymous bloggers to sign up, while keeping our readers safe.

In the meantime, I hope we can show Dean a bit of grace.