Living in Nova Scotia as a new Christian, untrained and unaware, then moving to the South to learn the Bible, soon I was shocked to discover that the church was divided. There were liberals and Conservatives within the Church. The good guys and the bad guys. Wow, it was just like the old west. For a while, this was all fascinating because really I had no clue what the battle was aboat (grew up in Canada). After awhile, I learned that it was a serious dispute, more like the Tombstone showdown. At this point, as someone who stands in the middle (we all think we are nicely balanced), I just dream that someday a liberal will admit a Conservative is right and a Conservative confess that a liberal has a good point. One side cannot be completely wrong or right. We are better together than apart. The tension keeps us studying and growing.
Related posts:
- What the Liberals Have Wrong
- HCU and Balance
- People Are Too Complex For Labels
- A Postmodern in a Modern School
- Reflections on HCU Workshop
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About The Author
Matthew is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada. He has a beautiful wife named Charity and a precious baby named Gabrielle. He has graduated from the Brown Trail School of Preaching, Heritage Christian University with his Bachelors of Arts in Biblical Studies, Lipscomb University with his Master’s of Arts in Biblical Studies and his Master’s of Divinity at Freed-Hardeman University. He is presently working towards his Doctorate of Ministry at Harding Graduate School of Religion. His articles have appeared in the World Evangelist, the Highway to Holiness, The West Virginia Christian, The Christian Echo, The Firm Foundation, Church Growth, and the Gospel Advocate. He enjoys hockey, golf, boxing, and chess. In his spare time he enjoys reading numerous genres of books. Also, he is working on climbing all of the 14ers in Colorado. Matthew is the Pulpit Minister for the Castle Rock church of Christ.
And who is to say that being in the middle is fundamentally the right thing?–whatever that means
One thing that bothers me to no end is the simple fact that I don’t even know what people mean when they throw the terms “liberal” and “conservative” around.
And I can almost guarantee that they (in Churches of Christ) mean something different about that than people do in the larger world of biblical scholarship.
We all need to be more accepting and respecting of others however you slice it. Too many people are judging who are not even the judges.
Great thoughts Matthew. Biblical is where we should strive to be, not holding to a “party line.”
I remember coming to your office one day really upset at some comments that had come my way. One fellow had written a reply to an article I had written complaining that I was too conservative. Another person had approached me with concerns that I was being too liberal. I was so frustrated. Your comment to me was, Keep doing what you are doing. If the two sides aren’t with you then you must be close to the truth.
That gave me a whole new perspective on criticism. It was true then and it is true now. Thanks!
We like definitions of terms, and we typically mean what we think we mean, and that is always the difinition we like best.
Can two walk together except they be agreed?