Our society provides numerous examples of people not listening to and respecting each other. We let prejudices and preconceived ideas get in the way of respectful discourse. Unfortunately, we often find the same practice in the church. When we consider the change process, the second step is “honor the other.” Honest differences of opinion must not only be respected but honored. We all have our points of view. As we talk and reason with one another, uniformity is not the goal. Writer Walter Lippman was reported to have said, "When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much." The challenge is to present one’s opinion in such a way that we do not cut off effective dialogue and discussion. We want to generate light rather than heat. A mistake often made in the process of change is to jump to conclusions and to try to resolve a contested issue without adequate discourse. There are ways to avoid this....
Comments from a Christ-follower on things that matter to him