City of Grace Mesa

The events of this past week have confirmed my suspicions that we are living in one of the most divisive periods in recent history. Strangely enough, it seems to coincide with this election cycle which began earlier than any I can ever remember! The impact of our local, national, and global divisions has been felt in our congregation this past week.

It all began this past Monday when Dr. Gary Kinnaman, former pastor of Word of Grace, and twenty-two other local ministers held a press conference sharing their "deep concern over the broken immigration system facing our state and our nation." (Click for the full statement.)  In the media frenzy that followed, the ministers who publicly expressed their concerns were labeled and castigated and our church was drawn into the immigration debate in ways that were unanticipated.

In meeting with Gary this past week it became clear that he was not advocating an open border policy, nor was he suggesting that we turn a blind eye to the issue of undocumented workers living unlawfully in our community. He was attempting to call our community to find a balance between honoring and exercising the rule of law while also following the teachings of Jesus to "'Love your neighbor as yourself."

Conspicuously absent in the public statement was the solution to the challenge of illegal immigration because that was not the purpose of the statement. In fact, Gary and the other pastors call "on our public servants to work constructively to address the challenges and complexities of immigration." As leaders in the faith community their primary responsibility is to serve as the conscience of our community and to prophetically call us to embrace and incorporate the principles of Scripture into the way we live.

You may have noticed that my name was not present on the press statement. And many of you have even written or called asking about my personal position on this issue.

I wasn't asked to sign the statement and I don't know that I would have, even if asked. Not because I'm afraid of the controversy surrounding the issue. And not because I believe that a pastor should not speak to political issues which contradict the teachings of Scripture. But simply because my role is best served as a pastor committed to building unity in a politically charged time.

Each week when I stand before our congregation I am acutely aware that I am called to share Biblical values with thousands of people representing many political viewpoints. City of Grace is a kaleidoscope of people who come from different backgrounds, religious or non-religious experiences, socio-economic realities, and political ideologies. And it's not easy to build unity in the midst of such diversity.

Sometimes I get it right.

And sometimes I don't.

But I am committed to bringing us together instead of driving us apart.

Regardless of your spiritual background, there are two types of people that you will have to learn to make peace with in a growing church family: those who are more tolerant than you, and those who are more conservative than you. That's why we introduce this little mantra in our Discovery Class 1, "In the essentials we have unity, in the non-essentials we have diversity, and in all things we have charity."

As the political rhetoric intensifies and the nation is further divided, let us love one another even more. And in doing so, may we show the world around us that we are the people of God bound together by something much stronger than a common political viewpoint.