On Church and Politics: One Crazy and Uncomfortable Idea

Am I Crazy, or is this somehow the nudging of the Holy Spirit?

I was book chapter recently about contemplative spirituality.  One of the comments mentioned that evangelical church culture tends to be a bit skeptical or contemplative forms of prayer and meditation.

This got me to thinking about my old days in the evangelical movement and the "styles" or worship, the culture, the traditions.  I sometimes think about the people I once was close to and wonder if we'll ever see each other the same again.  I wonder if we ever could sit at the table together again, be it for the Eucharist or just coffee and a chat where we actually hear each other as equals instead of looking to convince, convert or otherwise "prove" something to each other.  I wonder, when did the church become like American politics?  When did we start acting like politicians who will do anything to defeat the other party instead of looking to solve problems together?

The thing is this would mean an openness to something that is in many ways a perceived threat by both parties. For those of us hurt by the conservative church it is personal wounds.  I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to write an angry letter to THOSE people I knew as a kid, even before I was involved in church, and tell them how much their hateful version of Christianity made me want nothing to do with Jesus or the Church.  As an evangelical, I found "liberals" to be a threat- that somehow if they were right about any one thing that the whole "house of cards" of my conservative worldview might crumble.  To come back to the table means a bit of vulnerability.  Even as I write this I'm not sure how willing I feel.... and yet the idea keeps coming back to me.

As I read this I began to wonder if there might be a way to come back to the table and actually learn from each other.  My mainline tradition has a great deal to offer- be it the liturgy, a value of contemplative traditions, the lectionary (oh how I LOVE the RCL!), the colors and cycles of the church year.  I wonder if you, my evangelical friends, might find these things valuable if you learned of them.  I wonder what I might learn as well. What would happen if we stopped focusing on controversial issues and just talked?   Is this crazy? Am I even up for this?  I don't know, but it's percolating in my head.  I invite you to join the discussion.