There is no Catholic or Baptist way of compassion and forgiveness. There is no Methodist or Orthodox way of helping the poor. There is no Lutheran or Episcopalian way of being merciful. There is no Presbyterian or Evangelical way of attending to the imprisoned.
There is no difference; we have merely emphasized incidentals, which distracted us from the very marrow of the Gospel.
We cannot keep sidelining what Jesus emphasized and mandated “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Our shared Christianity can be rebuilt and emerge as follows:
Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.
Affirming people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.
The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.
Gracious behavior is more important than right belief.
Inviting questions is more valuable than supplying answers.
Encouraging personal search is more important than group uniformity.
Meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.
Peacemaking is more important than power.
We should care more about love and less about sex.
Life in this world is more important than the afterlife (eternity is God’s work anyway).
If we have realized these, we are already inside of Emerging Christianity.
John 13:34-35 “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
