This week's blog is shared by Mike Hosey, an Elder at Fellowship Church.
Over Christmas break I met an author of two books. His works
are fiction, but contain strong biblical allusions. After autographing my books,
we had a friendly debate. Even though we had differences about what certain scriptures
might mean, we came away strengthened, and genuinely viewed each other as
Christian brothers.
Since we differed on doctrine, how were we able to maintain
a Christian bond? Well, I got to thinking...
A truth that we all learn from a young age is that no two
individuals are the same. We have
different heights, weights, intellectual capacities, athletic abilities, and
creative strengths.
There is no domain in any individual in which he or she will
not have some kind of a difference with any
other individual.
Often, these differences result in everything from personal
conflicts to bloody wars between houses and nations..
But sometimes our differences strengthen us. Good teams
capitalize on differences. The team's victories are marked by cooperation among
different individuals. Those teams have an understanding that not
everyone can be the coach, or the quarterback or, or the waterboy.
So how do these teams get that? How can I and that author
remain friends and brothers?
It takes two disciplines. First, we must be committed to the
essentials. Good teams are committed to
common goals. With my new friend, we are both committed to the truth of Jesus
Christ and his word and work on earth.
And we agree on what those are.
Secondly, we must be willing to submit ourselves whenever possible to our
teammates. This is much harder, because it requires us to suppress our own
desires, goals or views.
In the case of my new friend, I was willing to say, "Y'know,
he might be right on that." And he was willing to do the same.
Consequently, our discussions strengthened our abilities to
minister more fully to people who have questions about those truths!
Mike Hosey
Elder, Fellowship Church
