Labels

In the last year or so, it's hit home to me how many labels christians use!

Patriarchal, Egalitarian, Progressive, Evangelical, Pre/Mid/Post-Trib… (etc, etc, etc!) The list just goes on and on and on.

And I haven't even started on the denominational labels!!!

I get so frustrated with our seeming need to categorise and 'box' everything. While labels can sometimes be a useful base-point to start to explore ideas, maybe we need to take a step back and look at our world with fresh eyes.

Followers of "The Way" are called to imitate Jesus. Can you really see him sizing you up by where you fit in the factional landscape of religious politics?

And while labels can be a useful starting point in a discussion, what one person understands by any particular label can be totally at odds with what another person pictures when they hear that word.

And worse yet, those labels are often used to dismiss a person before their argument is even heard. "Oh, you're an 'X'. I don't agree with that doctrine or position, so I don't need to listen to you."

Subtext: I don't need to see you as a real person… much less one who loves the same God I worship!

It's maybe time, we took the time, to explore those ideas together, recognising that we each bring subtle distinction and nuance to any label you care to mention.

Not to mention, emotional baggage!

Here's a suggestion. Let's actually talk to each other! Crazy, right?

But just maybe we'll learn that even disagreement doesn't have to mean discord. Just maybe we'll learn that it can mean real relationship!

It's so crazy, it just might work.