towards leadership and culture

Is it important that Christians agree on everything? Isn’t unity an essential characteristic of the Church? This humorous cartoon highlights a trend in church history to disagree. It is true that far more effort has been put towards theological disagreements than that of theological agreements. But we must ask the question: is it important that we all agree? I believe that the answer is yes and no.

We must agree on the essential dogma of the Christian faith while specific doctrines should be debated. Dogma refers to the non-negotiables of any given faith. Christians believe that, “Jesus Christ is the son of God.” This belief is fundamental for the the rest of Christianity. Without it your faith is not Christian at all.  At this level of theology you will find that most denominations of Christianity agree. You may be surprised to find the level of concurrence with the Catholic church as well (I speak of Christianity and Catholicism as one might refer to Protestants and Catholics because of where I grew up). We find division on the level of Christian doctrine. The larger body of Christ holds a variety of views concerning theological doctrine. How do we respond to the statement that, “Jesus Christ is the son of God?” Take one step up the latter and you will find matters of conscience, strategy and style. It dosent take too long for us to go from a united cord to frayed strands.

Each and every one of us is capable of having a personal relationship with Christ. This relationship takes place within the context of the greater body of believers which takes place within an even greater context of local, regional and global culture. Factor in sub-cultures, nationalism, families of origin, and economics; you will soon uncover a diverse image of those saved by grace.

This diversity can be an invaluable asset. God creates us as unique individuals. Each tell a different story but come to Christ the same: broken by sin. We are also saved in the same way: through the grace of Jesus Christ. Though we are baptized into one body we are each different. The ways in which we disagree help to broaden our view of Christ and understand the colorful picture that is the Church. However, we must protect the fundamental truths of Christianity and understand the foundations of our faith.

My daughter painted a masterpiece this morning. We bought her some bathtub crayons and she has turned into an overnight artist! Morning after morning she creates original works with titles like, Mamma-Dada and, Dada-Mama. Just last week she completed a work called Mama-Kitty. It brought a tear to my eye. It made me ask myself the question, when was the last time I made something?

I have just completed my second reading of Franky Schaeffer’s Addicted to Mediocrity. In it you will find one of my favorite quotes. He implores his readers to, “create, create, create; work, work, work.” Franky argues that the church must take on artistic works to express the character of God. Any project including painting, architecture, music or written word can share the person of God through their excellence and creativity. These projects may show who God is with or without scriptural references, Christological allegory or overt Biblical themes. The whole of creation is fair game because it shouts to the glory of our creator!

Creativity is in the nature of my two year old daughter. Most children embrace God’s creative qualities naturally because it is a part of who he made us to be. When was the last time you made something? Remember that you dont need to justify it with some utilitarian purpose. Your pastors next sermon series should not be the only reason the church picks up a hammer or a paint brush.

Have you ever stopped working on a project because you didn’t have the right tool? My drill died the other day and I found myself canceling a weekend project to build some shelves. The truth? I could have used a hammer. What I lack for tools Gianni Luminati lacks for proper instruments. The difference is that Gianni made it happen with the materials he already had. You have got to check this out.

Take a look around. I bet you have all that you need to get started. I bet that you have all you need to hit a home run! Our vision for ministry cannot begin with the proper tools. This is a backwards way to lead the church. Good ideas come long before the resources needed to pull them off.  A little creativity goes a long ways. What projects have you been waiting to start?