by Roland Wrinkle
This has been my church (and church family for over 30 years). I’ve spent half of my life studying the bible and about the bible. I have voiced my positions and beliefs not infrequently and not always softly. Sometimes I have ticked some people off. Sometimes some of you have disagreed with me. Sometimes (okay, maybe some say more than sometimes) I am wrong. So….do you still love me? Well, if you’re a follower of the risen Messiah, you’re commanded to. And this wasn’t a mere recommendation for community peace and order—it was and is the decreed categorical imperative that holds heaven and earth together, the heaven and earth which was created by the God we pledge allegiance to.
Here’s the creed that Jesus instructed us to confess, to teach our children and to never forget:
Love the Lord with all your heart,
strength, soul and mind, And love God by following Jesus,
And love others.
He also let us know that, until He returns, we are to function in this world as His body in the form of the gathered Church. If we start taking it upon ourselves to condemn or cast out other members of that Church because of disagreements over various hot-button positions, then we ought to resign from the HANDS AND FEET OF JESUS CLUB.
Back to me being wrong about things from time to time. N.T. Wright is probably the most respected New Testament scholar on the planet. He claims that he is probably right about 80% of the time, but the problem is he doesn’t know which is the 20% he’s wrong about. If that’s so, then I’m probably wrong in the order of (and let’s be charitable to me here), say, one-third. So, this means that, when I rub you the wrong way because you’re convinced you’re right, you may very well be right—that is, I’m wrong. I’ll even give you better than that. Over the past 30 years I’ve changed my mind or position on a wide swath of biblical issues. By definition, then, I believe I was wrong (at least in the past) about 50% of this stuff. The math is likely more complex than this, but it seems to add up to me being wrong to the tune of 80% of something or other.
So, what are you gonna do? Turn your back on me? Cast me into the lake of fire? Tell me to go start my own church? Rick Lyons asked us, “Should we be intolerant of the intolerant? (Mull that one over for a while.) I believe the broader western church has gotten the central message of the Gospel wrong and that it goes about reading the bible wrong. I believe much of what the post-Enlightment church teaches about heaven and hell is wrong. What if you disagree? What are you gonna do? Subject me to correction and discipline until I see the light and conform to your heartfelt orthodoxies? No! (as Paul would say). Dogmas without love are dog-doo (which is exactly what Paul did say—except I cleaned up his more explicit language).
Jesus not only told us to love—and to love wildly, promiscuously and limitlessly, but He showed us what He was talking about. Jesus loved the loathsome, the low, the miscreant, the thug, the smelly, the unclean and the despicable. Jesus loved the unlovable. Not just that, but He dined with them! In those days dining with someone was seen as an endorsement of those you supped with. And He commanded us to do likewise. So what do we do with those who flat-out get the bible (according to me or you) wrong? What if I got it wrong (at least currently) on heaven or hell, how the bible should be read, homosexual ordination, homosexual marriage, the role of women in the church, the place of the church in the wider world and culture—or a hundred other issues that are poised to rip us apart? Answer: You love me! “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (Yup, Paul again.) We wrap all of our disagreements up in a protective cocoon of love and we talk to each other about our differences. We don’t go off and start other churches simply to give exclusivity to our own orthodoxies. We love each other and get about the business of being Christ’s body on this earth. Whad ya’ think all that humility and humbleness stuff was all about when we spent so much time talking about the Fruits of the Spirit? No one cherishes his biblical insights more than I do. So, I’m wrong some (pick a percentage) of the time. Talk to me. But, if you’re a Christian in the sense of being a follower of Christ, love me. (I love you—and I know you’re wrong.)