Thoughts on disagreement...as Christians, as Presbyterians

I am angered, and hurt, and sad...but mostly sad, I suppose.

A colleague Stated Clerk, whom I have known for decades, and who I respect and value as
a colleague and friend, shared some comments about a committee of the General
Assembly, of which I am a member, not only questioning our written statements about
some of the issues coming to this year's Assembly, but using terms that were dismissive at
best, derisive at worst, of the careful, deliberative work of the committee. I have responded
to this individual in writing, and asked that we make some time soon to talk together
directly, either in person (perhaps even at the Assembly in Portland) or at least by phone.
Our relationship is such that I trust such a conversation will be able to take place.

All of this got me wondering, however. If a close and valued colleague in the Church of
Jesus Christ can write things that sting like that...well, I suppose this is indicative of the kinds
of things we see more and more frequently in our broader society.

Disagreeing with someone's opinion about an issue rarely can seem to take place without
viewing that other person as "stupid," "uninformed," "ignorant." One can scarcely express
a different viewpoint from someone without being attacked, shamed, or ridiculed. We see it
in national political discourse. We see it in our communities. Sadly - and shamefully, I
believe - we sometimes see it within the Body of Christ, the Church.

In the powerful and helpful document of our Church from the 204th General Assembly
(1992) of the Presbyterian Church, "Seeking to be Faithful Together: Guidelines for
Presbyterians During Times of Disagreement," the Church calls us to:

• "Treat each other respectfully so as to build trust, believing that we all desire to be faithful to Jesus the Christ;" and
• "Focus on ideas and suggestions instead of questioning people's motives, intelligence or integrity."

The entire document is well worth your read. I've posted it on our Presbytery's website, and you can read it here.

How might our congregations, our Presbytery, the Church, even our society, be different if
we adopted simply the above two bullet points? I sometimes confess to being naive about
human nature - even though I am a confirmed Calvinist! - yet I don't believe that many
people get out of bed in the morning, thinking, "Who can I vilify today? Who can I make look
really stupid today?" We can do better. We are called to be better. We simply must act
better!

Christ calls us to disagree more compassionately and more faithfully with each other. And
the Church extends that invitation to each of us... to all of us.