Dissent. To differ in opinion. To challenge the status quo.
Weak organizations and weak people fear dissent. It makes you feel that there is something to hide. On the other hand, strong, healthy organizations welcome questions and disagreements because they know that we only learn when people ask questions. The truth is never afraid of questions.
Do you live in an open or a closed system? Do you allow other ideas to challenge your world view?
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
2 comments:
As long as dissent does not become negativism and he said/ she said complaining. Constructive criticism, especially when accompanied with new possibilities is necessary for change. We all know the results of absolute refusal to consider change. Without change, without disagreement there cannot be real progress. A church without disagreement can be a dangerous place.
I appreciate this post. I think that one of the most important skills Christians will need to learn going forward is the ability to simply love even when we simply cannot agree. We need to realize that church-goers are in a minority in our country. That means that most people don't agree with us. Do we think the majority is going to care what we have to say if we just scream louder and raise our pickets higher?
That also means that those of us in the minority better learn to get along. We better learn to have a higher calling than making sure we all think the same ideas. Otherwise, we might just fail to notice the people walking out the backdoor while we argue our heads off with one another about which form of baptism is the best or whether the bread is really the body of Christ.
And it's time for church leaders to admit that we don't know the answer. If we knew the answer, the church would not be in a constant state of decline since 1960. Now, since we agree that we do not know the answer, it is a perfectly good time for us to dialogue. And there will be dissent, but it won't sound like a clanging cymbal as long as we love each other first.
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