Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Factions
You know, we've got a lot of Christian campus ministries at Virginia Tech. Off the top of my head, I can name Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), InterVarsity (IV), Navigators (Navs), New Life Campus Fellowship (Cru), Impact, Wesley Foundation, Canterbury, Baptist Student Union (BSU), Campus Bible Fellowship (CBF), Cooper House, Chi Alpha, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), Athletes in Action (AIA), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (CCF), Lutheran Student Movement, and several others, and that doesn't even include the various Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox campus ministries. Hardly ever do these groups work together, except for the occasional exceptional group worship thing.
This is part of our problem today. We're not working together, and too often we descend into factionalism. We're too busy arguing with each other over minutiae to go and help those who need it, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually. We pass laws and fund government programs because we're not willing to take on the responsibility ourselves. We (rightfully) condemn homosexual unions but aren't willing to help homosexuals meet the costs of living alone. We create programs to help the poor because we ourselves aren't willing to take the time to give meaningful help ourselves. We (again rightfully) condemn abortion, but don't do nearly enough to educate people as to how to avoid unwanted pregnancy or what to do if it happens. We're more worried about making sure people don't take "God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Until we start caring more for the weak and the poor, we can prattle on all we want about orthodoxy, because no one will be seeing orthopraxy. We're a subculture now, rather than a counterculture. If we're going to become a counterculture, and perhaps one day even the dominant culture, we've got to get moving. We need to put aside differences for the sake of helping others. We don't need to compromise our faith, but we do need to be willing to accept those we perceive as "weaker brothers." From good intentions and hard work, good will come. If you believe in infant baptism and you train someone and they decide that they don't, it's not the end of the world. We just need to try harder, or else we'll doom ourselves to irrelevance.
You know, we've got a lot of Christian campus ministries at Virginia Tech. Off the top of my head, I can name Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), InterVarsity (IV), Navigators (Navs), New Life Campus Fellowship (Cru), Impact, Wesley Foundation, Canterbury, Baptist Student Union (BSU), Campus Bible Fellowship (CBF), Cooper House, Chi Alpha, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), Athletes in Action (AIA), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (CCF), Lutheran Student Movement, and several others, and that doesn't even include the various Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox campus ministries. Hardly ever do these groups work together, except for the occasional exceptional group worship thing.
This is part of our problem today. We're not working together, and too often we descend into factionalism. We're too busy arguing with each other over minutiae to go and help those who need it, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually. We pass laws and fund government programs because we're not willing to take on the responsibility ourselves. We (rightfully) condemn homosexual unions but aren't willing to help homosexuals meet the costs of living alone. We create programs to help the poor because we ourselves aren't willing to take the time to give meaningful help ourselves. We (again rightfully) condemn abortion, but don't do nearly enough to educate people as to how to avoid unwanted pregnancy or what to do if it happens. We're more worried about making sure people don't take "God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Until we start caring more for the weak and the poor, we can prattle on all we want about orthodoxy, because no one will be seeing orthopraxy. We're a subculture now, rather than a counterculture. If we're going to become a counterculture, and perhaps one day even the dominant culture, we've got to get moving. We need to put aside differences for the sake of helping others. We don't need to compromise our faith, but we do need to be willing to accept those we perceive as "weaker brothers." From good intentions and hard work, good will come. If you believe in infant baptism and you train someone and they decide that they don't, it's not the end of the world. We just need to try harder, or else we'll doom ourselves to irrelevance.
