So that wrapped up the sessions for the day. Afterwords I spent some time talking to some of the attenders/participants, and then tracked down Jay Bakker to say hello. That was really great – he seems like a very genuine, authentic guy. No pretense or posing or arrogance, just a sense of ‘here I am.’
Today was a great, great day. I loved the presenters, even when I disagreed. Collectively, they were thought-provoking and very inspiring. I think what may have struck me the most was the atmosphere though. It’s a comforting feeling being with people all journeying after God together, but with no judgment. I didn’t have to hold my tongue, or wonder what the implications of this or that statement might be. Everyone was free to share whatever was on their mind, no matter how different or out of the norm or seemingly heretical some may have found it. It’s been a long time, way too long, since I’ve been in a religious environment that had the sense of openness and honesty and encouragement and acceptance that I felt today.
One of the folks I talked to at the end was the child of missionaries, but had been effectively chased out of the church by various people when they discovered how ‘radical’ she was. She said the emerging church conversation has given her the space to pursue Jesus again, without fear of condemnation from her peers. You could just see the excitement on her face, and she was so glad to be able to talk openly and honestly without having to worry that she would be asked to leave when it was over. This is what the Body of Christ is supposed to be. Different people with differing beliefs from different denominations and different walks of life, different races, different ages, different sexual orientations, together as one. Everyone is accepted exactly as they are, united not by a creed or an organizational structure but by a desire to pursue the dreams of God in the world.
Beautiful. Utterly, captivatingly, beautiful.
That is one of the main reasons I made friends in the Great Emergence – having found for the first time a group of people who accepted my thoughts and ideas without trying to change or condemn them, even when they disagreed. I have always been too radical, too liberal, too forward, too outspoken, too strong (for a female to be), too this, too that, etc. for my conservative friends to really accept me as I am. It is refreshing to be part of a group of people who are not trying to correct or change me. That doesn’t mean I am never corrected by God, or even by my friends – but the freedom to be myself and think what I will has been a shield against the pain that comes when someone feels the need to confront me in something I am saying or doing that they do not feel comfortable with. Change hurts. But when it comes this way, I am almost eager to bring it about rather than fighting every step of the way. Who wants to change for someone who doesn’t like you? Or who doesn’t like what you say or do? I actually want to change when it is asked by people who don’t judge me or look down on me or correct me constantly for my faulty beliefs.