Better Distinction?
Conservative. Liberal. Progressive.
How would you label yourself? How would you name yourself? What do you mean by the distinction? How much does that distinction shape your view of the world and your place in it?
We Christians might be better served to avoid them all. What if we thought of ourselves differently.
What about “reconciliationist”? Our place in the world is to reconcile people to God and one another.
What about “restorationist”? Our place in the world is to restore things back into line with the created order.
What about “recreationist”? Our place in the world is to be used of God to usher in his new creation.
Of course these would work too: disciple, Christ follower, Christian.
Remember, names mean things. Naming is a powerful tool. The names we put on people, the names we put on ourselves, change things. The distinctions we make with names in fact distinguishes.
Let’s not be so quick to adopt the world’s way of distinguishing people: conservative, liberal, progressive. Such names scooped into the life of the Church and her people do not serve anyone well. They distract us from the distinctive callings we have.
What word better distinguishes your place in the world?
5 thoughts on “Better Distinction?”
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Good analysis, particularly in the world we live in today, pretty sad in my opinion, pleased I won’t be here to see the future, pretty scary particularly for the non christian.
Al:
Thanks for commenting! You are in our prayers.
Dave Davis
I am a Nazarene.
Nice.
Thank you for this. As a Christian, I’ve never been able to identify myself politically. The respective ideologies are too restrictive or not the right “shape” to fit my faith in Jesus. I really appreciate your insight into the alternative labels: reconciliationist, restorationist, and recreationist. This is a great direction to move in.