From Our Pastor, Robert Miller:

Grace and Space
It appears that not since the Civil War has our country been so divided. Many of us believe that our nation is not perfect and needs to improve to have justice and fairness for all. We have hope for our country and think that our founders, though not perfect, gave us a good government where justice is possible when the will of the people demand it. Others believe that our government is intrinsically evil and racist and that our country needs to deconstruct our present government and
replace it with another.
Not only is there a vast difference of opinion about our country, but our culture has made it difficult to disagree about anything. If you disagree with someone in this current cultural climate, then you may be canceled, or at least be attacked.
This phenomenon is not new to the church, especially Baptists. I went through the Baptist takeover of the ’80s. I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and I have always treated the Bible with great respect and continue to this day to “study to show myself approved.” Yet, because I didn’t use certain words about the Bible or agree with specific
interpretations, I was labeled a liberal.
Today, I find myself in a different place. I dialogue with folks, some in person and some online, that do not take the Bible seriously. To many in our culture, the Bible is not God’s Word but an ancient book that is no longer relevant. When I try to disagree with them using the Bible, they look at me as irrelevant. They will attack my beliefs as being uncaring,
bigoted, racist, and everything else that I despise.
This brings me to my dilemma. I believe God loves everyone. I believe God has called me to both love and reach those who are lost in society. My questions, “How do I reach those who are so different in their beliefs?” And “How do I keep folks together in church with so much diversity?”
These questions have plagued me for some time now.
God gave me a great insight into how to do this last May. Anne was attending her Apprentice-cohort meeting via Zoom. She told me about a dialogue with Debra Hirsch. Debra is a minister that has had great success ministering to many in our lost culture, especially the gay community. Debra had lived the gay lifestyle before coming to the Lord. She was asked, “How do you keep those who disagree with you about gays coming to your church?” She answered, “I tell them that I have given
you ‘grace and space’ to disagree with me. I ask you to give me ‘grace and space’ to disagree with you.” “Grace and space” are the answer to keeping our churches together, and it is the answer to reaching a lost world.
I am trying to work out what all “grace and space” might look like. If you are interested, I will be teaching on this every weekday morning at 8:00 a.m. during “Coffee with the Pastor.”