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Your Actions I was a baptist minister for eight years, in churches that meant well, but ended up being cloisters of self-supporting arrogance. After a while I felt like a square peg in a round hole, and before I could name the problem, I resigned (with their blessing) and went in search of other ways to follow Jesus. Eventually I discovered that the basic orientation of those/my churches was a problem: "you come to us cos we've got the good stuff" (implying you don't.) My unwitting arrogance. My blindness. My co-dependent interest in having the church people need the church. So my wife and I joined local community groups, to see what God is doing out there, and found the answer is, "a lot!" We joined the residents association, playgroups, schools, and participated, and prayed for, whatever is in God's image out here. We essentially asked our neighbors, "can we come over?" And we fell in love, and we stayed. A writer called David Bosch called it being "150% people." We're no longer fully like church people, only 75%. And we'll never be exactly like the neighbors, only 75%. But that's who we are. And we're friends. And in that friendship, communication happens both ways. We consider our lives enriched by changing that fundamental orientation of being a Christian, from "you come to our good stuff," to "Can I come see what God's doing in your good stuff?" --Geoff Indigenous injustice is very real in Australian history - many atrocities were done to Aboriginal people, not only by the State, but also in the name of We asked around for the recognized elders of our area. We met them, and asked a simple question: "if it were 200 years ago, and we were coming to your land, what protocol should we observe? And can we still do it (or an equivalent) today?" (As I see it, you don't just walk into someone's space without saying hello. I'm amazed that the rich vein of hospitality still remains strong in aboriginal culture.) The elders were all surprised, some tearful, to be asked the question. So I went bushwalking as instructed, to find a stick suitable for a Message Stick. It was to be painted by an elder, with motifs introducing me. But the elder had health complications, and the communications were stalled, but still remain open. So as advised, we wore ribbons in the colors of the aboriginal flag. If the idea takes off, the bush might soon be depleted of real message sticks. So it needs to be a sustainable modern equivalent of the correct protocol. We may progress to a wristband alternative. It's the least we can do to recognize the traditional custodians of the land we're on. Meet the elders in person, and gain their blessing to be here. We no longer take their hospitality for granted. --Geoff I used to react out of fear. Fear that a gay person might make advances, or that a New Age person might work voodoo or something. But its one thing to apologize and move on. But what action can i take to actually improve things? I have her permission to share this story (as it reflects on me much more than her). I remember the first time we met: her T-shirt said, "Don't fuck with me - this bitch bites." As we volunteered together for the local residents' association, we got to know each other, and I discovered she was a Reike Master, in a long term stable gay relationship. She was just as shocked to find I was a Christian, as that threatened all her triggers as well. But it didn't have any bearing on the work we were doing together - so we just began to trust each other more, and accordingly we began to have little conversations about these differences. I came to understand & appreciate why she is as she is (and if I can appreciate that, then I'm sure God can!) And she appreciates me - she says she wishes she'd met Christians like us (me and my wife) years ago.
So we recommend this: get to know people as people (not phobias), and listen for meanings (not words). --Geoff |
Your Actions
One of the things that we've struggled with most, is recognizing that words are significant, but not always enough. Our deeds, our actions, speak louder than words. Because of this, we are launching this section of the Christians Confess website in order for you to share stories of how, not only in word but also deed, you've engaged in forgiveness and reconciliation for the wrongs you've done to those who don't consider themselves Christians. If you would like to contribute your story please 
the church. For a decade, the mainstream denominations have issued apologies, and there have long been attempts to help alleviate poverty. And finally this year (2008), the Aussie government issued a public apology. But... But what can we do at the local level? Well, besides observing Sorry Day each year, and apart from nodding and waving, and not pretending aboriginal people are invisible, here's what we did when we moved to our new neighborhood.
I listened to what she was saying beneath the words she used (words don't have meanings, meanings have words.) And eventually we both began to suspect that there was more common ground than common language. So then we had very open conversations identifying the similarities, and the differences. Such is the trust, that we continue to converse without jeopardizing the friendship. She is indeed one of our closest friends in this neighborhood.