Never Liked 'em Before

I’m currently reading, Becoming a Healthier Pastor by Ronald W. Richardson. This is one of those, “professional advancement” books that I read, i.e. it is not very exciting, not very deep, but reminds me of some of the basic things I need to remember in my ministry. Every once and a while I actually learn something new – do you see why the blog is called “theosnob”?

But I digress. The basic focus of Richardson’s work is using family systems theory with the pastor so that he or she will have a better sense of self and be able to navigate relationships without being hurt, burnt, or enmeshed.

Yes, yes, yes, family systems theory is very good, and helpful, blah, blah blah. I’m not going to write about that. What if such an approach is applied to our faith tradition? For example, what if I looked at the history of the Baptist movement. I would consider the aversion to authority, the strained relationship with Methodists and Episcopalians, and the common response to conflict as to flee.

What if I were to apply such a theory to Christianity. I would note the nationalistic push that often occurs, the air of superiority, and the desire to make everyone fall in line with their own way of thinking. I would also note the service, the humility and the care, but these, I would argue, are secondary trends.

When Christians have to interact with other faiths, such a history may be useful to remember. We need to remember that in our past we have condemned those different from us or attempted to convert them. We need to remember that we often assume we are right even when we are not. We need to remember that our relationships with others (and even with ourselves) has not been positive.

I know, I am brushing with broad strokes – don’t get in a fit about all the great lovey-dovey things about Christianity that I am missing. The point is, we can look at the relationships in our past and learn something about how we will most likely interact with others in the future. We are not predestined to continue to behave in the same way (unless you are a hyper-Calvinist or a mathematical determinist….either stance is gloomy). We can learn from our past actions and try to change in the future.

How do you do this with a whole movement? Beats me.