It’s time for Unity

A few years ago the pastor of my church felt called to start a new ministry. A committee was selected to find a new pastor among various applicants. Within a few months of searching and interviewing, as well as having each guest speak at our church, the decision was narrowed down to three people. Our pastor seemed to prefer one man over the others because of his character.

This new potential pastor was strong willed, and extremely outspoken. He had a clear vision, and a drive to accomplish changes very quickly. The current pastor, while himself a strong willed person, was a very quiet person, who had more of a grandfatherly way of leading. The potential pastor was brought before the congregation, and we were asked to vote on him. After all was said and done, he received the two-thirds vote required to ask him to be our pastor, but he did not want to go into a church without the majority of the people behind him. Our pastor requested that anyone who would be willing to stand behind him as our new pastor should stand and say so. This time over 90% of the church stood up, as a show of support, and the new pastor was elected.

There were several people who were not happy with this outcome. Some were upset enough to leave during the show of support. Some felt that this new pastor was too outspoken, too set in his own way to see anyone else’s opinions as having any merit. After more than 30 years under the same pastor, the church I attended had changed overnight. Within a few months grumblings started to emerge about all sorts of things, some silly, some not so much. Some of the older congregation complained that the music was too loud, or too modern. Some said that the new pastor was too eager to rapidly change things, and showed concern for the direction of the church. Some clashed with the new pastor’s straight forward demeanor and his perceived lack of people skills.

Little by little the church that had become my second home seemed foreign to me. People who I had grown to love, as dearly as my own family, were suddenly absent. Events that had become a staple at our church were cancelled and some were not replaced. Overall the music portion of the service had gotten better. With his hip new contemporary style, the new music director led the church in praise and worship that always left me wanting more. The preaching was a bit different, based more on a series of teachings than on the topical teachings of the old pastor. All in all the church had been revamped, retooled to fit a different era and a totally different congregation.

My old church ended up undergoing what I term a church split. Although not in the strictest definition of the term, my church had split between those who supported the changes and those who didn’t. Some left because the changes were too drastic to change with, and some left because of personal reasons, but in effect the church shrank to about ½ of it’s original size.

I say this because today we stand on the threshold of yet another potential split, and changes, which could decide our future as a country one way or another. Change is part of life and part of the natural order of things. Seasons change, climates change, political parties change, and yes governments change. Change can be good or bad depending on the factors of said change, but change is inevitable. I do business in a rapidly, and sometimes chaotically changing industry. My job as a software developer requires that I constantly update my knowledge, and change both my approach to a problem, as well as the tools I used to address a problem. Those who do not change are subject to either be left behind grumbling or worse yet left unemployed without an updated skill.

I write this in the hopes that we as a people can put aside our differences and support the man who has been elected by the people to lead us. Both John McCain, who I didn’t vote for, and Barack Obama addressed this in last night’s speeches. One man conceding that his brand of change was not what America had been seeking, and the other celebrating that his ideas for our country had become so widely embraced as to see through the difference of race that once separated this country. Right now this country is going to have to unite and rebuild if we’re really going to change anything other than the occupant of the White House. Right now this country is going to have to pull together like never before to make sure that we make changes to the things that need changing, and embrace those that do not.

I too have changed quite a bit during this election, from someone who ardently opposed Barack Obama’s plan for the future, to someone who sees the merit in his dream for our country. I only hope that we as a people can look beyond the lines that divide us and strive to find the common ground we all share. I pray that God give President Elect Obama the wisdom to lead and the ability to change that which plagues us. I pray that together we can make a difference, and mold this country into something that will make us all that much prouder to occupy it. A country in which Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Atheists can raise our children with the knowledge that our rights and beliefs are neither belittled nor trampled upon.

I ended up leaving the church about two years into its change, not because I was disenfranchised with its teachings, but because both it and I had changed in opposite directions. As an American citizen I do not see leaving as an option, nor should any true patriot. This country was founded on the principal of rule by the people for the people, which means that its up to us to make the changes needed to unite us, and if for some reason we find that the government we’ve elected does not fit our needs it is up to us to mold it in ways that will meet our needs. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that we ALL have a say, and we can all make a difference, its simply a matter of trying.

I will continue to post, now that the elections are over, and I will continue to let my voice be heard. I may not always agree with our future President, and I will voice my opinion when I feel the need, but I will support the man that I, through my vote, helped to elect. May God bless America, and the freedoms we’ve fought so hard to achieve.