GlocalNet

Seventh, for the church to engage the world effectively, it will have to learn and practice the concept of multi-faith.  I don’t like inter-faith.  It’s mush, nebulous, and gives the idea that all ideas are equal.  That simply isn’t true.  At the same time, to live in isolation from other faiths and never connect or acknowledge the fact that we all have a responsibility living in the public square on this single globe is dangerous.  Paul is our best model of connecting with people of other religions, and no religion, for that matter.  From the Jewish synagogues to the Aeropagus and Mars Hill - he does a phenomenal job of teaching by example how to relate to others of different faiths.  Even the way he related to the soldiers while on the ocean trip to Rome is incredibly enlightening.  Like learning another language makes you learn your own that much better - so does confrontation with other faiths and religions.  It isn’t a bad thing. 

Eighth, living beyond your tribe while challenging your tribe.  I never realized how tribal we Christians really are until I began to work globally and then returning home and listening to what we said and how we said it without realizing how others hear it and it plays out globally.  If you listen to our conversations - we even speak to the “lost” with our tribal language and often to our tribe.  Tribalism often leads to ethnocentrism, superiority, and an unhealthy religious “nationalism” that can come across as abrasive, arrogant, loud, and harsh.  The truth never has to be mean, harsh, arrogant, or bullying - just revealed. 

Ninth, to engage globally will start with the hand - and servanthood - not the mouth and lots of rhetoric.  There are common things we can all agree on living in the same global space with the same infrastructures and as a result of that we have shared interest.  That’s where we start, as well as dealing with justice for all.  The hand builds the relationship, which allows for trust - which then opens up people to have honest conversations. 

Tenth - next week - I’ll write a lot on this - I hope - but the key to the church engaging globally in the 21st century is Apostolic or “Global” churches connecting . . . . .