Let’s look for ways to be inclusive, not throw stones

Joseph F. Stuller Jr.
Coker UMC, San Antonio

I’d like to respond to Milton Lewis’ April 23 article, “We can’t have dialogue until we agree on a basic point.”
The author states that before we can discuss issues, we must agree that Jesus is Lord. He goes on to qualify what that means.
My question is: Who can define what the lordship of Jesus means to each believer?
Devotional literature tells of many ways Christians experience the Christ presence. Mr. Lewis seems to be saying all must agree Jesus is Lord as he sees Jesus as Lord.
The search for boundaries for discussion and a core theology can easily lead to paralysis by analysis. Whatever happened to John Wesley’s “Think and let think”?
Are we to depreciate and trust differently those who do not mirror our opinions? Is not our greater responsibility to treat each other with respect and compassion rather than try to alter thinking?
Wesley seems to raise controversy to a new level with his words, “If your heart is with my heart, give me your hand.” I interpret the Wesleyan heart to be one of service, not enforced theology.
There may be relevance to this issue in Jesus’ comment that it’s not those who call him Lord that enter the kingdom but those who do his Father’s will.
And then there’s the occasion when the disciples came to Jesus and said they found some people casting out demons in his name and they stopped them. Jesus told them to leave those people alone. If they weren’t against him, they were for him.
Our human nature tempts us to be exclusive. Maybe that’s why Martin Luther said the gospel is preached against human nature.
I think Methodism started and flourished by touching the spirits of people so they do God’s will amidst decadent social conditions. The poor, the uneducated, the social misfits became inclusive in fellowship under the umbrella of amazing grace.
This response to the spirit, perhaps, is a bigger issue for us than editorial boundaries or core theology. Are we now bent on exclusiveness in dialogue, worship, concepts of lordship, etc.? Jesus gave caution about being quick to throw stones (even when the scripture called for it).
My hope is that United Methodists look for ways to be inclusive. The two things we all have in common are sin and grace. May our sin lead us to compassion and the grace give us cause to join hands in celebration.