When families eat together the conversation often goes down uncomfortable paths.  Sometimes differences are stated.  Sometimes they aren't.  Sometimes the differences are trivial.  Sometimes important.  The responsibility of the family is not to become of one mind, but to love and respect each other for who they are, warts and all.

     There is a fear that churches, our families of faith, are changing in this respect.  The fear is that people are choosing churches, or making coalitions within churches, based on ideological and political positions.  It is not unusual that we do this, but the fear is that people within these coalitions are becoming less tolerant of those whose ideas differ from their own.

 You always have family
     This tendency is bad enough in the social and political arena, but even much worse in families and churches.  We can dismiss strangers who offend or hurt us.  It's much more difficult to overlook offenses from family, because we expect so much more from them.  If something is important to us, it should be respected, not dismissed, by those who care about us, even if they don't agree.

     The fear is not that we are going to get too liberal, or too conservative, but that our positions are becoming so hard and fast that the position is more important than the person.  There are churches that have had groups split off, making it difficult for one group to support itself.  Even if the reason for the split is lost, the schism remains.  This is not what we want for our churches.

War Torn  
   One extreme example of this is the tragedy in Iraq, where the current fighting is often between different groups of the same religious faith.  It is too often true that it is easier to find allies and fight enemies than to practice the love and respect that Christ calls us to, while still maintaining our own integrity of thought and purpose.
 
Culture of Disrespect   
     Political campaigning in our current culture is often designed to take advantage of our separation from each other. The differences we have, as individuals, should allow us to maintain a balance in our body politic, not cause us to hate each other.  This doesn't seem to be what is happening.  Look at the political posters.  Look at the ads on television.  Listen to the radio.  Ads should explain positions and introduce our politicians to us, clarifying their differences so we can make an informed choice.  They should not add to a culture of disrespect.
  
     Let's not bring this disrespect into our churches.