Recently, a new book came out that caused a stir in Christianity. Different authors chose different sides. Words got heated. Social media blew up.
I am of course talking about the Francine Rivers vs. Karen Kingsbury street fight of 2011. Long dedicated to being a place of mirth, I won’t go into the details, but in talking about this situation, my wife reminded me of something interesting:
“You know, the current fracas is bigger than this phrase, but for years, if you were going to disagree with another Christian, you had to say, ‘Let’s agree to disagree.’ Or you could use the slightly more serious version, “It’s not a salvation issue, but …”
She’s right, in addition to big debates like the one that is going on right now, we’ve long had much smaller, but equally awesome, discussions about our differences. And when we’ve had them, as a pretext to sharing your opinion, you’re supposed to say, “Let’s agree to disagree, but …”
So today, as an olive branch of peace, I thought it might be good to get some of our differences out on the table, especially some of the ones we’ve discussed on SCL:
1. Let’s agree to disagree, but I’m pretty sure God uses a Mac.
2. Let’s agree to disagree, but I’m almost positive that a “3 contemporary songs to 1 hymn” ratio is how they structure worship services in heaven.
3. Let’s agree to disagree, but the NIV (1984 edition) is the greatest version of the Bible ever.
4. Let’s agree to disagree, but those Willow Tree faceless Christian figurines are a little scary.
5. Let’s agree to disagree, but the offering bucket is way better than the offering basket.
6. Let’s agree to disagree, but if your VBS does not have a jumpy thing, I’m not sure you’re really “loving on” your community.
7. Let’s agree to disagree, but what a side hug lacks in warmth it makes up in speed of delivery.
8. Let’s agree to disagree, but I’d prefer you use the gnarled church pencil instead of borrowing/stealing my pen during church.
9. Let’s agree to disagree, but I think people who always correct you and say, “the Sabbath is actually a Saturday” aren’t any fun to invite to parties.
10. Let’s agree to disagree, but I believe that secretly every pastor wants to do a crazy sermon on the Song of Solomon.
11. Let’s agree to disagree, but sitting in a pew feels at least 17% more “churchy” then sitting in a seat.
12. Let’s agree to disagree, but I still contend that giving someone a back massage during the middle of a sermon is distracting.
13. Let’s agree to disagree, but now that I am a dad, I’m glad there are some Christian radio stations that are “safe for the whole family.”
14. Let’s agree to disagree, but the bootleg cookies you get at VBS do not accurately reflect the majesty and awesomeness of God.
15. Let’s agree to disagree, but the guy who screams “Jesus!!!” at concerts is probably worshiping but he’s also screaming directly in your cochlea.
16. Let’s agree to disagree, but it’s not a sin to keep your eyes cracked during the prayer so you can watch the secret society of “people who move things off stage” go to work.
17. Let’s agree to disagree, but there were a ton of Jesus Jukes when Bin Laden was killed.
18. Let’s agree to disagree, but staring at the sound guy when something messes up probably doesn’t help fix the sound issue.
19. Let’s agree to disagree, but I believe the most powerful person at a church is the secretary.
20. Let’s agree to disagree, but sometimes we spend more time arguing about the faith of U2, than we do sharing our faith with our neighbors.
21. Let’s agree to disagree, but it’s hard to follow someone’s very serious/sad prayer request with something of your own that is light hearted.
22. Let’s agree to disagree, the digital age is awesome, but no app will ever surpass the warmth and effectiveness of the flannelgraph.
23. Let’s agree to disagree, but I think every guy who ever attended a Christian camp secretly wished he was the guy with the acoustic guitar that only knew three chords.
24. Let’s agree to disagree, but the first and third verses of a hymn are vastly superior to the second and fourth verses.
25. Let’s agree to disagree, but there is no such thing as “singing Blessed Be Your Name,” too many times.
Whoa, I feel better already. My friend Rachel Held Evans did a restore unity event last week on her blog and I’d like to think that I played a tiny roll in doing that same thing today. Unless you’re reading this while wearing pleated pants. Everyone knows flat front pants and/or jeans aren’t nearly as judgmental as pleated pants. Let’s agree to disagree.
Have you ever encountered a minor issue that got major debate, requiring someone to throw out a “Let’s agree to disagree?”
Did you disagree with anything on my list today?
