I needed an educated opinion. To complicate that, I needed an opinion from someone who wouldn't defer to me on this, so my coworkers were out. (I'm not saying they don't know what they're doing. They do. The problem is that I sell more house insurance than they do and guess who trained them? Me. Yeah. Me.) I put in a call to the underwriting team at said company. We come up with $93,000 being too much and do it for $63,000. This makes me happy because I am no longer afraid I'm over-insuring this house and getting the old guy (who I actually like) to pay more premium than he needs to on his home. I also knew the customer would defer to me on this. I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. (Industry secret: Your insurance person doesn't really want you to just buy whatever they tell you too. They want your input. For reals. Not joking. )
Sometimes you need someone who's going to doubt your opinion. You need to know that if they think you're an idiot (or just being stupid at the time) they're going to tell you. You need someone who's going to stand up to you if they think you're wrong. Being someone's friend doesn't mean nodding in agreement to every hair-brained thing they think of doing. It has occurred to me lately that going to a church where your every political and theological opinion runs unopposed is just as dangerous as well. Where spirituality is concerned, especially the will of God, letting someone just run around thinking that clouds are marshmallows in the sky if it makes them happy is dangerous. Why? Some day the issue might be more serious than marshmallows in the sky.
The one thing I've learned about the Holy Spirit is that he generally doesn't send out memos to just one person. If no one else has the same idea as you about something you think God wants you have a problem. You also have a problem if everybody in your faith community assumes that you have a direct line to God that rings on your desk and that if you think it about a topic it must be so. So here's the thing guys: If you are a leader in your community and you don't have anyone around who tells you when you're acting like an idiot---get one. Seriously. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of people trust you but if you're not careful you could end up with a dolphin fountain in the middle of the narthex surrounded by Pepto-Bismol pink tile with a troupe of dancing girls playing in it every third Sunday of the month. Why? No one wanted to tell Father no...
So don't pick a church because no one won't like you. Actually, don't pick a church at all. Listen to what your heart is telling you and find the place you're supposed to be. If you sense that God is pointing you in that direction, listen. Even if it's been infiltrated by Republicans/liberals/Democrats/conservatives. So what if there's not a rock band. So what if they don't/do pray off the cuff. So what if someone there isn't going to like you. I have people in my family who won't even friend me on Facebook but I'm not going to go out and find a new one because of it. Give it a shot. Visiting doesn't make you a member.
Sometimes the thing you're afraid of is the thing you need the most. Someone to tell you when there's a booger on your face. I didn't get to go to church for the first five years after my conversion. Guess what I hadn't picked up on? Baptism. Yup. Baptism. Didn't know I needed it. Someone told me and it changed my life. Sometimes you miss the really obvious stuff.
My mother told someone the other day that I'm rabidly Episcopalian. Why yes, I am. I am rabidly Episcopalian because they taught me that even in one church there are many ways to see God. Many ways to love him. Many ways to love her. That even if I think someone's missing what seems obvious to me they're still my family. They know it too. Yes, we drive each other nuts. If we didn't have each other there might be a dolphin fountain in the narthex. Or shiny choir robes. Or no choir at all.
Yeah. It takes all the people to make a church. All the people to make sure someone doesn't defer to one person's opinion all the time and end up on one extreme of a stereotype.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
Well do ya, punk?
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