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Community Connections:This is a lesson from the Gospel of Moderation

In Christian churches, we often use the word Gospel. Many people know the word means 'good news.'

The good news, originally, was very specifically the good news of a military victory. A pitched battle fought in some distant region of the empire; the legions of Rome defeat their enemy and acquire new territory for Cesar; a runner is dispatched to herald the glorious win -- Gospel! Good News! We Win! Of course, Good News! for the Roman Empire was decidedly bad news for the unfortunate people of the newly-crushed and occupied territory.

I think about that when I use or hear the word Gospel. Our battles today seem far removed from some grim clash between Roman troops and Barbarian hoards. Instead, our current culture wars embroil us in contentious exchanges where words are weapons and the ground we fight over is political, ideological, or theological. We fight fiercely to preserve our freedoms, to protect us from what we fear by conquering -- no, vanquishing -- those who are different, to promote our truth against those who are not only wrong, but dangerously, deadly, wrong.

In polished armor, we take the field with the goal of bringing all of the blessings and prosperity of 'Rome' to the world. And, when we score a point on social media, see our candidate win an election, or divide our denomination and call it Good News, we automatically and ironically become bad news for someone else. In the pursuit of one goal, the opposite results. The consequences for both congregations and culture are devastating. In winning, we are losing.

The New Testament turns the gospel of empire on its head. The good news of God's kingdom isn't fashioned with might and power and wealth, but with sacrifice and surrender and utter humility. From the perspective of God's kingdom, a political, ideological, or theological victory wrought with the same old violent tools of empire (We Win! You Lose!) is no victory at all, but a total capitulation to the darkest, basest, and most sinister parts of our humanity.

In other words, the way we engage is as dear to God as what we engage. More so.

In light of this, let's call for a gospel of moderation. Not a moderation of our views -- as in, your view is too extreme, become more moderate. But rather a moderation of our nature, a tempering of the bloody fierceness with which we hold our views, a pulling back from the brink of war. Rather than assuming those who hold profoundly different perspectives or values than ourselves to be vile, evil enemies to be destroyed, a gospel of moderation would entail listening well, learning and understanding deeply, and recognizing our own perspective is valuable and useful but incomplete, part of the story, but not the entire script. This is true whether we are talking about climate change or road diets, local elections or national, worship music or the Second Amendment.

Communities and congregations that manage a gospel of moderation would certainly be welcome places of respite and good news in the contentious landscape of our current cultural moment. To do this, I (yes, emphatically, I) need to fight a battle indeed. But the battle is internal. It is a battle against my fears and ambitions and prejudices; a fight to die to myself rather than to kill the personhood of another. For local Christian congregations, in Jesus, we have both the model and the living resource to win this fight. Gospel. Good News! We all win.

Michael DeRuyter, lead pastor at the Midland Reformed Church, wrote this op-ed as part of the Daily News' Community Connections initiative.

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Community Connections: This is a lesson from the Gospel of Moderation - Midland Daily News