Sister Mary Timothy

(photo by Paul Chinn/San Francisco Chronicle)

I resisted reading Dan Merchant’s book titled “Lord, Save Us From Your Followers” for a very long time. You see, I have a rather unfashionable attachment to the church. I love the church. I love seeing a good church find its unique voice in God’s plan for a community, and then work out that calling in practical, real life terms. I love to see hurting, broken people find health and healing in a body of people who love them. I love the church. So I feel sad when so many seem to spend their time criticizing, pointing fingers, or walking away from the church.

This book doesn’t do any of those things, and I am loving it. Dan Merchant manages to ask the hard questions in a way that leads to productive, life-changing thought. If his feature film of the same name comes close to the book, I’ll be the first one in line to buy a ticket.

Today I was reading while sitting at the FPEA Homeschool Convention. This gathering of 10,000 homeschoolers gave me a lot to think about while reading a book subtitled “Why is the Gospel of Love Dividing America?” if there was ever a typical, homogeneous crowd representing the church, this is it. Are we really dividing America?

Maybe. And here’s why. Somehow we’ve stopped talking to each other. As Dan Merchant pursued his interviews with widely diverse subjects for this book, he was amazed at how reasonable, intelligent and kind most of his subjects were. Some of us would be intimidated sitting down with Sister Mary Timothy, a man dressed as a nun briefly made famous for his protest of a Christian protest in San Francisco. Or we might uncomfortable sitting with Senator Rick Santorum, a conservative, right-leaning values candidate. But Dan discovered that these people all have more in common than even they might think. He discovered this by doing something radical:talking to them.

I sat in the coffee shop in the lobby today, watching this crowd of people who look so much like me, no matter how I’d like to deny it! We are a very similar lot. I thought about the Purpose Driven Network Summit this week, and how so many of the leaders gathered there made statements like, “The conference was good, but it was amazing to be able to sit and talk with these people.” On the other coast, the WhiteBoard conference just wrapped up, too. More leaders. More discussions about how life-changing the discussions they engaged in with each other were. I thought about some of the discussions I’ve had lately, online and in the real world. The common thread here is this: lets start talking with people more often. I want to not preach, not tell…just talk. When I shut up for awhile (easier to say, than do) I am often humbled by the wisdom I hear, even from Sister Mary Timothy. Dan Merchant perhaps stated it best.

[A man who I really respect, and don't wish to name - ed.] said “You held a rally on the city hall steps and were confronted by the very face of evil.” [This man was referring to Sister Mary Timothy] I deeply resented that sweeping caricature — especially because in the middle of my interview with Sister Mary Timothy I was struck by a basic yet profound understanding: God loves Sister Mary Timothy as much as He loves me. Think about that a minute. This guy, in this crazy getup, is loved by the Creator as much as I am. We gotta get this one right people; we have to understand this context or we’re going to be running in circles forever.

This book is full of insightful questioning and discussions, most far less controversial than the nun who is a man. Michael Reagan reminded me that the church needs to heal the people who walk through its doors before sending them back out into the world. Rick Santorum focused on changing the discussions so that we can provide Americans with tools to live a healthy life together in one country. Even Al Franken had a few good points, as he wondered how the church should act out the commands of Jesus in the world we live in.