<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=us-ascii" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16443"></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><EM><SPAN
class=943160121-08062012>"</SPAN>Religion</EM> has fallen on hard times. Once
religion was worn as a badge of honor, but today virtually no one wants to be
thought of as <EM>religious</EM>. Too many people equate religion with the worst
possible behaviors associated with the church—self-righteousness, judgmentalism,
condemnation, prejudice, intolerance among them. Sects, factions, denominations,
splinters, and divisions send a message to the world that Christians can’t get
our own story straight. Petty bickering and conflict within congregations
reinforce the impression that being Christian offers nothing of greater value
than any other club or association.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=943160121-08062012>"</SPAN>So what
can be done? While the answer is simple, it won’t be easy. The time has come to
set aside differences and focus instead on what we share in common. Jesus says
in today’s Gospel lesson, “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder
his property without first binding the strong man; then indeed the house can be
plundered.” Let’s begin here. Let’s acknowledge that we believe different things
and value different things and seek different things, but at our heart and core
we are all one family, children of God, and brothers and sisters of the Christ.
It won’t change anything overnight, but one thing is certain. If we’re all on
the same side, there won’t be any of “those people” left to dislike.<SPAN
class=943160121-08062012>"</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=943160121-08062012><A
href="http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/2838/unbinding-the-strong-man">http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/2838/unbinding-the-strong-man</A></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=943160121-08062012></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P></DIV></BODY></HTML>