Building an Ecumenical Bridge

Life is a narrative; a story fashioned by the very thoughts of God and made to exist just by His spoken word. It is a mystery in that it has no beginning, and no end. You and I enter into this story at birth, contribute to it for a short while, and then die, often unaware that were part of an eternal continuum.

Certain aspects of the story are worth noting. First, you and I are neither the storyteller nor the main characters. We can share with others that which we know about the story, and what roles others who have come before us have played, but it is not up to us to decide what happens as the story unfolds. Second, we have a responsibility to live our lives in accordance to the roles given to us by the Storyteller. As the proverb states: Man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.

It is this latter point with which I am wrestling today in no small way. What do I do with what I have when what I have is the unexpected role of bridge builder between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Protestantism?

I never expected my last post to strike such a resounding chord with so many. Thanks to the efforts of Kathryn Skaggs and several others, this website received more than 500 page hits in just 24 hours – 400 alone were to read Are Mormons Better Christians. That number may not seem very high, but considering that I just started this blog and have done almost nothing to get the word out, I am excited.

I also want to say Thank You for all of your wonderful comments and subsequent follows on Twitter. Your words have been very encouraging, and I feel honored that you would allow me, an outsider, to be embraced with such love. In my forty years as a Baptist I have only on a handful of occasions felt this much love from members of my own denomination.

I can not help but think that a new chapter is being written into the narrative. A bridge has been built between members of the LDS Church and this Baptist pastor. Truly we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. How we arrived here should never be the point. The point should be that now that a bridge exists, can we walk across it, back and forth into one another’s world.

If such an exchange is possible, then I must ask the next question, how can I love you? How can I serve you? If there are members of other denominations who want to cross this bridge, how can they bring edification and life into your world?

One thing I am already doing is trying to do is understand LDS issues. I am trying to identify with your needs and concerns as a church. I am trying to better understand your story now that the Master Storyteller has merged our paths. Another thing I feel led to do is to continue to write about the LDS experience with respect to the four areas of excellence mentioned in my previous post. Each one of those four areas should be examined more closely as a way for others to see not just what is being done better, but why it is better based on how it is being done.

Ultimately what I am asking is how we can advance the Kingdom of God together? How can we bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus as brothers and sisters in Christ. With that as our goal, where do we go from here?