Dialogue and decency

This is from a few weeks ago, but an excellent article written by Shane Windmeyer and the relationship he has developed with Dan Cathy, president and COO of Chick-Fil-A. What makes it so interesting is that Windmeyer is the Executive Director of Campus Pride, the leading national organization for LGBT students, and has been a lifelong activist for such activities. As you probably know, Chick-Fil-A is the supposed anti-gay chicken sandwich shop. It was extremely refreshing reading about how Cathy reached out in Christ-like love to Windmeyer, and how through mutual respect they have come to learn not only about one another, but discover that maybe they didn't know all there was to know. Neither has changed their stance on the LGBT issue, but they have learned that you can actually disagree with someone and still work together and dialogue and be decent human beings.

Why can't more of us be like this - especially in the church? I get so discouraged with people who just refuse to talk to one another or discuss topics they don't like or the thinking that just because someone holds an opinion different from yours that you can't still be friends.

If you haven't read the article yet, you should. As Shane says...

In the end, it is not about eating (or eating a certain chicken sandwich). It is about sitting down at a table together and sharing our views as human beings, engaged in real, respectful, civil dialogue. Dan would probably call this act the biblical definition of hospitality. I would call it human decency. So long as we are all at the same table and talking, does it matter what we call it or what we eat?

Amen.