Contact: Jon Hirst, The Well, 719-362-5235, jhirst@dotheword.org
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Nov. 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- While the world celebrates the International Day for Tolerance today, house church leader Ken Eastburn is challenging Christians to reject tolerance and practice love instead. "There is no indication that Jesus ever meant for his followers to tolerate those who had different or offensive lifestyles. His command was much more radical than that," commented Eastburn.
The International Day for Tolerance is observed to generate public awareness, emphasize the dangers of intolerance and react with renewed commitment and action in support of tolerance promotion and education. It was established in 1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
"The world sees tolerance as the solution for many problems we face today. But tolerance is a copout. It allows us to harbor bitterness, racism, bigotry, and hate as long as we're able to manage our behavior appropriately," says Eastburn, "Tolerance says 'I don't have to like who you are or what you do, but I'll put up with it.' Jesus' followers don't have the luxury of tolerance. We're called to the kind of love Jesus advocated which says, 'no matter who you are or what you do, you're worth dying for.'"
Eastburn is a leader with The Well, a network of home-based churches in California and Colorado. After selling their building in 2005, members began meeting in each other's homes with a common goal of reaching out to those who would not otherwise set foot in a church.
He continues, "The Christianized version of tolerance is 'Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin.' Loving the sinner while hating the sin sounds great, except that, when fleshed out in people, we find ourselves unable to love and hate simultaneously and our default is to resist sin rather than embrace love. Perhaps that's why Jesus never got that far. He simply commanded his followers 'Love the Sinner.'"
For ideas on how Christians can move past tolerance and into love, Eastburn encourages individuals to visit their website at www.leavethebuilding.com and locate their "From Tolerance to Love" resource under the Resources section.
Eastburn and other members post their experiences on a blog maintained by the church, www.leavethebuildingblog.com, with the purpose of interacting with individuals from traditional and house church backgrounds.
