DISCLAIMER: there's a fair bit about the Church that frustrates me.
However, I'd like to address those frustrations in a way that builds bridges, not burns them down. Especially since sin and justice are both relational. It does no good to flee the former for the latter in a way that creates more rifts than it heals.
Therefore, any criticisms I level against my sisters and brothers in Christ, (many of those criticisms coming from outside the walls of the Church), I'd like first to aim them at myself. After all, if I want to witness self-righteous pride, xenophobia, misplaced anger, etc., I need look no further than the mirror.
However, building bridges (much less walking across them and back unscathed) can be quite difficult in our post-/hyper-modern day. Each post I pass along (usually via Facebook and Twitter, but also here on the blog), thinking it interesting/challenging/inspiring, can generate everything from cheers to tears, it can bring life and also offend. This isn't a bad thing. In fact, I'd argue that it's good and necessary to be both inspired and angered by certain things.
...but it can make things quite complicated and messy.
Nevertheless, I'm more worried about returning from the other side of the bridge *unchanged* than unscathed. But if I'm going to be successful, I need your help.
For one thing, I need your charity. No, not monetary charity (at least not now!), but for you, all of you, to be charitable readers. I don't have enough time to explain fully my thoughts on and interpretation of every link/article that I post. Frequently, I do agree in some way with the author(s) of those links, but I would almost never be willing to sign off on each and every thing they say. Look for the good and true in each posted thing, and join me in thinking through what these authors have to say. That's usually the goal of most of my postings: to get people to think.
Second, if something I've posted or said has caused a deep rift between you and me - a rift which probably goes deeper than a superficial misunderstanding - feel free to contact me and we can try to clear things up. I can't guarantee that we'll see eye-to-eye on things, and we might even have a sharper disagreement as a result, but I'd like to always value people more than I value positions, relationships more than reasons.
Both sides in most debates have at least one thing to learn from their opponents. Give me a chance to learn from you - if not to change my opinions, at least so that I can sincerely hold my own differing opinions.
After all, disagreeing with a bunch of straw men is no good at all. Meaningful arguments have faces.