Over the past few days I have been in some cyber dialogue with some good friends from, actually, around the world.  Sometime out there in the future, I will quit saying how impressed I am with the immediacy of such communications, but for the time being I'm still very impressed that I can connect with fellow Christians at the push of a button!  Most of the guys I've been chatting with are from here in the United States, but Hans is from Holland.  Makes no difference.  I receive the message from Hans just as quickly as the message from Craig up in Marysville, north of Seattle.

We've been talking about how so many things in the world are changing and if the church wants to stay relevant and connected with people, we must be willing to change many of our methods and ministries.  Everyone agrees that our message must not change, but the ways that the message is presented must be in a continual state of flux!

I'm amazed at how friends can talk their way through difficult things and come out still being friends.  There were times in our conversations where you could just feel the tension in the air, but with some further explanation or backing up and rewording a sentence or subject, we were able to discuss vital, important issues and still keep the friendship!

It's important to remember certain things about communication these days.  Before the days of the internet, things were communicated in two basic ways.  One was in formal writing and the other was spoken.  I'm saying this because I want to say something and it's important for me to remember that in a few minutes I will hit the "post" button and what I will say will be a permanent part of that cyber proclamation!  We used to say, "Be careful what you allow into your brain.  Once it's in there, it's in there."  Now we say, "Be careful what you send out into the interent.  Once it's out there, it's out there."

So, in the interest of confidentiality...the name is changed to protect the innocent.

I once had a dear friend, a lady who worked on the same staff.  We shared work responsibilities and we shared friendship.  Then something happened.  To this day, I do not know what.  Things changed.  Our conversations turned business-like and at a particular point ended.  If you had been a part of my innermost circle, you would know the sadness of that break in friendship.  I felt deep sadness.

Cutting right to the chase...the Lord, I really do believe, caused two encounters that lady over the subsequent years that just could not have been coincidental. Stay with me.  The nature of ministry is that it is conducted in settings where people feel differently about different things.  When that began to dawn on me and I knew that I would have to make some decisions about how I would relate to people who disagreed, sometimes dramatically (specially chosen word!), it was apparent that if I did not take a constant "high road" that I would live my ministry in the context of distance and disagreement.  So, as a very young pastor I determined that people may walk away from me, but I would never walk away from them.  I have no control over other people, but I do have control over me!

Have I been perfect that this?  Probably not.  But, I have always asked the Lord to help me in this arena.  That ministry lady who was a friend and then who was so distant for a few years, is now my friend again.

The most beautiful thing that Jesus focused on was...love.  "Love one another.  By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another."  When we are at our best, we are loving and forgiving and building bridges with each other.  When we are not, the reverse is true...we have trouble convincing the world that we are His disciples.

This is one of the things I love best about Jesus and one of the things I love best about being His disciple...the depth of friendships and the restoration of friendships.