Leap of Faith Movie
This fall, the documentary film "Leap of Faith" is being released in select cities across the country. It features one of our pastors, Rev. Tierra Marshall. The creators of the film provide the following synopsis:
Leap of Faith features twelve Grand Rapids Christian pastors and clergy as they struggle with some of today's most contentious questions. Brought together by President of The Colossian Forum, Rev. Michael Gulker, these pastors find fellowship through a series of retreats. They embark on an inspiring exploration of the question: "Can we disagree and still belong to each other in a divided world?"
Fellowship Church of Holland has a long history of working with the Colossian Forum and has found them to be a valuable partner in providing tools to help us navigate difficult conversations. They share:
We’ve all experienced moments where a disagreement happens, and you feel like either fighting or fleeing. On a hike with a friend, in your small group, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, during a church council meeting — these are moments where we may encounter differences, and may be unsure how to love the other person… or if we even should.
You don’t have to abandon your convictions in order to find peace and love for those with whom you disagree. There is a deep well of Christian tradition that provides wisdom. We draw from that well to help people today better understand one another by using conflict as a driver for connection and growth.
As a church, we wholeheartedly supported Pastor Tierra in participating in this year-long journey with other pastors. During this time, people from our church have also participated in workshops and other trainings through the Colossian Forum. Even though the positions each of us takes can cause people to jump to hate, division, and fear, we prefer to take a posture of loving each other enough to listen to each other, learn from each other, and become a stronger community through these conversations.
At Fellowship, we do not expect to create unity through uniformity. Instead, our unity is grounded in the person and work of Jesus -- whose body is the church (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12), where there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4), and where we find that all things hold together in Christ (Colossians 1). Therefore, at Fellowship, we recognize that difference is inevitable (in the church and in the world), but division is a choice. As we say in our value statements, "people matter more than perspectives." Pastor Tierra, as part of our shared leadership model with Pastor Ross Dieleman and Pastor Nate Schipper, fits into all of this too! She is a valued member of our community even as her perspective on some things might be the polar opposite of what others in the Fellowship community might think. Christ remains the center, and we seek to live into that!
Finally, at Fellowship, we often say, “God loves you just the way you are, AND God loves you too much to let you stay that way.” We are all on a journey to be more and more like Jesus. We pray that this film might be another way for us to grow.
Invitation | Curious Conversations
One of the ways we are encouraging our congregation to lean into these types of conversations and relationships is through an upcoming class called "Curious Conversations." During this class, participants will learn practical tools for engaging in conversations with a person with whom they disagree on something, practice some role-plays, and pray together, with some help from our friends at the Colossian Forum. Participants will also receive a guide to help them prepare for/engage in these curious conversations. We also hope participants will enter those conversations with the willingness to listen, learn, and have the humility to risk connection and explore together some common fears and loves.
This 75-minute class will take place on Wednesday, October 23, 6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. If you'd like to join us, you can RSVP here. You're also welcome to join us for dinner at 5:30 p.m.