Now what?

Another election day is past and America has spoken - or at least 60% of registered voters have, according to initial reports.

Elections divide us. There are winners and losers. They put a spotlight on our differences. And although they provide the opportunity for sincere discussion and compromise, elections all too often end up devolving into partisan entrenchment. We dig in our heels and add fuel enhancer to our vocabularies. According to Rasmussen, about one out of every four people have had a relationship with a friend or family member negatively impacted by this year's election.

So what now? The reality is this: there are Democrats, Independents and Republicans in our church. There are supporters of both Obama and Romney among us. To our credit, we have kept the partisan discourse from dividing our church. But can we go beyond that and find common ground upon which to unite?

I think we can.

I think we can unite around the common purpose of "Connecting our community to God's story, one person at a time." I believe we can focus on our mission to “Help people write the next chapter of their faith story by providing environments where they can seek, study and serve God."

Let that be what unites us. Let the Lordship of Christ and the worship of our Heavenly Father provide the basis upon which we call ourselves siblings. In Christ there is "no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."

Time to move on. Time to move forward with what really matters: the things that are eternal.