Leaning Into Unity
Pastoring a small congregation in Tulsa, OK through a global pandemic and two destabilizing elections was becoming exhausting. After a few years of playing armchair epidemiologist and navigating a political climate of division within my congregation, I knew I needed some help, or at the very least some like-minded fellowship. At some point, as social distancing ethics became intertwined with political parties, I remember receiving frustrated emails from both sides of the aisle after every community update. So, when my good friend and fellow Tulsa pastor, Denise McKinney, invited me to attend The Summit in Atlanta put on by the One America Movement, I happily accepted. Previously, I attended a training on polarization by the organization and was desperate for a more tactical approach to peacekeeping in my community. Still, more importantly, I needed to know that I wasn’t alone in the work of combatting divisiveness.
As faith leaders from all over the country poured into the Embassy Suites Ballroom, near Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, I found myself instantly buoyed to be sitting with other battle-tested pastors, rabbis, and imams. While the contexts that we were each situated in back home were diverse, I found we were all traversing remarkably similar divisions in our congregations.
A few moments during this midweek conclave acted as the inciting incident for me to go from conference attendee to One America Movement employee (or “movement joiner”). The first was a conversation with a Muslim interfaith leader from Michigan. During a break, we discussed her desire to come to a peacemaking conference like The Summit. She leaned in and spoke in a softer voice, “Initially, I didn’t want to come to this type of conference because, as a Muslim, I was concerned that evangelical Christians would try to convert me. Despite that, I came because I know that unifying work in our country is more important than my apprehension or discomfort.” As an evangelical Christian from middle America, that comment arrested me. Her posture toward “my camp” was one of deep love and mutual partnership.
Enemy love is a core teaching of Jesus of Nazareth from his Kingdom manifesto referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Yet, in a country that predominantly identifies as Christian, I scantly find the type of sentiment in our congregations that this faith leader was expressing to me that afternoon. American Muslims make up 1% of the US population compared to 63% of the country’s population identifying as Christian. I put myself in her shoes that day. As I did, something profound happened to me. This was a moment of change for me, where I recognized that her ideals looked more like Christ’s teachings than my own. I wanted to lean into unity in the ways that this Muslim faith leader had committed to unifying our country.
While the relationships and conversations I had at The Summit were what moved me to join the organization just three months later, the content was also exceptional.
, American journalist and author, shared a riveting TedTalk-style keynote on how it is possible to untangle the knots of high conflict in the current cultural moment of our nation. High conflict is what happens when strife distills into a good-versus-evil feud, the kind with an us and a them. She broke down how the brain behaves differently amid conflict and the importance of understanding the underlying dynamics and motivations driving discord, as well as the role of empathy and perspective-taking in resolving them.
The final catalyzing moment came at the end of The Summit. Andrew Hanauer, the CEO of the One America Movement, gave a simple invitation, “If you need to know that you are not alone in the work of dismantling toxic polarization, know that we are your people! You don’t have to do this by yourself. It is exhausting to do it by yourself. Come join us in this movement!” Hearing Andy’s invitation that day gave me hope for our divided country that I had not felt in years and I knew I needed to do something about it. For me, that looked like joining the One America staff – an unexpected turn in my journey.
What might that look like for you in your context? Joining the movement may look like mending the divides in your congregation and local community, participating in an outreach project across cross-cutting identities, or even joining us for this year’s Summit in Austin, TX. I, for one, am excited about the hope that arises from small decisions that come from being a part of this movement.
Daniel
Pastor Daniel McIntosh is the Northwest Arkansas Outreach Manager for the One America Movement
If you are a faith leader or know of one who is interested in attending our Summit this year, please fill out this form and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Spots are limited.
Great post, as an immigrant from Pakistan one of the things that really made me sad when I came to America was how the political environment was becoming polarized. 9/11 had already polarized the religious side of the world but looking from outside into America, growing up I loved how the politics here was not dirty like the rest of the world. Both sides in the old day added weight to their arguments through facts and logic instead of raising their voices and belittling others. Debates were focused on us vs the problem, however that changed fast in 2016 as we dove into polarizing politics where its became more about You vs Me as compared to You and Me vs the problem.
The thing that also stood out this piece is, "Andrew Hanauer, the CEO of the One America Movement, gave a simple invitation, “If you need to know that you are not alone in the work of dismantling toxic polarization, know that we are your people! You don’t have to do this by yourself. It is exhausting to do it by yourself. Come join us in this movement!”
I cant explain how much it means to be part of One America and the influence this organization and Andy has had on my perspective. I always believed a united America and world is possible but this movement has amplified my vision and dream.