Becoming A Purple Church

Doug Cushing, Pinnacle Associate

If you feel that the members in your church are more politically and culturally divided than ever before, you are not alone. According to Pew Research, the way neighbors look at each other across streets and restaurant dining rooms is startling. According to the Pew results, between 1994 and 2014, the share of the American population who “have very unfavorable opinions” of people from the opposite political party jumped from 17 percent to 40 percent.

Pew also tracked our patterns of friendship and association. In the past two decades American’s ideological silos have dramatically increased. The Pew study asked whether respondents choose friends on political criteria, and 49 percent of liberals say they seek only liberal friends, with a whopping 63 percent of conservatives searching only in conservative precincts for theirs.

This tribalism is impacting our churches in ways great and small. Suspicion and fear of those who are politically different, is creating tension and undermining trust in the church. In 2014, Pew found that 27 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of Republicans “see the opposite party as a threat to the nation’s well-being.” This escalates difference to threat level: “one side sees safety where the other sees danger.”

The four-week webinar: An Emerging Vision For the Purple Church, will offer concrete practices designed to unite believers by teaching them how to look in love at church members who are politically opposite and begin forging a common future.

In the September 22nd webinar, we will explore the causes of political polarization and contempt in our churches and offer three counter-cultural practices to reduce contempt and grow the bond of Christian love.

In the September 29th webinar, we will discuss the emerging vision for the Purple Church in conversation and study. This webinar will offer concrete steps for how to disagree better with fellow Christians.

In the October 13th webinar, we will look at the emerging vision for the Purple Church in worship and mission. This webinar will provide practical tips for uniting your church in mission and worship.