A Family with Many Rooms: Understanding Protestant and Evangelical Christians

In the great house of our Lord, there are many rooms. It is a home built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. Yet, as in any large family, sometimes we who live in this house become confused. We use names for one another—labels like “Protestant” and “Evangelical”—and these words can build walls instead of bridges. They can cause pain and division where there should be understanding and love. The family of God is a beautiful story woven with many different threads, and sometimes we forget that each thread, in its unique color and texture, contributes to the splendor of the whole.

Let us, then, embark on a journey together. Let us set aside what we think we know, the judgments we may have formed in our hearts, and the hurts we may have suffered. This is not a journey to decide who is right and who is wrong, for that is a judgment that belongs to God alone. Instead, this is a journey of the heart, a pilgrimage of understanding. We seek to look upon our brothers and sisters with the eyes of Christ, to understand their stories, to feel the passions that animate their faith, and to see how the same Holy Spirit that moves in our own lives also moves in theirs, even if in different ways.

Imagine our shared Christian faith as a great and ancient tree, with its roots deep in the soil of Jerusalem. One of its mightiest branches is Protestantism. And from that branch, a vibrant, newer bough has grown, which we call Evangelicalism. To understand the bough, we must first understand the branch from which it grew. Let us walk together, with patience and with charity, to explore the beautiful, complex, and sometimes painful realities of our one Christian family.

Part I: Understanding Our Shared Heritage

To understand our family, we must first learn its history. The names we use today were not born in a vacuum; they carry with them the stories of centuries of faith, struggle, and passionate love for God. By gently untangling the history of these words, we can begin to clear away the confusion and see each other with greater clarity and compassion.

What Does It Mean to Be a Protestant?

The story of our Protestant brothers and sisters is a story of a deep and passionate desire to return to the heart of the Gospel. It begins over 500 years ago, in a time when many felt the Church had wandered from the simple, life-giving message of Jesus Christ. A German monk and scholar named Martin Luther, his heart aflame with love for God and His Word, felt a powerful spiritual stirring. He rediscovered the breathtaking truth that our salvation is not something we can earn through our good works is a pure, unmerited gift of God’s grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ alone.¹

In 1517, he famously posted his Ninety-Five Theses, a series of points for debate, which sparked a powerful movement of spiritual renewal that we now call the Protestant Reformation.² The word “Protestant” itself comes from those who “protested” certain practices of the time, not out of anger out of a deep conviction that the Church must be reformed according to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.²

This movement was built on foundational beliefs that brought immense spiritual relief to countless souls. These are sometimes called the “Five Solas,” a beautiful summary of this rediscovered faith:

• Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone): We are saved by the loving grace of God, not by our own merits.
• Sola Fide (By Faith Alone): We receive this grace simply by having faith in Jesus Christ.
• Solus Christus (In Christ Alone): Jesus Christ is our one and only mediator and savior.
• Sola Scriptura (According to Scripture Alone): The Bible is the highest authority for our faith and our life.
• Soli Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God Alone): All of life is to be lived for the glory of God.

From this powerful spiritual river, many streams have flowed. Protestantism is not one single church but a vast and diverse family of denominations. It is the family name for hundreds of distinct communities, including Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, and so many more.³ Each has its own unique traditions and ways of worship all share this common heritage of the Reformation, this powerful emphasis on God’s grace and the authority of the Bible.

What, Then, Is an Evangelical?

Here we arrive at the heart of much confusion, and we must tread gently to understand it. The word “evangelical” is a beautiful one. It comes directly from the Greek word used in the New Testament, euangelion, which means the “Good News” or the “Gospel”.⁵ To be evangelical, in its purest sense, simply means to be a person of the Gospel.

It is so important to understand that Martin Luther himself used this word to describe his movement. He called his church the evangelische Kirche—the “evangelical church”—because he wanted to signify that it was a church centered on the evangel, the good news of Jesus Christ, as opposed to human traditions.² This historical meaning is still alive today, especially in Europe. In Germany, for example, the word evangelisch is still the common word for “Protestant”.²

This history explains something that often confuses people in the United States. You will find large, historic Protestant denominations like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).⁹ They have the word “Evangelical” right in their name because they trace their heritage back to Luther’s evangelische church. But in the common American understanding today, the ELCA is considered a “Mainline Protestant” not an “evangelical” one.¹⁰

This is because, in the English-speaking world, the word “evangelical” took on a more specific meaning over time. It came to describe a powerful spiritual movement that places a special emphasis on a personal, heartfelt, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.² This movement gained tremendous energy during the great spiritual revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries in America and Britain, known as the Great Awakenings.¹³ Preachers like George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards called people to a faith that was not just a matter of formal church membership a living, breathing experience of God’s love in their own hearts.⁷ This is the meaning that most people think of today when they hear the word “evangelical.”

So, Are All Protestants Evangelicals?

With this history held gently in our hearts, the answer becomes clear: No, not all Protestants are evangelicals almost all evangelicals come from the Protestant family tree.¹¹

It is perhaps most helpful to think of it this way: Protestantism is the broad, historic branch of Christianity that grew out of the Reformation. Evangelicalism is a powerful, cross-denominational movement within that Protestant branch.² It is not a single denomination itself a set of shared spiritual priorities and passions that can be found across many different denominations. You will find vibrant evangelical communities within Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and many non-denominational churches.¹³

Part II: Exploring the Heart of Our Beliefs

Having gently cleared the soil of history, we can now look more closely at the beliefs that grow there. The differences between our Evangelical and Mainline Protestant brothers and sisters are not usually about the great, central truths of our faith—like the Trinity, or the divinity of Christ. On these, we are largely united. The differences are more often found in the emphasis we place on certain beliefs and the way we live them out in our communities. Let us explore these different emphases not as points of contention as different ways of singing the same song of praise to our one Lord.

How Do We View the Holy Bible?

Both Mainline Protestants and Evangelicals hold the Holy Bible as a sacred and foundational text for Christian life. The love for Scripture is a shared inheritance. The difference lies in how they approach its divine mystery and human character.

A common emphasis among our evangelical brothers and sisters is a deep and powerful reverence for the Bible as the inspired, authoritative, and often inerrant—that is, without error in any of its claims—Word of God.³ This view sees the Bible as God’s direct and perfect revelation to humanity, a trustworthy guide in all matters of faith and life.¹⁷ This often leads to a more literal reading of its historical accounts, believing, for example, that the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis describes a literal, historical event.¹ For many evangelicals, the Bible is the final, objective word from God, a solid rock in a changing world.¹²

Our Mainline Protestant brothers and sisters also view the Bible as the inspired and authoritative Word of God they often emphasize that this divine word comes to us through human hands. They believe the Bible must be interpreted with the help of the God-given gifts of reason, the long tradition of the and the insights of modern historical and literary study.⁴ For them, the Bible

contains the Word of God and becomes the Word of God for us as the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts through its pages.¹² They see it as a sacred historical document that reveals God’s truth one that was shaped by the cultures and times in which it was written. Therefore, many in the mainline tradition would not insist on a literal interpretation of every story, seeing some as powerful metaphors or allegories that teach powerful truths about God and humanity.³

How Is a Person Saved by God’s Grace?

Here, too, we find a shared foundation: salvation is a gift of God’s grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. The difference is in how we describe the soul’s journey into that grace.

For many evangelicals, the heart of the Christian life is a personal, often datable, conversion experience.¹ This is what is often meant by being “born again”.¹⁷ It is a conscious moment of turning from sin and turning toward God, personally accepting Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior.¹³ This is not just an intellectual agreement but a transformation of the heart that brings a deep and lasting assurance of one’s salvation.² Many evangelicals believe with a passionate conviction that this personal faith in Jesus is the

only way to be saved and receive eternal life.⁵

For many Mainline Protestants, the journey of salvation is often described less as a single, dramatic moment and more as a lifelong pilgrimage of faith.¹² It is a gradual process of growing in grace, nurtured within the community of the Church through baptism, worship, the sacraments, and service. Although they affirm that Jesus is the way to salvation, many in the mainline tradition are more open to the mystery of God’s grace, believing that its saving power might also reach people in other religious traditions in ways that we do not fully understand.⁴ They are less concerned with a specific moment of conversion and more focused on the ongoing spiritual transformation that unfolds over a lifetime.⁴

What Is the Mission of the Church in the World?

How are we called to live out our faith in the world? Both traditions feel a deep call to serve God they often prioritize different aspects of that mission.

The evangelical heart often beats with a sense of urgency for what is called activism—specifically, the work of evangelism and missions.⁵ The primary mission is to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ so that others may also have a personal, life-changing conversion experience.¹³ The focus is on the spiritual healing and transformation of individual souls, believing that changed hearts will ultimately change the world.²⁰

The Mainline Protestant heart often beats with a deep passion for social justice.⁴ The primary mission is to live out the Good News by embodying the compassion and justice of God’s kingdom here on earth. This means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the poor and the oppressed, and working to reform the structures of society to be more just and peaceful.⁴ This is often called the “Social Gospel.” For them, spreading the word is a broad calling that includes not just preaching also acts of charity, community development, and advocating for the voiceless.¹²

Of course, these two missions are not enemies. They are two wings of the same bird. A heart transformed by Jesus will naturally care for the poor, and a church that serves the poor is a powerful witness to the love of Jesus.

How Do These Beliefs Shape Our Communities?

These different spiritual emphases naturally lead to different feelings and practices within local church communities. The historian David Bebbington has offered a helpful way to understand the core passions that often characterize the evangelical spirit. It is not a rigid checklist a “quadrilateral of priorities” that describes the heart of the movement.²³ These are

Conversionism (the focus on a life-changing experience with Christ), Biblicism (a high regard for the Bible), Crucicentrism (a focus on the saving work of Jesus on the cross), and Activism (the drive to share the faith).⁵ These priorities shape a community that is often dynamic, passionate, and focused on personal spiritual growth.

The following table offers a gentle comparison of the common ways these different priorities are expressed in the life of a church. It is a simple guide to help us understand, not to judge or stereotype, for the Holy Spirit works in beautiful and surprising ways in every community that calls on the name of Jesus.

Topic of Faith and Life	Common Evangelical Emphasis	Common Mainline Protestant Emphasis
The Holy Bible	The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and final authority for faith and life, often interpreted literally.12	The Bible is the inspired, primary source and norm for Christian faith, interpreted with the help of tradition, reason, and experience.4
The Path to Salvation	A personal, transformative “born-again” experience is essential. Salvation is found exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ.5	A lifelong journey of faith and spiritual growth within the church. Often a more inclusive view on how God’s grace works in the world.4
The Church’s Mission	The priority is evangelism and missionary work to bring individuals to a saving faith in Jesus.17	The priority is social justice, service, and working to create a more just and compassionate society, reflecting God’s kingdom.4
Worship and Community	Often contemporary worship music, informal style, with a central focus on the sermon. Strong emphasis on small groups and community.8	Often traditional hymns and liturgy, following a more formal structure and the church calendar. Emphasis on sacraments and communal ritual.19
Social & Moral Issues	Generally holds more conservative views on social issues such as LGBTQ+ identity and roles for women in pastoral leadership.3	Generally holds more progressive or “liberal” views, affirming of LGBTQ+ members and clergy, and having ordained women for decades.3

Part III: The Lived Experience of Faith

Theology can tell us what a church believes only the human heart can tell us what it feels like to live there. To truly understand our brothers and sisters, we must move beyond doctrines and listen to their stories—stories of powerful joy and, sometimes, of deep pain. For faith is not an idea; it is a lived reality. Let us now open our hearts to these personal testimonies, holding them with reverence and compassion, as one would hold a sacred trust.

What Is the Deep Joy of Being an Evangelical?

For millions of souls, the evangelical tradition has been a wellspring of life, hope, and powerful spiritual joy. When we listen to their stories, we hear of a faith that is vibrant, personal, and deeply transformative.

Many speak of the incredible comfort of having a personal relationship with Jesus. It is not a distant, formal religion an intimate friendship with a Savior who knows them by name and walks with them every day.²⁵ They speak of talking to Jesus with the ease and confidence of a beloved child speaking to a loving Father.²⁵ This personal connection is the bedrock of their spiritual life, a source of strength in times of trouble and joy in times of celebration.

Another great gift of this tradition is a deep and abiding love for the Holy Bible. Many evangelicals grew up in homes and churches where the Scriptures were not just read cherished, memorized, and studied with passion.²⁵ The stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible permeate their lives, giving them a lens through which to see the world and a language to understand their own story. This love for Scripture fosters a faith that is always seeking to learn and grow deeper in the knowledge of God’s Word.²⁶

We also hear of the life-giving power of vibrant community. For many, especially young people, the church youth group was a place of true belonging, a sanctuary during the often turbulent years of adolescence.²⁵ It was in these communities that they forged lifelong friendships, found mentors who guided them, and discovered a safe space to grow in their faith. The potlucks, the small groups, the shared life—all of these weave a strong fabric of fellowship that supports and sustains its members.²⁵

Finally, there is the powerful peace that comes from the assurance of salvation. In a world full of uncertainty, the evangelical faith offers a sure and certain hope: that one is saved, right by the pure grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.²⁷ This is not wishful thinking a confident expectation that frees the soul from fear and fills it with gratitude and joy.²⁷

Why Do Some Feel a Painful Need to Leave Evangelicalism?

We must also have the courage and humility to listen to other stories—stories of pain and disillusionment. In recent years, many who grew up in the evangelical world have felt a deep need to walk away, a movement sometimes called “exvangelical”.²⁸ Their stories are not told out of bitterness out of a deep sense of loss and a longing for healing. It is our Christian duty to listen to these wounded members of our family with a compassionate and non-judgmental heart.

Many speak of experiencing spiritual trauma. They describe faith communities that, instead of being places of grace and healing, became high-control environments that enforced impossible standards.²⁹ They tell of feeling constantly judged, shamed, and made to feel that they could never be good enough. Some speak of misogyny that damaged their sense of self-worth or a culture that prioritized prayer over necessary medical care, leading to lasting harm.²⁹

Others describe a deep pain that comes from seeing their beloved faith become entangled with partisan politics. They feel that the simple, beautiful message of the Gospel has been overshadowed by a political agenda, and that loyalty to a political party is sometimes valued more than loyalty to Christ.³⁰ This can create a painful conflict in their hearts, forcing them to choose between their faith and their conscience.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking testimony we hear is the feeling of powerful abandonment. The very intensity of the community that is a source of such joy can also become a source of immense pain. Many who have left tell the same sad story: they spent their entire lives in a considering its members to be their family. But when they began to have doubts, or when they quietly stopped attending, not a single person reached out to them. The silence was deafening.²⁹ This experience suggests that sometimes, the belonging offered by the community can feel conditional, dependent on conforming to a specific set of beliefs and behaviors. When a person can no longer conform, they risk finding themselves not just in disagreement utterly alone. This is a powerful pastoral challenge for all of us: how can our communities offer the gift of true, unconditional belonging, loving even those who feel they must walk a different path?

What Spiritual Home Do People Find in Mainline Churches?

For many who have felt lost or wounded, the churches of the mainline tradition have become a spiritual home, a place of healing, peace, and renewed faith. Their stories tell of a different kind of grace, one that meets them in their questions and embraces them in their complexity.

A common theme is the powerful relief of finding intellectual freedom. Many who come to mainline churches speak of the joy of being in a community where it is safe to ask hard questions, to wrestle with doubt, and to not have all the answers.³² They find a faith that is not afraid of science or modern knowledge one that encourages the use of the mind as a path to loving God more fully.

Others speak of the deep beauty they find in liturgy and tradition. In the ancient prayers, the rich hymns, and the holy sacraments, they feel a powerful connection to the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before them.³⁴ The rhythm of the church calendar—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter—provides a sacred structure to their year, grounding their lives in the story of Christ. For those who felt their previous faith was too new or too focused on emotion, this connection to history can be deeply centering and nourishing.

Many also find a home in the mainline commitment to radical inclusion and social justice. They are drawn to churches that open their arms wide to all people, regardless of race, background, or sexual orientation.³⁵ They find a faith that is not just about personal salvation about actively participating in God’s work of healing and redeeming the world. They find joy in a community that is passionate about caring for the poor, welcoming the stranger, and protecting God’s creation.³⁵

This journey is not always simple. The writer Rachel Held Evans, who found a loving home in the Episcopal Church after leaving evangelicalism, wrote honestly that she sometimes missed the “fire-in-the-belly” passion and the intensive Bible study of her evangelical upbringing.³² Her story reminds us that no tradition is perfect, and that our spiritual journeys are often complex. But for many, the gentle, spacious, and compassionate faith they find in the mainline is the very grace they need to find their way back to God.

Part IV: A Global and Future Perspective

The story of Protestantism and Evangelicalism is often told as if it were only an American or European story. But the Holy Spirit is moving in powerful ways all over the world, and the face of Christianity is changing. To truly understand our family, we must lift our eyes and look at the bigger picture, seeing how these words and movements take on new life in different cultures, and what the future may hold for all of us.

Do These Labels Mean the Same Thing Around the World?

The simple answer is no. The neat lines that are sometimes drawn between “Evangelical” and “Mainline” in the United States often blur or disappear entirely in other parts of the world.

As we have seen, in many parts of Europe, the word “evangelical” simply means “Protestant,” a direct inheritance from the time of the Reformation.²

But the most exciting story is happening in the Global South—in Latin America, Africa, and Asia—where Christianity is growing with breathtaking speed.³⁶ Here, the faith often looks very different from what many in the West are used to. Churches in Africa and Latin America are often deeply “evangelical” in their passion and piety. They are charismatic, with a vibrant belief in the power of the Holy Spirit, in miracles, faith healing, and the direct authority of the Bible.³⁷ Their worship is full of life and fervor.

At the same time, because many of these Christians live in contexts of great poverty, injustice, and social turmoil, their faith is inseparable from a deep commitment to social justice and liberation.³⁷ For them, the Gospel is not just about saving souls for the next life; it is about bringing God’s healing, justice, and hope to the suffering of this life. They see no conflict between a passionate, personal faith and a tireless fight for the poor and oppressed. In Latin America, for example, this vibrant faith is also often paired with a staunch cultural conservatism on issues of family and morality.⁴⁰

This beautiful fusion challenges the way we often think in the West. We have sometimes created a false choice between personal evangelism and social justice, as if they were two opposing teams. Our brothers and sisters in the Global South show us that they are, and have always been, two wings of the same bird. They are teaching the rest of the world that a heart on fire for Jesus is a heart that burns for the poor. This is a powerful gift to the entire Christian family.

Where Are Our Churches Heading?

When we look at the trends in faith, especially in the United States, it is easy to feel discouraged. But we must look with the eyes of faith, not of fear, trusting that the Lord is still at work in His Church. Respected studies, like those from the Pew Research Center and the Barna Group, can help us understand the landscape.

We must acknowledge with honesty and sadness the decline in membership within the historic Mainline Protestant denominations. For several decades, their numbers have been shrinking.⁴¹ In 2007, about 18% of American adults identified with a mainline church; by 2023-24, that number had fallen to 11%.⁴³ Some observers suggest this may be because, in their noble effort to be open and inclusive, these churches sometimes have not offered a sufficiently distinct and compelling vision of faith to hold their members, especially the young, in a world that is increasingly secular.⁴⁴

The numbers for our evangelical brothers and sisters have been more stable. Their share of the population has declined only slightly, from about 26% in 2007 to 23% in 2023-24.⁴¹ This is partly because they have been more successful at retaining those who were raised in the faith and at welcoming new converts.⁴⁵ But the evangelical community faces its own powerful challenge. The word “evangelical” itself has become deeply connected with politics in the public mind, and for many people outside the it now carries a negative meaning.⁴⁶ This is a source of great sorrow for many evangelicals who wish only to be known for their love of Jesus.

And we must all, as one Christian family, face the reality of the rise of the “nones”—those who say they have no religious affiliation at all. This group has grown significantly, especially among young people, and now represents nearly 30% of the American population.⁴¹ This is the world in which we are all called to be witnesses of Christ’s love.

The demographic center of our faith is shifting. By the year 2040, it is projected that half of all Protestants in the world will live in Africa.³⁶ The future of Christianity will be shaped more by the voices of believers in Lagos, São Paulo, and Manila than by those in London or Chicago.³⁷ This is not a cause for fear for joyful hope. The Holy Spirit is writing a new chapter in the story of the one that will be more diverse, more vibrant, and more global than ever before. These new centers of Christianity, with their powerful fusion of orthodox faith and a deep concern for the poor, have much to teach the older churches of the West. They may, in God’s providence, be the very ones who help us heal our divisions and rediscover the full, integrated power of the Gospel.

Part V: A Call to Walk Together

We have journeyed far together, exploring the history, the beliefs, and the lived experiences that shape our Protestant and Evangelical family. We have seen the beauty and the pain, the certainties and the questions. As we draw near the end of our pilgrimage, we must ask the most important question of all: How, then, shall we live? How can we, with all our differences, truly be the one family of God, united in our love for Christ and for one another?

Can We Find Common Ground in Our Love for Christ?

The answer, born of faith and hope, is a resounding yes. The path to this unity has a beautiful name: ecumenism. It is the movement, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that calls all Christians to work and pray for the visible unity of the Church.⁴⁸ It is a response to the prayer of our Lord Jesus himself, on the night before he died: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me”.⁴⁹ Our unity is not for our own sake; it is for the sake of the world, so that all may see our love and be drawn to the Savior.

This unity is not just a dream for the future; it is already happening in what some have called the “ecumenism of the trenches”.⁴⁹ On the ground, in towns and cities all over the world, Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics are already standing shoulder to shoulder. They are working together to feed the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless, to fight the evil of human trafficking, and to care for the most vulnerable members of our society.⁴⁹ In these shared acts of love and mercy, they discover that what unites them—their common love for Jesus and their desire to serve “the least of these”—is far more powerful than what divides them.

This practical unity can build bridges of trust that make our more difficult conversations possible. Even on the most polarizing issues, there is often shared ground to be found if we have the humility to look for it. For example, in the painful debate over abortion, both sides can often agree on the shared goal of reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and supporting women in crisis.⁵⁰ Both traditions believe in the dignity of every person, in the call to care for God’s creation, and in the vital role of the church in healing a broken world.⁵⁰ Our shared baptism and our common confession that “Jesus is Lord” is a foundation for unity that is stronger than any wall of division we can build.⁴⁹

How, Then, Shall We Love One Another?

Our journey ends where all Christian journeys must end: at the foot of the cross, with the great commandment to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we are to be faithful to this call, our life together as a Christian family must be marked by certain virtues.

We must have humility. We must have the grace to admit that no single tradition, no single denomination, has a perfect and complete understanding of the infinite mystery of God.⁵¹ We all have so much to learn from one another. Our evangelical brothers and sisters can inspire us with their passionate love for Scripture, their zeal for sharing the faith, and their emphasis on a personal, living relationship with Jesus. Our mainline brothers and sisters can challenge us with their deep commitment to social justice, their embrace of intellectual inquiry, and their vision of a radically inclusive and welcoming church. We are all poorer when we close our hearts to the gifts that God has given to other parts of His family.

We must learn the sacred art of listening. So often, we are quick to speak, to judge, to correct. But love requires us to first be silent and truly listen to the heart of our brother or sister.³⁵ We must seek to understand their story, their joys, and their wounds before we presume to have an answer for them. When we listen with a compassionate heart, we create a safe space where the Holy Spirit can work, healing old wounds and building new understanding.

Let us, then, go forth from this journey with renewed hope. Let us look upon every Christian, whether they call themselves Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, or Orthodox, not as a stranger or a rival as a beloved brother or sister in Christ. Let us pray for the grace to see past the labels that divide us and to see instead the face of Christ in one another. For we are all members of one body, children of one Father, and pilgrims on one journey toward our eternal home. May the world look upon us and say, not “See how those Christians argue,” but “See how they love one another.” And in seeing our love, may they come to know the boundless, unifying, and saving love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.