As a pastor, I have had to deal with several "Jerks for Jesus." You want to commend them for sticking to their guns, but their combative attitudes create so much contention that division begins almost immediately. I have found that, sadly, there is little common ground with them (as they play a zero-sum game), and it is nearly impossible to win them over. Usually, they either walk away from the church or must be asked not to return.
This is unfortunately true. The zero-sum game is the real issue. Everything is a hill worth dying on, so they spend their lives constantly fighting and never actually going and doing the things Jesus called us to do. It's hard to make disciples when you're constantly making arguments. (Again, those two things aren't always distinct, but they're definitely not the same.)
There is nothing praiseworthy in being a “Jerk for Jesus.” Yup
As a pastor, I have had to deal with several "Jerks for Jesus." You want to commend them for sticking to their guns, but their combative attitudes create so much contention that division begins almost immediately. I have found that, sadly, there is little common ground with them (as they play a zero-sum game), and it is nearly impossible to win them over. Usually, they either walk away from the church or must be asked not to return.
This is unfortunately true. The zero-sum game is the real issue. Everything is a hill worth dying on, so they spend their lives constantly fighting and never actually going and doing the things Jesus called us to do. It's hard to make disciples when you're constantly making arguments. (Again, those two things aren't always distinct, but they're definitely not the same.)