Last summer, several violent and divisive incidents dominated the national news. A hate-motivated shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others. These tragic deaths were followed by the killing of Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota, (live streamed on Facebook) and the killing of five police officers in Dallas, Texas. Then three police officers were killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Keenly aware of the need for reconciliation, we visited two very different churches on the Sundays immediately following these events.

What is an appropriate Christian response to the Orlando incident?

Imago Dei (Peoria, Illinois)

Pastor Charlie Dean spoke about the tragedy in Orlando and explained that this single incident encompassed many complex issues. He reminded us of the pain being experienced in Orlando and asked us to honestly share our experiences from the week. “

We were captivated as members stood and transparently shared their personal pain. A theme emerged: the Apostle Paul’s simple instruction, “Mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) The issues were important but would take years to find resolution; so the church affirmed God loves all people and expects us to do the same.

Love Our Neighbors

Woodland Hills Church (St. Paul, Minnesota)

The city of St. Paul was in turmoil on the Sunday we visited Woodland Hills Church. Pastor Greg Boyd began by first acknowledging the need for policing in the community. He talked about the different conversations he would have one day with both his black and his white grandchildren. With powerful and personal words, he identified with and gave credibility to all sides of the difficult issues facing his community.

He then acknowledged that while civil law must assign guilt, citizens of God’s Kingdom are called to “love our neighbors,” even our enemies. As Christians, he insisted, our responsibility is to listen to everyone in a manner that will bring about healing and understanding. He pointed us to a simple truth, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) We were challenged to adopt this very humble perspective as our own.

Our experience in both these worship services continues to be a powerful reminder that treating every person with love, respect and dignity is the most effective way to begin to solve our most intractable problems.

These biblical values inform and inspire our Christian faith. And leading out of these values will help us forge a pathway to bride divides.

Create a Values Culture

Values are never created in crises, but they often begin to form as a result. Never let a crisis pass by without asking if you have developed values that can be trusted to “get us through.” Values are created by what leaders say as well as what they do.

Developing Values is an Ongoing Process

In both of these churches, it was obvious that the message of love and respect for all people was not new. The current racial tragedies provided an occasion to re-enforce the values that had been developed. This not only helped people in the time of crisis, it also served to deepen the values by demonstrating their power to heal and protect.

Values Provide a Foundation for Solutions

Values provide a secure foundation that allows people to think about problems with confidence. They understand what risks are acceptable to the organization and what solutions they can offer to “fix problems.” With a developed set of shared values, it is possible to solve difficult problems in meaningful ways.