Your authors met each other many years ago at work, rekindling an old relationship from childhood. Those childhoods were wildly different. One was born into a very religious home with a single mother and pastor as the head of the house while the other attended church only on special occasions. As they pressed into adulthood, they both spent their wayward years discovering themselves and their spirituality as most young adults do: accidentally and begrudgingly. One, the pastor’s son, ran from church and responsibility. The other, the eldest from a long line of strong matriarchs, found solace in pagan practice with inclusive friends who wanted to share.

            As they started their relationship, the topic of religion came up (as it does between two strong minds). He attended church regularly though mostly under duress. She was reluctant as inconsistencies and exclusivity were massive red flags; red flags not often ending well when coupled with a strong personality an inclination toward sincerity and not piety. The conversations on the way back to the city after church services were always eventful. But iron sharpens iron, as they say, and they reached mutual respect and appreciation.

            Today your authors are happily married and have been so for many years with many more in their future. They owe that strength, in one measure, to those long, difficult conversations after church service. Some of them were passionate while some were frustrating, but they were all enlightening and showcased one of the core tenants of their individual and respective beliefs, summed up in a passage from Hebrews:

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” HEB 4:12, NIV

            And, just like a sharp, two-edged sword, it should be studied dutifully, treated respectfully, and used appropriately, which doesn’t seem to be a belief held by many others.

            One of the most challenging situations your authors encounter generally entails a person saying or acting or encouraging in a manner that seems contrary to our Christian beliefs and core values. Divisive language and shortsighted judgments fall like burning rain on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Still, the most disturbing is using scripture or biblical context to justify the hateful statements. Statements like “God hates something” or “sinners do another thing” abound. This type of action is not using your sword appropriately, and if you think it is, we blame inadequate training.

            But the worst of all these is the echo chamber. There seems to be an exclusive sub-group of Christians who enjoy making noise and being loud. These Christians are always the ones getting the most attention and rarely the ones acting Christ-like. And when they cast their vitriol and denigration into the echo chamber, it’s amplified by praises and retweets and likes and shouts of “amen” by the like-minded minority, giving the rest of us a bad name.

Your authors don’t want to be lumped in with the ones dubbed “the crazy Christians,” and they bet most don’t either. It’s time to break the echo chamber and take power away from those who would use something altruistic and profoundly good as a weapon to tear flesh asunder under the guise of self-induced persecution. We must speak up and proclaim that our sacred and precious tenants will remain unsullied by venomous and selfish acts. But to do that, we have to be just as loud as them. Loud Christians.