It's been said that the problem with Christianity is that the pious are too liberal and the liberal are too pious. At this historic hour, when our nation and many of its monolithic institutions are questioning ‘the way things have always been,’ and pondering the notions of renewal and reimagination, what better time for Christians to reconsider our own notions of compromise and conciliation as formidable guideposts to the rejuvenation of our own faith.

After all, one of Jesus’ most dramatic prayers, shortly before his death, was that all who follow him ‘may be one’ (John 17). And the only way for this to happen is for compromise of some sort to float a ribbon to wrap around us all. Someone once told me there were some 50,000 registered Christian denominations in the U.S., a testimony to not only our diversity but our failure at coexistence.

What this might mean to the pious is a new breath of openness. The Book of Hebrews describes God as ‘a consuming fire’ which, if we remember the last time we gazed into a fireplace, awakens visions of ever-changing bursts of flame leaping up the chimney. Like snowflakes, each flame, each movement, each spark-blast is different. Might God be doing something new with our pious understandings of the environment, human sexuality, human and civil rights? Might God be using women and those of same gender attraction in new and renewed ways? How open are we to reimagining our preconceived notions?

Liberals might move toward the middle by re-examining the spiritual disciplines of our tradition. The age-old devotions of daily prayer, fasting, alms-giving and study continue to form mature Christians. And the plain fact of the matter is that if America (where 85% of us self-identify as ‘Christians’) were to move even one small step in this direction we would see social issues like domestic violence, poverty, obesity and even Bible literacy (one in ten Americans believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife – I’m not making this up) greatly lessen in concern.

How might we take the our nation’s and new president’s call to change, renewal and solidarity to task in our lives? How might we meet one another in the middle?