WAYLON, WILLIE, AND RACHMANINOFF
Calvin Miller
October 1, 1986
I'm always amazed how dissimilar people in the same church can be. These days it's tough to adjust from one series of cultural heroes and theological nuances to the next. A pastor runs into so many kinds of personal tastes that it's almost impossible to "become all things to all men"-even Christians. I would love to sense the like-mindedness that is the mortar of close koinonia-kinship. But we are all so different! Sometimes the differences that most nettle are of little real consequence. For instance, I fashion myself a connoisseur of art. I remember visiting one of our church members who was displaying a new oil painting in the living room. It matched the velour of the couch perfectly. I wondered silently, What if Michelangelo had given his life to painting pictures that matched carpets and couches? "I see you have a new painting," I said. The proud new collector nodded. "Did you get it at the Holiday Inn art sale?" "Yes! How ever did you know?" "Just a guess." Actually, it was more than a guess; the picture had that definite "absolutely no picture over $39.95 this weekend" look about it. She was happy, and I was happy. Still, our tastes in the fine arts remain separate. But art is not the only area where tastes differ. Not long ago I visited a family that advocates home schooling. They were keeping their little Elijah home to learn his ABC's in the nonhumanistic atmosphere of a Formica dinette table. Elijah is bright, and he may mature as a scholar even if he does begin his lessons before the bowl of wilted Cheerios and yellow milk is cleared away. At the next home, Collette was in the "bright class" at the public school. Her mother was not fond of the home-school concept. "I don't know," she said. "I think Elijah Jones needs more ...
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