CommunityOne Conference - Java Day One

it's interesting to me that we have recently been talking about community and how it relates to church. This morning finds me in a general session for JavaOne and on this first day the focus is CommunityOne. We are talking about how community exists in nerd land. We talk about open source in relationship to software and in relationship to software, but the same ideas work in relationship with God. In nerd land we are seeing this world we live in, this Earth becoming smaller and smaller each day. Right now we are listening to a panel of seven different individuals from various companies and various countries talking about the community of Java and stuff associated with. People from around the world bring so many different ideas and ways of handling things. Why can't we do this when we talk about God? Doesn't it seem arrogant to think that a certain person or a certain denomination know everything there is to know about God? Can't we accept that other people from other countries from other cultures from other communities have different views on God? Can't they possibly know something about Him that we have not figured out yet? This is an ongoing conversation we are invvolved with as followers of Jesus. We shouldn't just blow people off because of their views but realize we could possibly learn something about God from others. Sure, there is a lot of doctrine out there that I do not agree with, but just because a person or a denomination has a doctrine I don't agree with doesn't mean everything that comes from them is wrong. If we engage them in conversation and accept this is an ongoing conversation, we can learn more about this incredible God we follow. One thing this panel says is the more people that participate in the community the better, can't we do the same? Can't we say that the more people who contribute to the community of people talking about God the better?