Now a days, this is how people spell the name love; “Tolerance” The idea is that if we are to love each other the way Christ instructed us then we should bare with each other’s shortcomings and not be judgmental or force each other to change. This is what many term as Progressive Christianity.
This was excellently executed in this film from 2018 dubbed “Come Sunday” directed by Joshua Marston. The main actor ; Chiwetel Ejiofor is not a stranger to us. If you have watched the movie “The boy who harnessed the wind”, he was the father to the starring actor.
In this film, Chiwetel plays a successful pastor who gets a change of heart about how he delivers the gospel. He shifts his perspective from trying to change people through the gospel to accepting and tolerating people. This has him excommunicated from his church which lands him in tough financial times. He tries to start his own church but the finances prove to be a hustle. He even got secluded from the Christian circles because of his stand. He was even called to defend his newfound perspective in a council of priests in the black community where they debunked his stand. Without backing down, he was discredited as a priest in the black community.
His new style of preaching was dubbed “The Gospel of Inclusion” where people who were frowned upon by their churches because of accepting an alternative sexual lifestyle and other vices like drug use were finally accepted in the church.
He finally ends up pastoring in an excommunicated underground church full of queers and people rejected by society with nobody by his side but his wife. It makes us wonder whether times have changed from not expecting change from people especially as professed followers of Christ to just being okay with each others’ flaws.
Other actors you might know from the film include Martin Sheen, LaKeith Stanfield and Danny Glover.
Have a look at the film. It might give you a lot to think about.