Inclusive Community

Our new small group met for the first time last night. We are a bunch of people who have committed to be a part of an emerging church plant and have agreed to go through “The Tangible Kingdom Primer” together. We believe God will use this tool to set the DNA of our ministry together.

As we introduced ourselves, I couldn’t help but notice the diversity in our group. We have grad-students and retirees, single and married folks, some in their 20’s and some in their 60’s, some new to the faith and some long-term saints, some small group veterans and some never having experienced a small group, and some who grew up in the Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and Christian Reformed traditions.

This morning I re-read what Halter and Smay say about Inclusive Community. The call of community isn’t about finding people just like us, at the exclusion of others. Community, in the biblical sense, is clearly about unlike people finding Christ at the center of their inclusive life together. Thus, issues of community reflect powerful dynamics of how God brings very diverse people together for his glory and his witness in the world. (The Tangible Kingdom Primer, 203)

So, Lord, I pray that you will pull our group together around our center, Christ, for his glory and his witness in our small part of the world.