A couple nights ago, I was listening to a talk by Shane Hipps of Mars Hill out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The message was one of inclusion to a degree that I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it spoken. The message is to the Mars Hill community, but I feel it should be applied to every Christian community.
Shane speaks:
- There are people here today who believe that what you believe matters more than anything else. And they believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. And they believe that Jesus when he died and was raised again did so to forgive your sins and if you put your faith in him, when you die, you’ll go to heaven. And if you are that kind of person you belong here as you are.
- And there are people here today who actually don’t know if they believe in God. And they look at Jesus and go, “Maybe a good moral teacher,” And they look at the Bible and they look at Jonah being swallowed by a fish and they go, “That’s funny. There’s no way that’s real. That’s absured and illogical and irrational.” And what they like is systematically try to change the world, one clipboard and calculator at a time. If that is you- you belong here as you are.
- And there are people here today who are pacifists and vegans by choice for moral reasons, they’re open and affirming of gays. They drive hybrid cars, they live in intentional community. They believe in truth, but not absolute truth. They believe in more like a story and a narritive. And they also would really rather work with a Muslim to irradicate AIDS then spend any amount of time debating how you get into heaven. If that’s you- you belong here as you are.
Shane’s next sentance:
Do you realize how unique that is?
Unfortunately, Shane, yes- I do. Shane goes on to list more and more people punctuating their descriptions with “If that’s you- you belong here as you are.” He goes on to say how this isn’t the idea of their particular church, it’s God’s idea.
Last night, with my parents I started in on a tirade about how the churches in Muskingum county are frequently exclusivist. The Our Way or the Highway To Hell approach to things, is what I’m meaning. Something that I said in my rant about this is, “When does someone get their membership card? When is somsone entitled to what God has to offer humanity?” This was rhetorical, because the answer is- right now. For everyone.
The modern American church is not moving foreward with the rest of the culture around it. The church is not progressive enough as a whole. All church communities that act as the self-righteous majordomo of God do all Christians a disservice. Thank you Mars Hill and all other churches who practice the love of Jesus who they preach they follow.
