Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 February 2006 07:21:41
Talk of an inclusive church and people like me will have a broad grin on our faces and think at last. When we think of an inclusive church we think of a church where labels won't matter any more and everybody will be able to be accepted and play a full part. A church where "minority ethnic groups", "those with mental health problems", "single parents", "women", "the underclass", "LGB community",and the "generally marginalised", etc, etc will all feel fully included and equal.
However, I am increasingly waking up to the fact that for radicals / liberals particularly the challenge to be inclusive church is an equally strong challenge and involves welcoming, honouring and loving those with views, opinions and beliefs that are / we may find dangerous, difficult and/ or offensive.
Twice this week I have found myself in situations where I have found myself commenting on the need to "love the person not their opinion", and both times they were issues where I hold a v.clear position which was diametrically opposed to what these people appeared to be expressing.
Again I know it is not easy, and I'm not pretending it is. I hold opinions and society gives me lables which mean I find the challenges of inclusive church, in the sense of accepting and loving the "patriarchal", "misogynistic", "racist", "homophobic", "conservative", "fundamentalist" v.difficult and it's an area where I struggle. However, if we are to be inclusive church (with or without walls) we are going to have to find ways of being in community with these people.
In my mind the only hope we have for doing that is actually taking it to God and asking Him to help us, and then trying to listen and having the courage to follow whatever answer He comes up with because humanly there is no way on earth it can happen; because of fear and the fact loving your "enemy" really does go beyond every rational or natural instinct we have. However, we need to find a way or these people will become further ghettoised, in the way the first group of people I mentioned have been in the past / are, and feel they have to take an ever more defensive position. Also whilst I may not be someone who holds to everything in the bible being the word of God I do believe that the people who wrote it got most of it right, and to me that means we have to take the commands / challenges in it seriously.
**Sorry if this has turned into something between a rant and a sermon, but it's something I'm feeling increasingly stongly about because I think the increased diversity in our society really is leading to increased polarisation of opinion & if we do want to be "inclusive church" we need to recognise the issues and work through them **