Re An Uncomfortable Topic, January
I recall a closing paragraph in one of John Stott’s books back in the ‘60s where he made the following observation—it is unfortunate that the position of some Christians is as narrow as the point on a needle; instead, it ought to be a large circle which includes many positions.
My question is, how do we encourage more congregations to build large circles around them, embracing the stranger and be home to the lost? How do we build a community even though we don’t agree on everything? How do we refrain from insisting that I am right and you are wrong? Somehow we have to find a way and be intentional about it.
Andrew Faiz responds:
Rev. Vais, you ask an important question and Mr. Mitchell offers an intelligent portrait of the landscape. I see many congregations and presbyteries, along with many missions initiated by national offices, that are geared towards community building.
I see churches struggling, in a faithful and dynamic way, with the idea of what it means to be church today. We have reported on churches that have opened their doors to weekly community meals, who have dug up their yards to create community gardens, who have opened their sanctuaries to public meetings and events.
What’s been the most interesting aspect of this is not how the community has responded to the church (which in some cases has been dramatic) but how individual members of the church have responded to their own faith, feeling a more visceral sense of God and Christ in their bodies as they serve a meal to a neighbour.
This is a really exciting time to be church.
