Unwavering Inclusivity

I spent the week in Charlotte North Carolina, and its kinda cold there. I got to wear a jacket with fur inside of it and be comfortable and I really liked that.

But anyway, I was there for the National Gathering of Fresh Expressions UMC. Which is a fancy way of saying “a place where people who are unsatisfied with the status quo of the American Church can come to talk about how to be better at doing church.” And you might be surprised to learn this, but there were a lot of people there. And I fit in there. Like really fit in. I’m not the only pastor in this world who is covered in tattoos. There are at least 5 of us ;)

But what I heard was a lot of hope, but also a sobering reminder that the time is now for us to embrace new ways of engaging the community around us. I had the pleasure of listening to a pastor named Dr. Rodrigo Cruz who serves as both the pastor of a multi-site church and as a District Superintendent. He’s a Mexican American and so he made this analogy.

Imagine if we, the church, were a Mexican restaurant, and all that we served was tacos. Which sounds awesome because I love tacos. But here’s the thing… in our hypothetical theoretical Mexican restaurant, our tacos are not good. We are kept in business by a few people who show up and eat our tacos, but generally no one else shows up.

It gets to the point where the whole town knows that its not worth coming to our restaurant. It’s not that they don’t want tacos. They want tacos. They love tacos. They think about tacos all of the time. But here’s the thing… the whole community would rather go hungry than come and eat our tacos.

That’s the reality that the Church in America faces right now. The world doesn’t hate God as much as it would like us to believe. But the world would rather go hungry than eat the tacos that they think we sell. They would rather live in ignorance of the good good gift that we have than come and be disappointed.

That’s a really sad reality. But it’s not a reality that is incurable. It’s a reality that we simply need to acknowledge so that we can give ourselves the space that we need to dream about and take action towards who the church can be in the future.

And part of the reason that people don’t want to be part of the church is because they believe that the words exclusive and church are synonymous.

And here’s the deal — that’s not supposed to be true. The church is supposed to be inclusive. The church is supposed to be a place where every single person who wants to know God get’s a chance to know God. And I believe that we realize this reality. And that’s why we have adopted this final core value of “Unwavering Inclusivity.”

If you’re just tuning in, we are at the tail end of our sermon series “This is Us” where we are looking at our new strategic plan. We have a mission of “Flooding the Treasure Coast with the transformational love of Jesus.” And we have a vision of creating, equipping, and mobilizing 610 disciples by 2030 so that heaven and earth collide on the Treasure Coast. And we are going to accomplish that mission by leaning into and living out our core values. Those values are: Passionate Worship, Faithful Development, Radical Generosity, Missional Outreach, and finally Unwavering Inclusivity.

Now, inclusivity is a bit of a loaded term in our society today. Some love it, some hate it, and that is all because of the conversations that happen in the political realm of the world. But what I need you to do is drop your preconceptions about that word for the next 20 minutes and let me tell you what it really means, and what it really looks like, and what it really means for us to live out the value of unwavering inclusivity.

To be inclusive means to be a safe space. It means that barriers that separate us from being the community that God created us to be no longer exist. It means that all people are able to find a home here if they so choose to make it their home. It means that we become more like the vision that God has for this world.

At the very end of the Bible, we are given a vision of God’s ultimate plan for humanity:

Revelation 7:9–10 NRSV

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

So this is the Apostle John having the veil between that which is seen and that which is unseen torn down. Revelation is called revelation because it reveals to this biblical author what is going on in the spiritual realm… AKA what’s going on in heaven.

And this is what he sees — an unfathomable multitude of people from every walk of life, every corner of the earth, every language standing at the throne of Jesus together proclaiming his Lordship. It doesn’t say they all look the same, it doesn’t say they all talk the same. It simply says that they are there, in solidarity worshipping God. They are different, yet united.

And this is important for us to understand if we are a church who believes that we are called to make heaven and earth collide. It’s important if we are a church who wear shirts that say “Operation 610” And hold the scripture

Matthew 6:10 NRSV

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

On earth as it is in heaven. Well what’s it like in heaven? Unity under the Lordship of Christ that celebrates the diversity of humanity. So if that’s what heaven is like, then the church needs to be a safe space, and inclusive space for the diverse reality of humanity.

Okay, so that sounds really nice, but what does that actually mean for us, or perhaps the better question is what does that look like?

Luke 7:36–38 NRSV

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.

Ok this seems like a strange scene, but lets focus on a few important points: This woman (tradition holds that it is Mary Magdalene) is identified as a sinner, which means that she had a pretty bad reputation… likely linked to her occupation.

She enters into the house of this pharisee named Simon, which is totally beyond her comfort zone. Pharisees were not people whom those labeled “sinner” would willingly interact with. And yet she knows that Jesus is in this place. And her desire to meet Jesus is stronger than her desire to avoid people who have labeled her as unclean.

So she enters, and immediately brings her gifts to the literal feet of Jesus and begins to serve him.

So that’s the scene… a social outcast goes out of her comfort zone to give her gifts and service to Jesus. A Pastor’s dream come true. But not a pharisee’s dream come true…

Luke 7:39 NRSV

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”

Classic.

Luke 7:40–50 NRSV

Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The main point here is that Jesus has welcomed this woman into a space, and the people who inhabit it have tried to disqualify her, and to disqualify Jesus for accepting her.

And Jesus’s point is that they aren’t the ones who get to qualify this woman. She qualifies herself by seeking Jesus, and Jesus validates her qualifications by restoring her life through his saving grace.

To be a church that is founded in unwavering inclusivity means that we fully confess and understand the fact that the burden of qualifying someone’s belonging here lie solely on that person and is validated by Jesus whom they come to encounter.

This is christianity 101 but for too long the Church of Christ has turned away or hidden people who show up with their gifts and a desire to serve Jesus because they don’t fit the mold. We’ve done this knowingly and unknowingly. When we do it knowingly it’s called spiritual abuse. When we do it unknowingly it’s less malicious but still causes harm.

The church has for a long time embraced the moniker “all are welcome.” But welcome isn’t enough. I want us to stop saying all are welcome. Remove it from your vocabulary. Because all are welcome isn’t good enough. People might show up where they are welcome. But do you know why people stay somewhere? Do you know why people choose to belong somewhere? Because they are valued. People stay where they are valued.

All are valued. Thats what you say now. That’s what this church is about. Valuing all of God’s people. We Value you. And when we say we value you it means that we see people the way God sees them. It means that their struggles matter. It means that their pain matters. It means that their joys matter. It means that their doubts matter. It means that their journey to the transformed life matters. Mind, Body, Spirit matters. And here, in this place, we offer the cure to that which ails them and that which ails the world.

Being and unwaveringly inclusive church means that we value every person that walks in the door, and that we value every person outside of these doors that just hasn’t quite had an encounter with Jesus’s people that is compelling enough for them to walk in the door… yet.

Being unwaveringly inclusive means that we focus on how we can be better rather than focusing on getting defensive when we are confronted with a growing edge we might have. It means that we value the experience and the story of all of God’s people. It means that we value the gifts and service that all people have to offer. It means that we don’t build barriers or try to play the roll of the bouncer.

It means that we listen to the people and change the taco recipe until we are known as the place that feeds the whole city. It means that when we say all, we mean all. It means that heaven and earth look a little bit more alike here on the corner of Orange, 7th, and A.

I pray that you’ve found some clarity over the past month and a half about who we are here. I hope you’ve been stretched and challenged a little. If you’re new with us, I hope you’re intrigued. Let’s talk. Let us show you how much we value you.

This week I want you to do something for me. I want you to think of one person in your life who probably needs to know that you value them. And I want you to call them, text them, send them a letter that says “I value you, and so does Jesus.”

Friends we are on an amazing Journey. All of these core values are both true now, and also not yet fully realized. That’s the beauty of them. They are aspirations but also things we already know how to do, because they are who we are. 610 disciples is a large number, but when we show people who we are, they will realize who we aren’t.

We aren’t what the world says about Christians. We aren’t the church that hurt them earlier in life. We aren’t a church that only cares about itself. We are a church that reflects Jesus and transforms the world. And that friends is enough.