People with every kind of story imaginable belong.
At Grace Hills, we have married couples, single adults and single parents, and divorcees, and they all belong. We welcome recovering drug addicts, alcoholics and people who struggle with porn, and we can’t help them if they aren’t welcome to belong. Some among us have had abortions, affairs, and have declared bankruptcy because of an unwise approach to finances, and they belong. Democrats, Republicans, Independents and people who hate political parties all belong. Gay people, straight people, couples who live together unmarried, and promiscuous people belong. We want to include you.
We don’t have to condone any unbiblical practices, compromise the gospel in any way, or check our theology at the door to welcome people into our house. We can talk about the biblical basis of membership in God’s family — repentance and faith in Jesus Christ — only if we get face-to-face time together to understand each other better.
I’m convinced that the church ought to be more like Grandma Briggs. My wife’s maternal grandmother was one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever met. From the first time I met her as Angie’s teenage boyfriend, she gave me hugs and kisses and fed me ham (long, inside story). As I watched Grandma Briggs over the years, I noticed that members of her family who had made big, obvious mistakes and unhealthy choices (the kind that get you talked about and shunned by many families) got those same kisses and hugs. They were always welcome to squeeze into her tiny house in Anaconda, Missouri, and eat ham together.
I realize this subject area is messy. It’s tricky. It’s hard to figure out. We walk the tightrope of accepting everyone while not approving of everything. I realize that welcoming people who are different than the people we’ve lived most of our lives with is uncomfortable, especially when we aren’t familiar with their language and their culture. But that’s family. That’s God’s family. And the more colorful and diverse it is, the more beautiful its story.
Jesus, a Jew, told His disciples to go everywhere and tell everyone about Him and His story, making disciples, baptizing them into the same family, and not to stop until He returned. So until He comes back, let’s keep welcoming people, because everybody belongs.
