Why the Church Needs to Focus on Inclusion

 

Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash

Why does the church need to focus on inclusion?

This is a question that I have struggled to answer well. Today it seems more clear to me.

Aren’t we supposed to focus on Jesus?  Well, sort of.  I think it’s more accurate to say that we’re supposed to focus on following Jesus.  That’s the invitation Jesus makes to the disciples.  “Come follow me.”  

In the gospel of John, the direction Jesus gives in the upper room on his last meal with the disciples is to “go and do likewise.”  Not to focus on him but on doing like he has done.  If we interpret that too narrowly, we’d have to be setting up foot-washing stations all over town.

It is often hard to know what to focus on because there’s so much to be done.  People are hungry.  Injustice is easy to find.  Hopelessness and despair are always hanging around somewhere.

Jesus gives us marching orders at the end of Matthew’s gospel.  “Go and make disciples, baptizing them…teaching them…”  Some churches have made this into a mission/vision statement: Reach the lost, make disciples, send them out.  To fully live that out, we have to be inclusive. 

We often pray for God to give us a vision for being the church in this time and place.  Why are we here in Sterling, Kansas (or wherever you are) in 2025 (or whatever year it is when you read this).  I wonder if we truly expect a clear answer?

To me it’s clear that the most excluded demographic is the one that needs to know the most clearly that we want them to be included.  Churches have been telling LGBTQ that they’re welcome, but only if they’re willing to change. Studies show that one in three people has experienced religious trauma, and the incidence is dramatically higher for people who are LGBTQ. They also have higher rates of suicide.  (Read more here.) These much higher rates shouldn’t be surprising considering how many churches are still telling them that they’re going to hell for being who they are. If we aren’t being explicit about inclusion, people will expect to be excluded because of the church’s history.  

In a more populated area, it’s not too hard to find truly LGBTQ-inclusive churches now, thankfully.  But in rural central Kansas where I live, there are none.  It’s a ministry gap that exists because people in rural areas tend to assume that there aren’t any LGBTQ people here.  It’s hard to know who exactly is hiding here, but for sure they’re hiding.

In 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul says we are called to the ministry of reconciliation - restoring broken relationships with God and with one another.  In regards to LGBTQ people, the church has a lot of reconciling work to do…not only with those who are LGBTQ, but also their family and friends.  This is work that we are called to do, and especially in this time and this place.

I know that this is difficult.  Our culture has raised us to be anti-LGBTQ, even to the point of anger and revulsion.  We have been trained to react negatively to non-heterosexual behavior.  It takes time to unlearn what has been ingrained in us so deeply.

I hope we’ll keep on moving forward.  It’s the least we can do.

Thanks for reading.

Sabbatical Week #1

This past week I was in Copalis Beach, Washington, about two and a half hours west of Seattle, at a beautiful place called Iron Springs Resort. My brother and his fiancé had invited close friends and family to be a part of the celebration.  It was a great way to start a sabbatical for a variety of reasons...

1. I had only been to Seattle once before and hadn't been on a plane since 2017, so this was an adventure in doing new things like using my phone as the boarding pass, and using Uber. My mom and I traveled together, which meant I got to go to the front of lines with her because she was using the wheelchair assistance, so that too was new to me and quite nice. An added bonus was that the wheelchair escorts know where to go and so we didn't have to wander around trying to find baggage or our Uber driver.

2. I am always fascinated by trees. The one in the picture above is a nurse stump that stood in front of our cabin. The growth at the top of the picture may be new tree starts from the original tree, but everything else that is growing out of this stump is simply using the stump as a source for rooting. In Kansas, people are more likely to remove the dead and dying trees, but at this resort, they remain and foster new growth. I love this idea for the environment, but also as a metaphor for living together in community.

3. On the plane, I read a bit of Sarah Bessey's new book Field Notes in the Wilderness in which she talks about Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary..." or in the Message version, "Are you tired? Burnt out. .?" It really hit the spot, especially since I have been worried that I might get to the end of these three months without having found the rest and healing I need. These verses and Sarah's words helped me feel like I am on the right track.

4. Towards the end of the week, I noticed a lightness in myself that I hadn't felt in a long time. In this place, there were no expectations of me, and none that I was putting on myself.  I wasn't thinking about how to be the pastor, or wrestling with a sermon topic, I was just hanging out. In preparation for the sabbatical, several people had asked me if I have friends who are unconnected to the church and I couldn't think of any. I didn't think it mattered until I experienced the difference it makes. 

5. The culture in my brother's friend group, and maybe in Seattle in general, is very accepting. Some of the difference is likely my own perception, but there were definitely subjects that were much easier to discuss in Seattle because there was no baggage about them. Is this what true acceptance and inclusion feels like?  

This lack of stigma is what I want to have in Kansas.  Can we be a truly accepting and inclusive church community like this? I think we want to be, so that gives me hope. We're working towards this.

How cool would it be if we had more of this in the community overall? That seems impossible, to be honest, but with God all things are possible!

Thanks, God.