Church and Family
We have all heard people say, "our church is a family." When stated of their own church, it is said as a matter of pride. When spoken by a newcomer, or someone who is not a member, it is understood to be a high compliment. The idea of family often inspires thoughts of love, acceptance, fellowship. In fact, it is true that churches should be places of love, acceptance, and fellowship. With that as an introduction, allow me to play Devil's advocate. We should not envision, or aspire for our churches to be a family! "There are just so many people here now that I don't know." "Our church is changing so much." "I don't feel like we're one church anymore." These statements belie an unspoken fear that a church has too many newcomers. So begins the call for things to be done that would promote unity, that would promote nostalgic feelings of family. How can it be a family if there are all those people I haven't known for