What Does it Mean for a Church to be "Inclusive?"
It might mean something different than we think
As I mentioned in last week’s post, I had the opportunity yesterday to teach at another church here in Charleston. I really enjoyed being able to worship with another congregation, especially one that draws more upon liturgy and traditional elements. When I expressed to a few people after the service how much more that style of worship resonates with me, they laughed and said “You’re the Creative Director at Seacoast!”
And it’s true, my team and I are very involved in the weekend experience at Seacoast, which involves a lot of production, design, video, lights, etc. But I don’t have a hard time calling Seacoast home, or serving at a church where I sometimes feel out of place. It’s because, in my view, Seacoast is a church that strives to be a home to as many people as possible.
Part of the service yesterday involved a bit of Q&A with the congregation, which I always enjoy. Some of the questions revolved around the perceived lack of inclusivity at Seacoast, particularly where the LGBTQ community is concerned. This particular church strives to be affirming in that area and a significant number of them came from churches where they felt unwelcome. Interestingly, Seacoast is also full of people with religious backgrounds where they were hurt or made to feel unwelcome.
As I considered the question, I wondered: What does it mean for a church to be inclusive?
The reality is that there are a lot of people who attend Seacoast who do not agree with us when it comes to our interpretation of the Bible. One of the things about Protestantism (especially in America, I think) is that any given congregation is comprised of people who tend to think their understanding of Scripture is at least as good as their pastor’s. Our churches are full of people who see their pastors as offering their own “take” on the Bible, and most of us feel free to disregard it if we disagree.
In that sense, I think Seacoast is already FULL of people who do not agree with us and yet feel perfectly able to make this their church home, including quite a few people who disagree with us on questions of gender and sexuality. So, why do people have the impression that we aren’t inclusive? It’s because whenever “inclusivity” is brought up, what is usually meant is something like, “Will the things I believe be affirmed and reinforced from the stage?”
And my answer to that is: certainly not all of the time, no matter who you are! The church I was at yesterday most certainly made me feel very welcome. And yet, we differ in significant ways in our views on Scripture and theology. So, is that church inclusive of me and people like me? I think they would hope that is true, and it was certainly my own experience. If we define a church as “inclusive” only if it affirms what we want it to affirm, then it seems to me that we might actually be the ones struggling with inclusivity.
“Tolerance” has typically been understood as accepting people who thought differently than you. Now, though, “tolerance” seems to have become something to be extended to people once they affirm the correct things. So, too, “inclusivity” in the sense I tend to encounter it seems to be less about welcoming all people, than about the expectation that particular people are welcomed in the way that they want.
If I decided to regularly attend the church I spoke at this past weekend, and I began vocalizing my differences in theology or scriptural interpretation, how welcome would I feel? Perhaps less welcome than if I kept my views to myself. And, frankly, I think that would be fine! The church I visited feels very strongly about some things in particular, and their community is profoundly shaped by them. I don’t need them to orient themselves around what matters to me, in order to feel welcome.
Outside of the essentials of Christianity (which I would consider, basically, the content of the Apostles Creed), each church should feel free to organize themselves around forms of worship and Biblical principles that matter to them. There are many faithful ways to be a church. If that’s the case, though, does inclusivity even matter, or should we just fragment into a million churches where each subset of a subset of a group can feel at home?
As I said above, Seacoast is full of people who reconnected with God and faith after having walked away years ago. We also have people who grew up in church (raises hand) or never set foot in a church at all until they visited us. My response to the people who think our church is not inclusive is to point towards the incredibly broad range of people who find God here. I think the ability of people to truly encounter God at a church is a far better indicator of inclusivity than a checklist of values.
Now, I said “indicator” because that isn’t a guarantee. The way I would define a truly inclusive church is one that creates a space where any Christian can worship, regardless of their background, theology, worship preferences, or cultural values. When people email me asking about inclusivity, I usually respond with: “You are going to hear things here that you disagree with, just like everyone else. The question is, can we worship together anyway?”
Well said.
The type of "inclusiveness" that I have run across is a little more basic. Often I have encountered a "this is our church" phenomenon. This usually meant, "don't expect to fit in here". Or, "you are not one of us". Or even, "don't try to become involved because we have carved out our own turf". I suspect that this is far more prevalent that I realize. It may be connected to an increasing disaffection with church. Regarding "tolerance" and the acceptance of others different than us, I have also experienced that at a more basic level. Often there are various kinds of people that just don't fit in. My former mentor years and years ago taught me about the church being a "healing, caring and therapeutic" community. He cited studies in Africa where the mentally ill were kept in the villages.
They weren't kicked out. Often they got better when they were cared for "in the milieu". My mentor was a thorough going, 'Spirit filled' Evangelical - lest one might think this was a bunch of liberal mumbo jumbo. In my better moments I have observed this and even experienced it directly. It helped when a church has a very solid and clear set of beliefs COUPLED WITH a welcoming atmosphere. During a period of time when I was on the staff of that church and being guided by that mentor, I observed this dynamic occurring. Frequently there were many people who took years and years to change - but they were cared for in that environment. One example was a very troubled schizophrenic woman who repeatedly had relapses. She and her husband were not the "same type of persons" as most of the church. Yet they remaining involved for decades. Some times it just takes a very long time for the "coin to drop" for people. I am one of those people.