Where the Weak Are Welcome

 

“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.” — Romans 14:1, ESV

We sometimes pounce on the weak with our own opinions.

They are struggling to believe, to find their places in God’s purpose, to discover some definition of themselves in Him, and to understand His calling.

Then we start scratching at some area of weakness or prodding at some point of contention, sanding the rough spots of their growing edges. We discourage them with our quarreling and crush their spirits with our compulsion for absolute accuracy over every fine point.

It is as if we do not believe that the one who began a good work in them is capable of completing it.. Paul says that we should embrace a spirit of welcome, especially for the weak of faith.

Is the weak one welcome in our community?

For each of us here, the word, “welcome” is a preview of a great welcome to come.

WELCOME

W for We

When we are here, we are we and our we is expanding. There is no limit to our width or our depth of being as one. There is room to grow and a spirit of inclusion.

E for Everyone

The word everyone means everyone. It means all are welcome. There are no human barriers we cannot overcome in the fellowship of Christ. If you wonder if we mean thus and so when we say this, the answer is probably, “Yes.”

L for Love

Agape love is unconditional. Phileo love is affection. Every definition of love is wrapped up into one package of God’s love for us and our love for one another. If the Ecclesia of Jesus is not a place of unconditional love, then it has left Jesus out of the equation.

C for Community

Community is commonality and it must be built, nurtured, valued, protected, and expanded. It does not have to be perfect to be real. In fact, it is imperfect, but, nevertheless, very real.

O for One

All for one and one for all. When one hurts, all hurt. When one rejoices, all rejoice. When one struggles, we enter into that struggle with them. We are One in Christ.

M for Mother

The church is often referred to with the feminine pronoun because she is pictured as the Bride of Christ. In culture, churches are often referred to as “mother churches” because they nurture, comfort, provide guidance, and exude warmth.

E for Engage

We strive toward the ideals above by engaging in the process, engaging in relationships, and engaging in a common mission to embrace the people of god’s world and draw them to Jesus.

Engagement is not entanglement or false dependency. It is involvement, not manipulative indoctrination. It is full participation, not empty affiliation. It is equality, not autocracy. It is accountability, not abuse. It is acceptance, not conformity to anything but Jesus. It is individuality, not cookie cutter cloning.