Kind of grew up with this CHURCH GOOD - WORLD BAD worldview. Then I realised one day some years back that some of my colleagues were living more integrated, connected, selfless lives than I was ... OUCH!
Today has seen me talking to a number of people who as far as I know are not regular churchgoers, who we have got to know a bit through some Christian Basics work we do as part of baptism preparation, and I came away realising that they were no longer strangers to us, and that many of them have commented on the welcome they feel at church.
(By the way our baptism prep is fairly clear about the basics of the Christian faith and the seriousness of the promises made, but we major on the fact that they matter as people to us.)
My heart leapt inside me - it reminded me of a question that is turning into a mission priority for me a church leader ...
How do we create a culture of welcome? How do we draw people into a genuine belonging so that when we get to the challenging stuff, we've earned an audience with them?
This was one major theme of the main talks at this year's New Wine leaders conference in Liverpool (where Graham Cray spoke).
This is not about being permissive or woolly ... can any of us say we were fully healed up and morally pure before being allowed to belong? Doesn't even the most faithful and holy disciple still have some way to go?