Inclusive fruits. Exclusive roots.

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Recently, I re-published an article by Ian Paul titled The problem with the ‘inclusive’ Jesus which had originally appeared on his Psephizo website.

I wanted to share it on G+T as I felt it was an article which took the Jesus of the Biblical gospels seriously and grappled fairly with the inescapable tension between Jesus’ radical inclusivity and his startlingly exclusive claims.

Rather than the many one-sided articles which feed the online theological echo-chambers, this article gave 50% of space to profile both sides of this tension.  There simply are not enough articles which adopt this approach. This deepens polarisation and reduces our ability to handle the legitimate tensions that continually reverberate around how the church and Christian charities approach their mission.

Progressive dogma

I knew the article would press buttons because the word ‘inclusive’ has become a sacred term for both religious and secular progressives. Like a heretic in medieval Christendom, it’s a dogma you question at your peril in today’s culture wars.

But I believe the Christian faith should be humbly challenging the self-righteousness of our tribal and identity-politics culture – on both on the ‘conservative’ and the ‘progressive’ sides. And I want G+T to be a small contribution to this battle.

Real life experiences

But reading and responding to comments at the end of a wonderful Holy Week, made me think about how the biblical theology that Ian shared connected to my real life experiences in the past week. And as I reflected, I realised the healthy tension between inclusive actions and exclusive beliefs was absolutely central to the best things I had experienced in the week.

So below, is a summary of some of the key events I participated in last week and how this theological tension is out-worked in my work and local church.

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Monday: On behalf of Hope into Action, I attended an Easter Celebration hosted by the Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street. The first thing I noticed as I walked in was a brilliant gospel choir singing about Jesus which brought a real spiritual vibrancy to the room. A powerful prayer opened the evening and the MP for Vauxhall, Florence Eshalomi spoke passionately about her faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Then the PM spoke in appreciation of the critical community service offered by churches and Christian charities.

Wednesday: I was in Leicester at an event organised by the Centre for Social Justice on the future of welfare. I was on a table with 5 other charity leaders, all of whose work was started by Christians and churches. As we spoke about the practical questions of addressing poverty and worklessness, the founding faith of our organisations emerged and the role of church. We spoke about the balance of grace and truth and how to combine generosity with challenge to help people improve their lives.

Wednesday evening: I was back in London at the community drop in meal at my church, Streatham Baptist, called The Vine. We have a whole cross-section of our local community coming, including those affected by loneliness, poverty and homelessness. This week, I led an Easter quiz which involved hosts and guests acting out scenes from the passion story – Jesus washing feet, Judas betrayal, Pilate’s hand washing, Jesus carrying the cross. It was both fun and deep. Most of our guests are not church attenders but they keen to engage with spiritual matters when they come to our church. Our liturgy before and after our meal was said with gusto.

Saturday: After well-attended services on Maundy Thursday, a ‘Messy Church’ and reflective service on Good Friday, we opened up our church on Saturday for an Easter Open Day. We had over 100 guests from the local community come in for a café, art show, crafts for the kids and a heap of all-age games. The vast majority of guests are not church attenders but there was great atmosphere of warmth and welcome which fully reflected the rich diversity of our south London community. We welcomed people for 4 hours, which included a 3-minute talk to invite everyone to come back to our Easter service the next day.

Easter Sunday:  I was part of a diverse group who gathered at 6.30am on Streatham Common for a Sunrise service before our 10.30am Easter celebration. The church is packed out and we celebrated two baptisms. One, a young man aged 17, spoke powerfully about his struggles to believe but the firm conviction behind his public step to be committed to Christ to step into a new life. In the waters of baptism, he died to his former life and was risen to new life in Christ, It was an inspiring and uplifting celebration of Resurrection Sunday!

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Integration

In each of these examples, it was the integration between the inclusive activities and exclusive commitments which was fundamental and made them special. 

This week, I have seen the church welcome the stranger, be compassionate to the poor, break bread with all who want to come to the table, act against poverty and injustice and challenge divisions on racial or class grounds. I have seen enacted what Martin Luther King called ‘the beloved community’.

But we are also clear about the basis on which this inclusivity is done. It is not due to a commitment to human rights or because we have funding to run ‘inclusive projects’. Its because of our belief in the unique Lordship of Christ and his calling on our lives. He is not ‘one name among many’ but the unique incarnation of the Living God. And this weekend, the passion which underpinned the inclusive welcome was an exclusive commitment that Christ’s life, death and resurrection has won the victory. Inclusive fruit grows from exclusive roots.

A hope to put into action

At Hope into Action we empower the church to end homelessness and offer housing to anyone, whatever their background or belief. But we do this work unashamedly on the basis of our faith in Christ. Our number one commitment is to never lose the passionate faith which started our organisation 15 years ago.

And the best way to illustrate this integration is through the stories of our tenants. Please take 3 minutes to watch this film about how Gareth escaped addiction and street homelessness and the role that faith, and the local church, played in his journey:

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One of the key principles I have learnt from the missionary theology of Lesslie Newbigin is how to reconcile these two key themes in the Bible: the universality of God’s concern and love for all people, and his particular and unique revelation in Jesus Christ.

Newbigin argued that the key to reconciling the two is understanding the principle of election which runs as a thread through the whole Bible. The Triune God, a relationship of Father, Spirit and Son, chooses and calls specific people to bear wiiness to Him: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and above all, Jesus. Ultimate meaning is not revealed in ‘timeless truths’ which exist outside of history but is rooted in events revealed to specific people who carry this truth in relationship and community.

Responsibility not reward

The critical point is that this election, this calling, is a responsibility to carry a message. The few are chosen for the sake of the many, but as the Bible makes clear, Israel and the followers of Jesus are not morally superior to others. It is by grace that they are chosen and for a purpose: to be a light to the nations.

Newbigin argues that the disaster in missionary theology has been to confuse those called to be carriers of the message with those who ultimately will be saved. Responsibility should never be twisted into reward. The book of Jonah is a dramatic parable against such thinking.

Confidence

This understanding of election has been the single most significant factor in giving me confidence in my faith. I believe that what God did in Jesus is unique, that he is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’. Christians should be confident to share this distinctive, exclusive truth.

But confidence should never be twisted into judgementalism towards others. No one should claim to know who will ultimately will receive God’s blessing. This is God’s judgement alone.

This understanding of election reconciles the exclusive truth of our message with the inclusive behaviour it should lead to. Our ‘proper confidence’ as Christians can be made up of both bold conviction and humility towards others.

And as I witnessed this Holy Week and what I continually see in my work, is the church is at its best when it is embodying both a humble, inclusive welcome to all, alongside a passionate, exclusive commitment to Christ.