The unfortunate reality is that In many churches, people do not engage with one another outside of Sunday morning. Therefore, they can’t bear one another’s burdens, encourage one another, exhort one another, confess sin to one another, or engage in any “one another” commandments of the Bible. This makes it basically impossible to build authentic relationships.
At Harvest Mill, we are building a community that actually knows one another and wants to be around one another. Every week we hold a “Family Meal” after the church service, in order to grow in our relationships. We also put a high priority on spending time together outside of Sunday mornings. Usually this happens informally as we just do life together in different ways. (John 13:34, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 14:19, Colossians 3:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, James 5:16)
Another alarming trend we see is when churches are exclusive and there is a clear line as to who is “in” and who is “out.” Sometimes churches expect outward conformity to their man-made standard of behavior and belief before someone can belong to the group. There is no space for someone to belong truly to the group, unless they look like and talk like everyone else. This creates an unwelcoming environment for sinners and lost people, who sometimes need to experience belonging before they begin to understand Christian belief and Christian behavior.
Jesus didn’t come for the righteous but for sinners. At Harvest Mill we reject any attempts to minimize or exclude people based on their struggle with sin. If they are genuinely interested in being part of the community, and hearing the teaching of Jesus, they are welcome. We don’t minimize the important of Christian belief and behavior, but we acknowledge that the work of the Holy Spirit (who helps people believe the truth and changes their hearts leading to new behavior) can take time. Finding belonging and acceptance through God’s people can be the first step that the Spirit uses in someone’s life toward true change. (Matthew 9:10, Luke 5:32, John 16:8, Acts 15:1-29, 1 Timothy 1:15)