CLC Group Life

Every now and then I hear of something that gets under my skin. Probably more often than not, my irritation is the result of my own selfishness. However, every now and then, I can relate to the righteous indignation that Jesus expressed in the Temple courts (Matt 21:12-17).

This Sunday, we continued our CONNECT series on Sunday morning. It was the second week of the series and our keyword was Openness. The real focus of the message was the topic of Hospitality, flowing out of the scriptural command to show hospitality to one another. At one point in his message, Pastor Del shared of an email he had received regarding a couple who had told him of their experience at CLC. I am ashamed to say, it was not a very positive report regarding our inclusiveness as a church body. As should have happened, there was a muttering of embarrassed responses.

The story that Pastor Del relayed hit me even harder. Just the night before at our Group Life Celebration, I was pulled aside by one of those who had recently attended the New Leader Orientation. She told me of a friend of hers that had called one of our leaders because she was trying to tie into a group. The leader’s response: “We are almost through our current series, it wouldn’t be fair to those in the group if we allowed a new person in at this point.”

I did my best to contain the steam in my head for the rest of the night. I was able to contain my first instinct and let it simmer for a bit.

I for one am thankful that Jesus has always remained ready and willing to include new people into his family whenever they want in. Let’s not get so tied to a curriculum or process that we end up building hurdles for those who are seeking biblical community!

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