Creating Communities of Grace (HT: Tim Chester)

Don’t miss this rich post by Tim Chester:

Let me tempt you with just a snippet:

“(1) Make the connections …

(2) Welcome the mess:

Welcome messy communities. Welcome messy people. Obviously you’ll want them to change, to become more like Jesus, to be set free from their slaveries. But don’t make your welcome dependent on change. Don’t suppress conflict. Don’t hide problems.

(3) Stop pretending …

(4) Stop performing …

(5) Eat and drink with broken people …

(6) Give people time to change:

I think there are some tensions and questions here, but we need to give people time to change. How long did it take for you to become perfectly like Jesus? Of course, you’re still changing. There are some sins we’re prepared to work on over a lifetime, but there are others where we demand instant change. Why is this? The answer, of course, is that we want them to become respectable. We don’t want a messy community. So we say, ‘You’re saved by faith, but to become part of the church (e.g. to be baptised) you need to change your life.’ So which is it? Are we saved by works or are we saved by works?

(7) Focus on the heart …”

Preach it, Pastor Chester!

Thank God for grace.

Happy, blessed Monday to you!

Yours,
Tara B.