a. They can't act super-religious.
b. It needs to be a place where I can honestly question things.
c. They have to show they care by their actions.
d. They need to stand firm for the things I believe.
e. They have to let me be myself.
f. They have to be Christ-centered.
(Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1537).
It first of all must be Christ-centered in the sense that Christ represented perfect sacrifice and holy love and courageously lived it as a discipline. It must realize that the essence of Christ was to bring redemptive power to fallen humanity as chronically plagued by the continued negative impact upon mankind of the seven deadly sins arising in essence from fear and insecurity. A persistent manifestation of this is the judgmental self-righteousness and legalism that arise with ingenious permutations of ancient anxieties which fulminate and confound each and every generation. Of especial concern in our time is the tired old arrogances (escapisms and idolatries) of humanism, relativism, materialism, and Faustian scientism.
The church fellowship in which I feel "one in heart and mind" will have the respect for truth, beauty, integrity, and creativity found in the arts and sciences. It will have deep respect for the space and the disciplines necessary for individual growth and development.
Now, let's jump to the chase. What about homosexuality and other lifestyle issues? In matters of sexuality and other explosive issues we must allow for space, integrity, and truth. We must never destroy individuals in the name of destroying sin, and we must never discount pain however well camouflaged. As for spiritual truth vis-a-vis scientific truth, humility demands synthetic accommodation for God's creation is holistic.
In many ways, churches should be a "safe house"--a sanctuary in which assumptions and social patterns can be honestly questioned within an environment of love and respect. In our hallowed creative colloquiums, nothing should surprise us for if the Scriptures instruct us as to the perfection of God, they just as faithfully remind us of the cornucopia of human nonsense, foibles, and tragic flaws balanced--indeed more than balanced--by the fruition of redemption, creativity, and Christ's holy grace.
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