One of the most interesting discussions from my Discipleship class last year involved insider/outsider issues. We were discussing the positive and negative effects of cliques in a youth group context. The whole idea of insider/outsider boundaries was a new concept for some folks, and many instantly adopted a negative stance.
These kinds of divisions, they insisted, were at the heart of [insert negative aspect of the Church here].
As the conversation progressed we talked about the necessity of such boundaries for any kind of community, and how complex the ideas of unity and belonging can be. All of this has been reinforced lately via a Facebook discussion I've been having with a fellow concerning the concept of essentials for Christianity.
Interestingly, I was able to experience this concept of insider/outsider boundaries and their levels of complexity firsthand last weekend.
At the Dublin Irish Festival (Dublin, OH that is!) a distinct community formed almost immediately. It very quickly became apparent which ones in attendance were there because they loved the music and which ones were not. A community formed, and we were in because we loved Trad.
Ah, but then the deeper boundaries became apparent. For some of us actually played the music, and that made us different. Some of the folks there were strictly Trad (only certain instruments allowed, no harmonization, only certain tunes, etc) while others were more "liberal".
What brought us together, however, was that we loved the music. Players and listeners, drummers and strummers, dancers and the "movement-impaired", Irish and non-Irish (myself included) were all in that place at that time because we loved the music.
I think we might learn a lot about our own contexts if we paid more attention to the natural communities we are all a part of, and see how those compare or contrast to the Kingdom Jesus is building among us.
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