I love my family, and I love my church family, but they are very different.
I love my family who reared me because:
- They love me no matter what.
- We know each other on a very deep level.
- We are there for one another, no matter what kind of stuff we are going through and no matter what we have done.
I love our Grace family too.
- Grace seems to love me no matter what. And the love is reciprocal!
- We are beginning to know one another on a very deep level.
- We are there for one another, no matter what kind of stuff we are going through, and no matter what we have done.
While this family metaphor is nice, metaphors can be both helpful and somewhat problematic. What’s the problem with a family metaphor in a church? Critics of the metaphor say it is hard to get into a family, and you don’t just choose your family. In churches, you choose to be part of a group of people.
This is where our families are different, and I like it this way. Our family here at grace is open. We seek to embrace all people from all walks of life. And we hope you choose to be part of this family, as we love you.
We have people from various stages of life:
- Newborns and retired people.
- Single people and married people.
- Parents of kids and parents of pets.
- People reared Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, nondenominational, agnostic, and atheist.
- Members from different socioeconomic backgrounds, current financial situations, and levels of education.
- Reared in small towns and big cities.
- Experiencing different struggles and different ways we find joy.
And we embrace one another. And I love our differences.
I love that God didn’t call a homogenous group to start a church. I love that God gave us such diverse people. Because life is so much better in a family. Life is Best is when we are together.
Instead of looking at our differences as a bad thing, know that our different paths in life reflect the many colors of God. For those of you who have ever been on a Walk to Emmaus, you have heard the phrase, “De Colores”—“Of many colors.”
When we begin to see God through the lens of one another, we see God in a new light. In the same way if you hold a diamond up to light, depending on the perspective, you will see the radiance in a different way, with many different colors.
It is beautiful in this family here at Grace to see God from different angles, expanding us and helping us grow. De Colores!
We welcome you here as part of our family—On your first visit or your stay after a year. We want to see God from your perspective. And we hope you will also see God from ours.
De Colores! What colors will you add to our family?
Rev. Kyle Tubbs is the Church Planter and Primary Teaching Pastor at Grace Baptist Church.