There is a tension in our mission as a Christian church. We saw this tension in , where Jesus says his followers are "light of the world." Can we get both parts of that right, both being light and being in the world? Light only does its job because it's both in darkness and different from darkness.
This tension shows up throughout Scripture. Jesus associated closely with sinners (e.g., ) but also told them to stop sinning (e.g., ) and never joined in (). Paul told the Corinthians to associate even with the most immoral people, but never to condone such immorality among themselves ().
This tension in our mission is very strong in . We are "aliens" and "strangers" in the world (). As Christians, our lives are to be very different (e.g., ). Because of this, other people might slander us (), abuse us (), and insult us ().
Still, we need to be involved in our society, living our lives among our neighbours, never isolating ourselves from the world around us. "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (, italics added).
Exactly how we at Bridges Community Fellowship plan our future direction will be a matter for much prayer, thought, and discussion. How can we aliens and strangers also be friends and good neighbours? How can we remain a shining light, neither pushing the world away nor becoming darkness ourselves?