I've been pondering a fairly interesting question that, I think, really deserves some focus of theological energies. It involves the tension that exists between being a people 'in the world, but not of it,' along with concepts like inclusivity and exclusivity.
I'm part of a community of faith. We are a people who have decided that we want to follow Jesus. We are a people for whom the call to be apprentices comes before all the other things that pull on our lives. At least that's the target we've got our sights on. In choosing to follow Jesus I choose to no longer follow myself.
We have all been raised by a culture which screams individualism. A culture whose only true God is ones self. My only framework for life involves following myself. My worldview is that of seeing me as the centre of the cosmos. The world does revolve around me. I can form a set of beliefs which are most convenient to me. I can have a McDonald's (or Subway) brand of spirituality, where I take what I like and leave behind what I don't. God is only real if he affirms the infantile urges that I've been trained to succumb to.
Then I'm invited into a way of life which is all about community. A way of life which states that the best leaders are the best servants. I'm struck by how different this is, how much love is on offer and how my imagination is captured by this life beyond my own. But I've been taught that it's only hypocrites who claim to follow higher values. Humans cannot change, cannot be anything other than selfish, not deep down...