Who We Are

For some time, I've been "on a mission" to help churches and campus ministries express their progressive identity as simply and straightforwardly as possible.  I care about this for two reasons.

1)  If we belong to progressive churches or ministries, we're "insiders".  We're accustomed to lingo and ways of worship, prayer, and belonging which we tend to take for granted.  But if we describe our faith concisely, in language that makes sense to people who are not insiders, we'll rekindle our commitment to follow the compassionate way of Jesus - whose mission, after all, was to break down distinctions between insiders and outsiders!

2) If we can express our faith succinctly, then we are empowered to invite others to join us in following Jesus' way of compassion.  There are lots of people out there who are seeking the kind of spiritual community that we have to offer. 

So here is my latest formulation of progressive Christianity: in words that can be used on websites, church bulletins, worship slides, etc.  It's a short elevator speech, followed by additional words you an say after the elevator door opens and the person with whom you're talking wants to hear more.

Use freely!

Welcome to our (church/ministry/group)!

We are:
 
An open circle of friends spreading kindness among us and beyond.  In joyful worship around the bread and wine of communion, in contemplative prayer, in Bible study, in action for justice, and in fun and fellowship together, we humbly aim to follow Jesus’ way of unconditional compassion.  God is love… and Jesus leads us ahead on the way of love.
 
More about who we are:
 
The degree of our kindness is the true test of our faith.  How we treat other people matters much, much more than belief in doctrines.  We strive to know God as love in contemplative prayer, and to put that love into action in the world around us, following the example of Jesus.  We make room for many points of view about Christianity: we don’t have a fixed “statement of faith”.  We embrace our faith tradition with curiosity and creativity.  If something in our faith tradition counters kindness, common sense, and scientific consensus, we re-interpret it or we abandon it.  We seek inspiration from other faith traditions, understanding that they may be as good for their followers as Christianity is for us.  Divine love leads us to act for social and environmental justice – and it knows no bounds of creed, ethnicity, or sexuality.  We fully affirm same-sex relationships and marriages, and all our leadership positions are open to those of any gender identity.  (For more, see the 8 Point Welcome of ProgressiveChristianity.org )