Fall 2010

Family Ties

What does it mean to be brothers and sisters in the church?

by Diane J. McDougall

Photos By Greg Schneider

Family is one of those words that can trigger warmth and quiet smiles for some, or regret and confusion for others. So much potential for good. So much potential for pain.

And that’s just our birth family. Now, take those memories, those ingrained responses, and add to them some vague conversation about the church as family. Brothers and sisters. God as our Father. Christ as the head.

It’s no wonder we all have different expectations of how the church might serve as a spiritual family.

And in light of our jam-packed American culture, we can’t help but wonder: Is there room in our lives for a let’s-be-like-family commitment to our community of faith? How do we help create a sense of family in our congregations?

Stay tuned for some important conversations with fellow EFCA leaders on this topic. We haven’t figured it all out, but we know that there’s a richness to what the Bible says about our church-family relationships. And we don’t want to miss out on that.

Family Ties

Family is one of those words that can trigger warmth and quiet smiles for some, or regret and confusion for others. So much potential for good. So much potential for pain.

And that’s just our birth family. Now, take those memories, those ingrained responses, and add to them some vague conversation about the church as family. Brothers and sisters. God as our Father. Christ as the head.

It’s no wonder we all have different expectations of how the church might serve as a spiritual family.

And in light of our jam-packed American culture, we can’t help but wonder: Is there room in our lives for a let’s-be-like-family commitment to our community of faith? How do we help create a sense of family in our congregations?

Stay tuned for some important conversations with fellow EFCA leaders on this topic. We haven’t figured it all out, but we know that there’s a richness to what the Bible says about our church-family relationships. And we don’t want to miss out on that.