The Council of Orange: Radically Inclusive

Now that I have made half of you uncomfortable by suggesting that my proposed Council of Orange is necessarily exclusionary, I am going to make the other half of you uncomfortable by suggesting that the Council of Orange is also radically inclusive.

It is no secret that we live in a fragmented society. We have a tendency to divide ourselves into tribes along lines that harm. Whether those lines be socioeconomic, racial, generational, or educational, we have done a pretty good job of using just about any characteristic of existence as a justification for creating barriers to harm other people.

When I suggest that the Council of Orange is exclusionary, it is exclusionary to preserve focus and unity within the group. It is not exclusionary in a way that seeks to harm anyone, but it is exclusionary as a way to confirm that people who are on this mission are truly committed to the mission itself. Like I said in my previous post, we don’t like to talk about exclusions. It makes us feel mean. However, boundaries exist for practical reasons that are necessary for voluntary organizations.

What I would love to see in the Council of Orange is no separation based on these categories. If you are on board to pursuing the greatness that God has ordained for you, then there is a place for you. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, old or young, in Helena or Hong Kong. It doesn’t matter if God’s purpose for you is to be the next Billy Graham, bringing revival to thousands, or to be the relatively average Joe who goes to work and is a picture of God’s love to those around you. I can’t define what greatness is for you; I can only tell you that God has providentially put you where you are for a purpose, and it is your job to pursue that purpose. If you are on mission, then the Council of Orange has a place for you.

Sadly, we have a tendency to either put people on pedestals or look down on people for so many reasons. Sometimes I fear that we look for reasons to differentiate people along lines that have absolutely no bearing on their ability to pursue God’s great plan for them. Consider James 2 that forbids partiality. It is wrong to show a rich and powerful man favoritism while looking down on the poor. Why did James write that? It is something that people have struggled with forever.

This commitment to inclusion does not supersede the Council’s exclusionary practices. For anyone who will make this commitment and walk this path, you are in. If you are not actively seeking to pursue greatness in this way, then this is not the group for you.

Just as exclusion is a word that makes people uncomfortable, I think if we are being entirely honest with ourselves, inclusion makes us nervous as well. Most of us have social circles that tend to look a lot like ourselves. We have to fight against our natural human tendency if we are going to truly have a inclusive model that can and should exist at the Council of Orange. I’m not justifying our discomfort, but I am acknowledging the reality that we will have to do this work if we want to truly wrap our minds around what this concept entails.

The only thing that necessarily must be shared between members of this Council is an ideological commitment. If we are building off of the same ideological foundation, we might even get closer to the vision in Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” If heaven is going to be full of people who have come together based on a shared confession of faith, then why should we not apply that same principle here?

That is the beauty of the Council of Orange. When we pursue greatness consistent with the calling that God has put on our lives, then it is a living, breathing act of worship. We are already working towards what we will be doing for all eternity. That is the image of what we are trying to get at here. There is nothing greater we could be doing.

I might elaborate more on this concept going forward, but it is important to remember that membership in the Council of Orange is a commitment to pursuing greatness. Greatness is defined by God’s specific calling on your life. That is different from person to person. My capacity for greatness will be different than yours, but we certainly do not want to apply the world’s standard for greatness, whatever that is anyway, to this pursuit.

This group is necessarily exclusionary. To encourage each other along this difficult path toward greatness, we need to exclude anyone who is not going to help us along this path by lacking commitment. Just like any other voluntary organization in existence, members need to be willing to align themselves with the purposes of the Council. People don’t like to hear talk of exclusion, but it is necessary.

The Council must also be inclusive. We build up barriers to subdivide ourselves all the time. We need to work to overcome these and allow the Council to be a place where anyone who is committed to this mission is welcome. The only exclusionary characteristic returns to the ideological commitment members make to act in a way that is consistent with the mission of the Council. We must work to reduce all other barriers.

Am I dreaming that something like this can exist? In some ways, no, I am not. At its best, the church can fulfill all of these needs along with doing so much more, helping people towards fulfilling their God-given purposes.

I am not proposing the creation of a church with this group as the Council’s scope is much more limited and the focus is much more intense. It is a society that exists purely to support us on our path towards greatness. Rather than having to address so many issues as a church typically does and should, the Council will keep its focus on encouraging people toward greatness. That is the critical difference. The Council puts the microscope on this one dimension of our Christian walk, but it does so to help people who want to take grow in this area. It will not be the group for everyone, but it will hopefully be an encouragement to those who feel compelled to participate. Keeping our focus on this vision will benefit us, the church, and, frankly, the world.