"No outsiders" is a great slogan. One that we feel we ought to sign up to. I expect the parents of the schools where there is controversy about learning around the diversity of human sexuality and family life thought "No outsiders" was a good idea before they realised that some of the "outsiders" were people they wanted to keep outside.
A few years ago, the Baptist Union of Great Britain adopted Five Core Values. One was being an "Inclusive Community". I remember the first time I saw the Five Core Values poster on the my home church noticeboard on one of my trips back from Geneva. I thought at the time that it was a bold and potentially controversial value. Of course, it arose from a perfectly proper desire to see congregations that were not just white, middle class and upwardly aged. But what it says is inclusive without any qualification. It's an aspiration that many churches don't really want to aspire to because they believe that there are some kinds of people who should be excluded.
It is very easy and comfortable to adopt a religion of an excluding god and an exclusive community, particularly if you think you are on the inside. Christians, especially during Lent, ought to reflect on the way that Jesus seemed to go out of his way to relate to outsiders, was crucified in company with what good people would have called the dregs of society and that the good news of the resurrection was first brought by women whose gender excluded and still excludes them from much religious practice. We are happy to talk about the love of God. Unless that love is totally inclusive we make God a small, self-centred, narrow minded god in our own image.
"No outsiders" and "Inclusive Community" will make all of us uncomfortable at times as we are forced to confront our innate, imposed or learnt fears of those we see as "other". It's a discomfort that we all should learn from.
