A Fellowship of Differents : Showing the World God's Design for Life Together

In this compelling book about diversity and community, McKnight shares his personal experiences and his study of the Apostle Paul to answer this significant question: What is the church supposed to be? Local churches matter far more than we often know because they determine what Christian life looks like for you. The church McKnight grew up in was a fellowship of sames and likes. Mostly white, same beliefs about everything, same tastes in music and worship and sermons and lifestyle. But the church God designed, says McKnight, is meant to be a fellowship of di­fference and di­fferents. A mixture of people from all across the map and spectrum: men and women, rich and poor, black and white, and everything in between. A Fellowship of Differents explores the church as God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the table to share life with one another as a new kind of family, showing the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. In this compelling book, Scot McKnight shares his personal experience in the church as well as his study of the Apostle Paul to answer this significant question: What is the church supposed to be? For most of us the church is a place we go to on Sunday to hear a sermon or to participate in worship or to partake in communion or to fellowship with other Christians. Church is all contained within one or two hours on Sunday morning. The church the Apostle Paul talks about is designed by God to be a fellowship of difference--how people differ socially--and differents--how people differ culturally. God did not design the church to be a two-hour experience on Sunday but a mixture of people from all across the map and spectrum: men and women, rich and poor, Caucasians or African Americans, and Mexican Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and Indian Americans, and a mixture of people with varying personalities and tastes. The church McKnight grew up in was a fellowship of sames and likes. There was almost no variety in his church. White folks, same beliefs about everything, same tastes in music and worship and sermons and lifestyle. Because of his experience, he writes incisively and compellingly. The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a family Growing up in church A salad bowl Part 1: GRACE. Space for yes Space for grace Part 2: LOVE. Love is a series of prepositions Love works Love shares Part 3: TABLE. Tomatoes versus maters The table of connection We is bigger than me Part 4: HOLINESS. Holiness as devotion to God Sexual bodies in a church Salvation as process Part 5: NEWNESS. A new freedom A new faithfulness A new guidance A new politics Part 6: FLOURISHING. We have landed, but we want the land The exposure challenge Pete the mechanic Teacher with the big fancy hat On a walk with Kris The graces of Paul's life. Now in softcover, here author and professor Scot McKnight presents a case that everything we learn about the Christian life we learn from our church. But, what's the church supposed to be? The church is God's social experiment of bringing different people to share life as a new kind of family to show love, justice, and life together.