So, my wife and I were flying back from New York City after celebrating our 25th anniversary when I discovered a curious unwritten rule : you cannot call yourself a "New Yorker" unless you have lived there for 30 years, and you cannot say you are "from Brooklyn" unless you have lived there 32 years. These are a light compared to the requirement to say you are from Newport, RI, which is three generations, which makes me a little sad because I had hoped by two 6 month stays in Newport would count, evidently not.
In Eastern Arkansas they refer to a non-native as someone who is "from off". For example, if you ask for directions to Blytheville, Arkansas and pronounce phonetically instead of "Blivl Arkensaw" then they know instantly you are from "off" and will give you the directions which will include a stop in Oil Pump and a left turn where the big Oak tree used to be.
All these labels and requirements and unknown rules make me wonder about our own church. What are the unwritten rules that exist within our Body of Believers? How long does someone have to attend in order to be considered a "native"? Do we give knowing looks to others when someone mispronounces "Shibboleth" (did I just do that very thing by making an Biblical reference which only those who know the story will understand and get the inside joke?) Do we treat new people as though they are from "off"? Have we created our own classes within the church?
I cant speak for my church since we just moved and are pretty new, but I know I have, personally. And it is wrong. And in reality there is only one class of people within the Body of Believers - sinners, enemies of God, who have been redeemed and rescued and adopted into a family that goes beyond DNA, and we are all somewhere on the road to sanctification, struggling one step at a time, looking for the day when we will finally see our Redeemer face to face.
In Eastern Arkansas they refer to a non-native as someone who is "from off". For example, if you ask for directions to Blytheville, Arkansas and pronounce phonetically instead of "Blivl Arkensaw" then they know instantly you are from "off" and will give you the directions which will include a stop in Oil Pump and a left turn where the big Oak tree used to be.All these labels and requirements and unknown rules make me wonder about our own church. What are the unwritten rules that exist within our Body of Believers? How long does someone have to attend in order to be considered a "native"? Do we give knowing looks to others when someone mispronounces "Shibboleth" (did I just do that very thing by making an Biblical reference which only those who know the story will understand and get the inside joke?) Do we treat new people as though they are from "off"? Have we created our own classes within the church?
I cant speak for my church since we just moved and are pretty new, but I know I have, personally. And it is wrong. And in reality there is only one class of people within the Body of Believers - sinners, enemies of God, who have been redeemed and rescued and adopted into a family that goes beyond DNA, and we are all somewhere on the road to sanctification, struggling one step at a time, looking for the day when we will finally see our Redeemer face to face.
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