***my note: I found this chapter challenging because my personal experience has been that the church at large - (not all - but many) - seem to be far from Jesus' heart of community and love in how they operate on a usual basis.
Chapter 10: Breaking down barriers: Inclusion
p 186 There are few joys in life like being wanted, chosen, embraced. There are few pains like being excluded, rejected, left out. At the core of Christian community is the choice, in the words of Miroslav Volf's great book* on the subject, between exclusion and embrace.
p 195 Jesus is the greatest bridger the world has ever seen. When the church understood his heart, it became a community like nothing else the world has ever seen.
p 201 ... ultimately, the choice everyone faces is the choice between hope and despair. Jesus says, "Choose hope."
p 202-203 The most desirable society in the universe turns out also to be the humblest and the least exclusive. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are determined that the circle of love they share from all eternity should be ceaselessly, shamelessly inclusive. It is not full yet. They invite all who will to join them. No one is left out except those who refuse to enter.
*Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996
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