I think the biggest problem is the word "clique." It's French. Now, how many good things have come out of France?
Ok. Seriously. I don't see this a quite as big of a problem as many do, though I do not doubt that it most certainly can be one. Like Tom, we don't have that so much at our church. But I don't see people with likeminds and pasttimes spending more time together than with others, so long as it's not at the exclusion of others, as a "clique." For example, my wife and I hang out with several different "groups" of people. Each group of friends hangs with other groups of friends. Each goes out of their way to fellowship with others and, for the most part, with visitors. I think that we can look to Jesus for just how this relationship works. He had many people with whom He associated. He had many people whomst He considered family. He had many followers that He loved and taught. He had 12 men He spent much of His time with; men who may have been considered His "clique" by some. He had 3 of those twelve who were most likely His best friends. He had 1 of those 3 that referred to Himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." And yet, did He care more for John than He did Peter and James? No. Did He care more for Peter, James and John than He did the other 9? No. Did He care for the 12 more than He did the other 108 faithful followers? No. My point being, we can intrepret friendship sometimes to be cliques, because we've seen, sometimes, unkind people
in real cliques.
The question I ask LuckyStrike, is, do you feel excluded? I know that there are cliques in some churches, and that they can be quite introverted. But I also know that one bad experience can cloud how we see everyone else. If you're not currently the member of a local body of believers, you really need to be.
I'll be praying for you!
His,
Kevin
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