The church must always, at every turn, commit and recommit itself to Jesus Christ—both collectively and individually. This commitment can never be made in a vacuum or in isolation. It must be undertaken in community, with compassionate attention to the needs, hopes, and wounds of those around us. It must also be pursued intentionally, with careful discernment and a willingness to examine the traditions that have been handed down to us as well as the criticism of those who disagree with us. In every generation, the church is called to negotiate between what is truly Christlike and what belongs instead to inherited assumptions, our own limited perspectives, and the distortions introduced by those seeking power or advancing self-serving agendas. We are the church of Jesus Christ, not the church of rigid dogma or coercive assertion. Our allegiance is to the one who revealed God through self-giving love.  To be the church of Jesus Christ is to strive to be Christlike: to welcome all peo...