Rich Dixon is back:

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Last time I told you about a conversation around Adoption.

Moïse invited us to look at another passage.

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Gotta be honest – for such a kind, gentle guy, Moïse generated some awfully penetrating discussions.

He talked about growing up in a church culture where the terms “brother” and “sister” were commonplace. Then he described church cultures he encountered as he left college, married my cousin, and started a family.

In Jackson, Mississippi.

Paraphrasing my understanding – always welcome, never quite included.

I should tell you here about the remarkable diversity of this team. A woman born in Okinawa. A man whose parents fled from Iran. A man who traces his Colorado Hispanic lineage to a century before the U.S. was a country. A man whose grandparents immigrated from the Netherlands. A woman whose family escaped from Cuba. Plus Moïse, and an old guy in a wheelchair.

People who’d experienced “always welcome, never quite included.” Along with a couple who understood but never experienced it, and some who honestly got a little defensive about the “never quite included” part.

What if we took “sister” and “brother” seriously?

I’ll let you imagine the conversation among teammates and friends, bonding over days of shared sacrifice, challenged to examine faith and relationships.

Community. Difficult conversations. Holy ground.

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A personal note about the photo – I met Moïse and Rachel’s daughter, Sara, during the Mississippi River ride. She was curious, but uncertain, about the wheelchair and how paralysis worked. She sort of circled around for a few moments, then eventually reached out to gently touch my legs, asking what it felt like.

We talked a bit, eventually leading to the photo on the right.

We’ve accumulated thousands of images. This one is among my top-ten favorites.