Jesus invited the tax collectors into his circle, into his life. The story of Zacchaeus is rather radical. For Jesus to come into a town and eat with a chief tax collector was rather gracious, when in that culture, no one would give this person the time of day. Jesus knew that grace was for everyone, and that the invitation to transform into a person defined by love was to be extended to all.

We have plenty of examples of Jesus extending radical grace and love and inviting people in, so we must not ignore this step. Defund The Church is modeled after the way of Jesus and his desire to ask the hard questions and encourage difficult, but necessary, reflection. Jesus calls us in.

Defund The Church is also modeled after Jesus when we say, “Call them out.” After all, The Rich Young Ruler didn’t follow Jesus. Jesus called out the greed that existed in his heart and the cost was just too much for him. Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry, after much grace and opportunity was given to the religious leaders of his day, Jesus goes off in his Seven Woes calling them out and doing so in a very public way. Even more, Jesus goes into the Temple and flips over tables in protest of a system that is profiting off the marginalized and attempting to distort their relationship with God. For Jesus, the matter of justice, especially for the oppressed and marginalized was not a secondary issue.

Jesus models both a calling in and a calling out. Often in that order. So we are encouraging you, in consistency with the life, teaching, and example of Jesus to, “Call them in before you call them out.”