I firmly believe that when Paul called the church the body of Christ he meant it. I don’t think that he meant we constitute the body of Christ when we gather 10 high school boys for a small group.

The practice of worship and the celebration of the sacraments requires the whole body in all of its gender/social/economic/racial diversity. Students need to be matriculated into the body, and not just on Youth Sunday. The 60-year-olds have a lot to learn from the students and vice-versa.

from “Toward a Missional Ministry,” in Stories of Emergence: Moving from Absolute to Authentic