Invitation to Stewardship from Cameron Ellis

Our journey to NDBC began with a simple circumstance — a Southern Baptist upbringing and a Catholic upbringing were running late to another church service. But from that happenstance came a deliberate choice to stay and to raise our children here. That choice is rooted in what this community is not and, more importantly, what it is.

On what it isn't, NDBC is not a community united by certainty and by the judgments that more easily flow from certainty. Rather, NDBC focuses on the message of love. You know the comparison: the sparsely decorated space, ready to host any other group on any other topic within minutes; the casualness of dress; the simplicity of song; the rigidity of words. To me, the message there is 'come here, we don't expect you to put much thought into it.' I recall Rebecca's off-putting experience in a mega-church, where women were singled out as figures of temptation, required to stand and accept the prayers of the innocent menfolk. A stark contrast to here.

On what NDBC is: NDBC embodies qualities that resonate deeply with us — it is Inquiring, Inclusive, and Involved. Head, heart, hands. The first quality rejects the notion of reducing the vastness of the Bible to mere commandments. Instead, it acknowledges the inherent fallibility of humans in interpreting the divine message. NDBC recognizes that Biblical interpretation is limited by human understanding, sight, memory, and perspective--and by the difficulty other humans had in putting words to the indescribable. In this understanding, there is room for--maybe even an requirement for--interpretation, doubt, and the embrace of an inquiring mind. 

The second quality reflects the structure of the Bible, a message expanding from a small tribe in the Middle East to encompass the then-known world. 

And the third quality thrives in the intractable day-to-day service within the community--not, or not just the dramatic saving of third-world souls during a spring break trip. So too this quality reveals itself in the smaller, meaningful acts — the caring relationships formed, the organized meal trains after the birth of a child.

In choosing NDBC, we've found a community that aligns with our values and challenges us to live out a faith that encompasses love, thought, inclusivity, and active service. Our journey here, initiated by lateness, now seems to be timely.

-Cameron W. Ellis