Thanks for your comment. Your raise an important point about Radical Welcome that I heartily concur with. Radical Welcome implies a mutual conversation and reception of gifts and perspectives. I hope my writing does not imply any “imbalance of power” in the practice of Radical Welcome. Seeking first to understand before we are understood should be the guiding principle for genuine conversation.

It seems like every church, from the most liberal Unitarians to the most fundamentalist anti-denominational, claims that everybody’s questions are welcome. “You can ask any question you want (and we’ll give you The answers)” But I think people may be more interested in a church that welcomes their answers as well as their questions. If we engage in a conversation in which, one way or another, you indicate to me that you expect me to learn from you but you don’t plan to learn from me, there’s an imbalance of power in your favor that might lead me (and perhaps others) to seek other company.