Though every child at times wishes it were otherwise, we do not get to choose our brothers and sisters. Rather, through the miracle of conception, God chooses who will join our families.
What is true of our birth families is in many ways true of our church families because both are involuntary communities. There are places in life where we choose to join together around a common cause or shared interest, and we can consider these voluntary communities since those who run the group have the right to welcome or to refuse anyone according to certain criteria. But church is involuntary in the sense that we do not choose whom God will lead to the church. This is by his design, for where we might attempt to custom-craft a church that looks perfect to our eyes, God has a higher purpose in mind.
As Charles Drew says, “The church is supposed to be a sociological miracle—a demonstration that Jesus has died and risen to create a new humanity composed of all sorts of people.” Ultimately, we can rejoice with Michael Horton “a church is not a group of friends you’ve picked, it’s a group of brothers and sisters God has picked for you.”
