Who are the pillars in the church?

As a young man, I was told I was a pillar in the church. It made me feel good to hear the pastor say this, and I could hardly disagree. Of course I was a pillar. I was a good boy. I didn’t drink or smoke or do burnouts in the church car park. I arrived early on Sundays to put out chairs and I stayed back to pack up the AV equipment. I served on the worship team and got to share the Word on occasion. I was not only a pillar; I was a rocket going places. Watch me soar! I cringe to write about this now. I cringe to think how the label “pillar” separated me from those Jesus loves. Yet in the church, we divide people like this all the time: • We have the reliable pillars and the nonpillars who show up late and bleary-eyed bearing the unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke • We have those worthy to take communion and those who are not • We have the happily-marrieds and the shamefully divorceds • We have the mums-with-bubs fulfilling God’s call to be fruitful and the childless women who can compensate for their deficiencies [...]