When or where have you seen someone stand up against indignity or wrongful judgment in a way that was inspiring? 

Sometimes you hear people say things like, "Anytime somebody says __________, you can guarantee they..." or "I can't handle the kind of person who..." This Spotlight is here to put an end to that. By the time you finish this, you'll be able to recognize and avoid the kind of people who...no, wait.

That's not it.

Purity tests: They're not helping, but they're hard to get away from, too.

Now that you've answered the Icebreaker, here's another question - this one, about filters.

How many filters does a person possibly need?

It's a niche space, but if you start digging into the landscape-pond-water-feature world, you're going to find some people who are obsessed with filtering water. They'll do anything to keep whatever combination of algae and mold wants to grow on their backyard aquatic decorations, and they'll spend hours tinkering and thinking about how well or poorly it is all working.

And then they'll add some more filters.

What about you? How many filters do you run people through before you decide they're worth your time?

We all have these little checklists we run people through — consciously or not — before we decide: "Okay, you're in." We call it discernment. We call it wisdom. We call it knowing who your people are. But what about when it's something else?

What about when these filters, these purity tests we make each other take, are actually keeping us from the very people we're supposed to be in community with?

Because here's something this conversation keeps coming back to: Nobody likes being on the other side of someone else's test. Nobody likes being sized up, sorted, and found wanting, and yet we do it. All the time. To each other.

So what would it look like to just... stop? (God did.)

Hopefully that makes enough sense to get you started. As you continue into the Worship portion of the Spotlight, pray this prayer together:

Lord,
We come with our filters and our lists.
We come with the ways we've sorted and been sorted.
Loosen our grip on who belongs and who doesn't.
Remind us that we did not pass a test to get here.
Open us to the people we might have walked right past.
Help us be ready to listen.
Amen.

You'll learn more of his story in the Serve section of this Spotlight, but to begin the Worship portion, listen to these words from Civil Rights activist and Baptism Minister Will Campbell. While he is speaking specifically to the racial divide in the church, his words apply to something broadly significant: even though the love of God is meant to be for all, with no barriers or purity tests necessary for anyone to receive, we can't quite shake the need to filter people out.

Both of these things have been true for a long time:

• Humans use standards of approval to separate from one another.
• God means for us to be united by love, not by standards or externals.

We live in this reality; as the "is passing" Spotlight series always attest, the darkness is passing (which means it is still here even as it weakens) and the true light is already shining.

William D. Campbell plays a unique role in Civil Rights history, and the article will explain why. Read the article and then discuss this question:

• We are encouraged "not to put any stumbling block or obstacle" in anyone's way. This is tough. In what ways did Rev. Campbell succeed?