On the evening of March 13, 2013, I, like millions of Catholics worldwide, took a deep breath as the moment arrived. The presentation of the new Pope was imminent.
In a recent interview, Zach Lambert, author of the Public Theology Substack, spoke of the concepts of bound set versus center set communities. As Zach explained it, the majority of churches and denominations operate as bound set communities. Bound set communities are defined by boundaries; primarily around belief, but often around behavior too. You’re either inside the boundaries or you’re not. The more rigid the boundaries, the more closely they tend to be policed. In a nutshell, it’s about defining who’s in and who’s out based on a checklist.
In the center set model, there’s a central point that everyone in the community orbits arounds. For the community that Zach has built, that center is a focus on living out the way of Jesus and trusting in His finished work–His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection. Zach beautifully describes it in a metaphor – Imagine the planets orbiting the sun. In a center set community, Jesus is the sun. Some people are closer, some are farther away. At times, your orbit might bring you nearer or farther. Sometimes you’re traveling alongside others in the community, and sometimes it feels like you’re on your own. But if you’re in orbit–if you’re oriented toward the center–you’re part of the larger story we’re living out together.
Despite working within the bound set community that is the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, for me, has always aspired toward the spirit of a center set community, by his willingness to reach out to those in need of basic human understanding, love and support, regardless of their place inside or outside of the bounds of the community he represented. He will be missed.
Thank you for sharing this viewpoint from Zach Lambert. Now I have another worthwhile Substack to follow! Your explanation is a helpful model. To open one’s own heart even if living in culture that would close & bind hearts 💞
This was profoundly well written and moving, thank you.
I note that Pope Francis was true to these views from the start of his papacy to the end. His statement on the stations of the cross this past week carried the same spirit for the poor which was true to his heart and which, one hopes, will be dear to his successor.
"Today’s builders of Babel tell us that there is no room for losers, and that those who fall along the way are losers. Theirs is the construction site of Hell. God’s economy, on the other hand, does not kill, discard or crush. It is lowly, faithful to the earth. Your way, Jesus, is the way of the Beatitudes. It does not crush, but cultivates, repairs and protects."
Pope Francis changed the attitudes of the Church in his treatment and care of those that people see as outside the bounds of society . I pray that the next Pope continues Pope Frances’s legacy. Thank you for this article, Mike.
In a recent interview, Zach Lambert, author of the Public Theology Substack, spoke of the concepts of bound set versus center set communities. As Zach explained it, the majority of churches and denominations operate as bound set communities. Bound set communities are defined by boundaries; primarily around belief, but often around behavior too. You’re either inside the boundaries or you’re not. The more rigid the boundaries, the more closely they tend to be policed. In a nutshell, it’s about defining who’s in and who’s out based on a checklist.
In the center set model, there’s a central point that everyone in the community orbits arounds. For the community that Zach has built, that center is a focus on living out the way of Jesus and trusting in His finished work–His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection. Zach beautifully describes it in a metaphor – Imagine the planets orbiting the sun. In a center set community, Jesus is the sun. Some people are closer, some are farther away. At times, your orbit might bring you nearer or farther. Sometimes you’re traveling alongside others in the community, and sometimes it feels like you’re on your own. But if you’re in orbit–if you’re oriented toward the center–you’re part of the larger story we’re living out together.
Despite working within the bound set community that is the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, for me, has always aspired toward the spirit of a center set community, by his willingness to reach out to those in need of basic human understanding, love and support, regardless of their place inside or outside of the bounds of the community he represented. He will be missed.
Thank you for sharing this viewpoint from Zach Lambert. Now I have another worthwhile Substack to follow! Your explanation is a helpful model. To open one’s own heart even if living in culture that would close & bind hearts 💞
Zach and his wife Amy are doing amazing work.
Such an eloquent and informative post on the passing of this uncommon leader! His rest is well earned
This was profoundly well written and moving, thank you.
I note that Pope Francis was true to these views from the start of his papacy to the end. His statement on the stations of the cross this past week carried the same spirit for the poor which was true to his heart and which, one hopes, will be dear to his successor.
"Today’s builders of Babel tell us that there is no room for losers, and that those who fall along the way are losers. Theirs is the construction site of Hell. God’s economy, on the other hand, does not kill, discard or crush. It is lowly, faithful to the earth. Your way, Jesus, is the way of the Beatitudes. It does not crush, but cultivates, repairs and protects."
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2025/april/documents/20250418-via-crucis.html
Pope Francis changed the attitudes of the Church in his treatment and care of those that people see as outside the bounds of society . I pray that the next Pope continues Pope Frances’s legacy. Thank you for this article, Mike.
why was he staying close to the kremlin, but keeping kieve at a distance