Philip Ryken is senior minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in downtown Philadelphia. (He succeeds noted preachers Donald Grey Barnhouse and James Montgomery Boice.) When not preaching or playing with his young family, Philip likes to shoot baskets, read Patrick O'Brian novels, and ponder the relationship between Christian faith and American culture. His recent book, City on a Hill (Moody, 2003), is subtitled "reclaiming the biblical pattern for the church in the twenty-first century."

The 2000 U.S. Census revealed that although our country is becoming more ethnically diverse, our communities remain as segregated as ever. But the church is called to be completely different.

One of my greatest joys as a minister comes when we welcome new members into our fellowship. They're introduced, their testimonies are read, and they line up at the front of the sanctuary to take their membership vows. It's not unusual for us to receive a wide variety of newcomers: young and old, married and single, black and white, Americans and internationals, able-bodied and disabled, rich and poor. One Sunday as I surveyed the new members, I leaned over to a colleague and said, "You know, there's no other place in the world where this group of people would gather for a common purpose." The only thing that can explain this kind of unity is the gracious work of God's Spirit, who makes us one in the body of Christ.