Madeleine L’Engle remarked, “Sometimes the very walls of our churches separate us from God and each other. In our various naves and sanctuaries we are safely separated from those outside, from other denominations, other religions, separated from the poor, the ugly, the dying.…The house of God is not a safe place. It is a cross where time and eternity meet, and where we are – or should be – challenged to live more vulnerably, more interdependently.”
A popular bumper-sticker theology of the recent past—Churches are a hospital for sinners, not a clubhouse for saints.
I’m “attending” one of those modern churches—”a rock concert followed by a TED Talk.” But this one also has many ministries that reach out to poor people, prisoners, people in need in the US and in many locations in the world.
It’s not there yet, but it is attempting to be the place that sends people out equipped and encouraged to spread God’s love.
It’s OK to meet with people you like and sing some songs and pray together and be taught. But that is not where things begin and end. It’s an oasis for rest along the journey.
Faith Venture 
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