“Religious people have always been a problem for God”. – Reggie McNeal

That would be us ‘churchy” types. Maybe not the extreme of Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” from 1990’s Saturday Night Live, but the stereotype is not too far afield. 

It becomes a problem for us, who are quite comfortable in our congregation with people like us. Without intending to or noticing it, we become like Pharisees. We lament those who “should be in church.” This is treacherous water to navigate, I know. I love being here, and who we are. It goes contrary to what we are used to; yet the reason us “Mainliners” are in decline is because we didn’t engage in mission and ministry. We were fighting for our institutional survival. This has been our sad story for at least thirty years; and that’s a conservative estimate.

I cannot sufficiently address this in a blog. I hope that we can embrace the challenge of re-presenting Christ – not to gain new members to the “club”, but meeting people where they are. No strings attached. Because we don’t want to be a problem for God.  Remember: God loves everyone, including you, unconditionally.

Pastor Art