about church

Yesterday I visited with a pastor who is very enthusiastic about what’s happening at his church. We talked a long time about the hard stuff they had recently trudged through, recognizing how God had been in it during and since. He is the second person I’ve talked to lately that has referred to his church primarily as a family. Our church feels like a family to me too – one with some great siblings, first and second cousins and a lot of other distant relatives.

I got to look around this guy’s building and see recent renovations. They’ve created a very new, home-like atmosphere throughout their 70’s style structure but my favorite place is where they created a coffee shop instead of a “social hall”. It even smells like fresh ground coffee. We sat there on couches surrounded by cheerful yellow walls and talked about several different “God sightings” and I didn’t feel like I’d been called to the principal’s office at all.

I loved hearing his story – how he got there and what their hopes and plans for the future are. I appreciated hearing how he addressed some of the same questions our church has been asking recently. I like knowing that across town, there is a vital congregation with some of the same dysfunctions as ours, willing to stick together and raising their roof on Sunday morning.