Monday 5 July 2010

Resurrecting Church

How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?
That was the banner outside the disused cathedral where some homeless people had taken refuge. Shane Claiborne remarks, "the media jumped on the story and made it look like the church was kicking homeless people out (which wasn't a stretch, since the church was kicking homeless people out).

Meanwhile, in an eye-opening adventure, Shane, his college buddies, some local firemen, and the mafia(!) were out-doing the "church" at following the teaching of Jesus.

As Shane was losing hope in 'the church', a friend reminded him that church is a group of people following God.
You haven't lost hope in the church. You may have lost hope in Christianity, or Christendom or all the institutions, but you have not lost hope in the church. This is the church.

What summed it up best for me was Shane's description of his own state of mind at the time:
I felt so thirsty for God, so embarrassed by Christianity, and so ready for something more.

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