This is my church. Yeah, I took a picture in church. But that's just how laid back it is here. I mean, there's couches and leather chairs in the Big Room (what would be the Sanctuary). There's even some tables with chairs, the ones you might see in a coffee shop. Actually, it's like going to church AT a coffee shop.Now, don't get all 'that's just too weird' on me, because it is a real church. Real church being defined as a place where people gather to worship God. But it's different in that it is welcoming to everyday people. People who probably would never go to a traditional church. And that's what I like most about it.
Have you ever gone to church and when it was over just felt it was so impersonal? That no one really even noticed you were there and you could've just walked out and no one would have been the wiser. Or maybe you went to church and people took notice of you to the point that it made you feel uncomfortable. Even worse, that they asked you not to come back because of what you were wearing, how many piercings you had or your purple hair (this happened to my daughter's friend). But this is the very thing that makes my church so different. Everyone is welcome. And, to me, that's the way it should be.
4 comments:
you nailed it; i can't ever explain it when people ask
I agree with you, church should be welcoming and accepting of anyone that chooses to enter.
While the church i attend is more traditional, we do make a serious effort to greet and welcome anyone and everyone; hopefully, we do okay, but it's hard to tell, because the ones that don't feel welcomed are unlikely to come back to tell us that.
I'm rather sad that there are actually churches out there that would ask someone not to come back for having piercings or purple hair.
I sit in my church amongst the richest of the rich and the ex cons and former meth addicts who are on a new path. As much as I struggle personally with God's intent for my life, I know that there, I am comfortable. I've sadly attended churches, though, where the ex cons wouldn't be back the next week because they made the richest of the rich uncomfortable. It's hurtful to see that whole "God's big house" idea lost on those who need it the most.
Post a Comment