I'm thinking about "church"...

"We dream of a church that really does meet people where they are at, that ministers to people on their turf, that does not convert people to evangelicalism, but to Jesus. We desire something far less cognitive and for more holistic, more missional, more experiential, more serving, more real. This Sunday morning circus is suffocating the faith of people by allowing them to believe passive church services are nurturing their spirit. It is their spiritual work to show up and passively fatten up on more knowledge."- Chris Gonzalez, telling me of a car ride discussion with his wife

"They were consumed with knowing what the first followers of Jesus really meant, and equally consumed with figuring it out as a community together and with God. They were amazed at the power of God because they were witnessing it! They shared everything...possessions, goods, food, family...everything. And if anyone had any need they couldn't provide, they would sell their goods in order to get it. This was a daily thing...not just an occasional religious discipline. When they did go to their homes separately, these values went with them because their hearts were different. Does it surprise you that such living would result in more and more people being pulled effortlessly into this group? There's not a human being alive that could resist it." - My interpretation of Luke's description of the first "church" in Acts 2:42-47, and a description of what my friend Chris and his wife are looking for.

I haven't written lately. Not because I haven't wanted to...I think about it every day. It seems my mind is so busy that I can't settle on any one single thought, which keeps me from taking any action.

This is a pretty good mirror of what I am in constant fear of my religious experience becoming: A busy mind that keeps me from taking action.

Ultimately, I have nothing to do in life more worthwhile than knowing God and knowing Jesus? What more is there to life than loving Him and loving others? The Bible teaches me that I can find Jesus "out there" as I feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, and such (Matthew 25:37-40). It says that God comes to me and completes me when I love other people (1 John 4:12).

I must confess that I have exalted my busy mind as an asset, and still believe that it sometimes can be...but not if it stops me from actions of love. When I really love, there is not a human being alive that can resist it. When we really love, we become the church that my buddy Chris and his wife need and long for...the one described in the book of Acts.

But I'm too busy thinking about it.