The Church I Attend

Is it just me, or does it seem that those of us who go to church get kind of a bad rap today?  Some people look at Christians as judgmental, intolerant, even hateful.  Well, I want to clear up a few things about the church I attend:

The church I attend views ALL people as God's children--Loved as they are.
The church I attend feeds the hungry in my community.
The church I attend doesn't agree with everything you do, but loves you anyway.
The church I attend is free of judgement.  After all, we ALL fall short.
The church I attend will not turn you away because we disagree with something you've done or said in the past.
The church I attend believes in the word of God and it's ability to change lives.
The church I attend believes in open hearts, open minds, and open doors.
The church I attend believes that different people worship in different ways, and that's ok.
When there's a disaster, the church I attend is one of the first on the scene offering assistance to any and all in need.
The church I attend knows we don't have all the answers, after all, only one perfect person ever existed.
The church I attend welcomes all who desire to come and know God, regardless of race, sex, color, age, marital status, or level of so-called perfection.
The church I attend strives to make a positive difference in its community instead of condemning from behind its closed doors.
The church I attend embodies Christian love.
The church I attend provides forgiveness, love, and grace.
The church I attend knows that nothing YOU can do can get you to heaven--the work has already been done, by God's only son, on the cross of Calvary.
The church I attend is awesome.
I am a United Methodist, and I love my church.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unpacking Camino: Part 1

I've just returned from a journey.  More accurately, I've just begun a journey.  This past weekend I attended Camino at my church and was bombarded day and night with many emotions.  Over the next few days I will be unpacking my experience publicly because apparently I'm a masochist.  As a side effect, I hope that you can look to my experience and maybe see a little of yourself.  Or, perhaps, you will gain from this in some way.  Or, you might get a little dark satisfaction at my spiritual "squirming."  Whatever the case may be, sit back and enjoy... This weekend was truly the first weekend in which have had (read "taken") the time to do some serious soul searching and self reflection in at least a year.  I'm guessing, though, it's been more like five.  The thing that most likely keeps me from doing so on a regular basis is that I often do not like what I see. If you are black, white, red, yellow, too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall, not
Read more

The joy of...Joy!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3. "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!" Philipians 4:4 "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the Earth."  Psalm 100:1 I could go on.  There are likely hundreds of references to joy in the bible.  Many of them seem to make little sense:  Consider it joy when you face trials?  Rejoice in suffering?  Joy is something we rarely talk about in religious circles these days.  We love to talk about whatever the sin de jour is, or which translation of the Bible is best.  We spend hours scouring the scriptures for slivers of truth we can use as a weapon the next time we debate this or
Read more

A good foundation goes a long way

Image
So, like I said in my last post, I got this truck in pieces.  The first real task I undertook was to get the Chassis started.  A truck's chassis is very important.  In fact, it's the very foundation upon which you build.  It has to be sturdy, capable of taking some pretty serious abuse.  It has to be straight so that all the additions will fit right.  It has to be square, for the same reason.  I wanted to be sure this truck would be something that would last a lifetime.  I began with a thorough (by my standards, anyway) inspection of the chassis.  It was placed on jack stands and really studied.  Any rust or corrosion would have to be addressed.  Any stress cracks or bent beams could mean catastrophic failure after the truck was put back together.  Fortunately, I found the chassis to be in excellent shape.  The front end graft of the 1978 Volare front suspension appeared to be well-executed.  All that was left was some cleaning, some paint, and a rear end.  After
Read more