They also have a blog, which I've also appreciated. A recent article by Sarah Condon, one of the people on the podcast, made me laugh and wonder again how I might share more what the grace and hope of God looks like. First, the part that made me laugh:
"A friend approached me with urgency on his face and said, “Sarah, I need to tell you something. I got dressed up today for church. I mean, we were planning on coming to the service. But something has come up. And now we have to leave. And I have not seen your husband. But I want you to tell him you saw me so I can get credit.”
This poor guy, this dear friend, had accidentally hit one of my buttons.
And so, in all of my demurely Christian charism, I turned to him and said in one breath:
“I could give a sh*t whether or not you showed up at church this morning. All the credit you need happened on the cross 2000 years ago. We believe in grace at this church.”
Needless to say, I doubt I’ll be invited to speak at any evangelism conferences."
I can almost imagine myself saying that!
She continued by reminding me of how church ought to be: "We do not come to church because we get a gold star. We come to church because we have tried everything else and it turns out we continue to be exhausted by the world and our lives. Church is a last-ditch effort for many of us. It is what happens before we start drinking more or isolating more or doing whatever it is that harangues us, more. . . As a professional Christian I should be desperate to have more people in the pews. But I am only a desperate person who sees desperate people and desperately wants to point them to the one thing that has helped me."
I was left wondering how I might do a better job of recognizing how all of us are desperate. And how do I be honest about the neediness of all of us, both in my church and ministry? Last of all, how do I speak of how God's grace and hope meets all of us there in our need?
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