Thursday, April 06, 2006
The Church Pitch
The thing I realized . . . all human relationship groups and gatherings are an approximation of the church. People like sporting events because they feel the connection--that is an ingrained desire for a worship community. (Someone said we were born to worship.) We go see movies in the theater because we like to gather in large rooms with one purpose. We enjoy eating out because it feels in some way like an approximation of communion.
Here's the thing even the institutional church is an approximation of church. The Holy Catholic and Universal Church is bigger than any denomination or building or convention or university system. It is bigger than our theological systems and our hymnals and our benevolence programs. It is bigger than our short term missions and our long term ones.
Sometimes people ask me to summarize a book I've written (there's only one) or a long short story. What they want is a pitch, I know but I part of me hates to give them one. I want to say, "If I could summarize it with any kind of real accuracy, it wouldn't be as long as it is."
That's the way Sunday church sometimes feels. Like a kind of pitch. Our Sunday morning worship is important, don't get me wrong. Christians need to gather. We need to worship together. I'm practically addicted to institutional church. I just enjoy it.
The institutional church instructs the body. It serves the body and often the community beyond. But we should never never never make the mistake of thinking it is something more than an analogy or approximation or pitch for Christ's Holy church.
HillCountryWriter Category: Drama
Technorati Tags: drama scripts acting church
Here's the thing even the institutional church is an approximation of church. The Holy Catholic and Universal Church is bigger than any denomination or building or convention or university system. It is bigger than our theological systems and our hymnals and our benevolence programs. It is bigger than our short term missions and our long term ones.
Sometimes people ask me to summarize a book I've written (there's only one) or a long short story. What they want is a pitch, I know but I part of me hates to give them one. I want to say, "If I could summarize it with any kind of real accuracy, it wouldn't be as long as it is."
That's the way Sunday church sometimes feels. Like a kind of pitch. Our Sunday morning worship is important, don't get me wrong. Christians need to gather. We need to worship together. I'm practically addicted to institutional church. I just enjoy it.
The institutional church instructs the body. It serves the body and often the community beyond. But we should never never never make the mistake of thinking it is something more than an analogy or approximation or pitch for Christ's Holy church.
HillCountryWriter Category: Drama
Technorati Tags: drama scripts acting church
