It's good to come back to church!

This morning I read an interview with the author Anne Rice about why she has left the church.  Again. Maybe permanently.  She says there's just too much hypocrisy and conservative politics in the church. Christians have made a bad name for themselves and she doesn't want to be associated with "them".  Ms. Rice has a point, doesn't she? When people hear the word "Christian", their first thought is usually NOT good news! or grace!, much to our shame.


Just minutes later I read a blog post by my good friend David Couper, an Episcopalian priest.  He told about being on the way to church this Sunday, when he  received a message on his phone, telling him that recent test results showed that his wife's cancer had returned. With a vengeance, it appears.

At church, David was surrounded by love.  More than that, he was given God's Word with the promise of God's utterly dependable faithfulness in all circumstances.  (You owe it to yourself to read his blogpost.  Go ahead, click on the link above)

So which is it?  Is the Christian Church a good thing or a bad thing for those of us who want to be friends & family with Jesus Christ?

Ok, so here's how my weekend at church was: at both the morning service (at Union Church on Hong Kong Island) and at evening church (up the hill from my house at Tao Fung Shan) I saw light, and laughter, human kindness, and a divine perspective that we human beings really and truly are created by, loved and washed up by, and meant for, the Eternal One.

If only we could all look & feel like this when coming out of church!

I think Anne Rice has an important point, and one we "church-goers" can't ignore. But this Sunday, back in Hong Kong, I must say, it's good to come back to church!

¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
       do not forsake me, my God,
       till I declare your power to the next generation,
       your mighty acts to all who are to come.

    ¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the skies,
       you who have done great things.
       Who is like you, God? 

                                       Psalm 71: 18-19