One church that I visited while away was Waco’s Church Under the Bridge. (This is a church which literally meets under the Interstate 35 bridge near the Baylor Campus.) I’ve been once before. I wanted to go primarily for the experience of just seeing the variety of people come together. Poor and well to do. Very young and old as well. Black and white and hispanic. Hundreds of people together sitting on folding chairs. People in wheelchairs. In the air, you can smell cigarette smoke, coffee, and sweat. As I listened to Jimmy Dorrell preach, I wondered if this might not feel something like what Jesus experienced in the first century when he preached.
There is something about that I find very attractive–and very Biblical. I have always been attracted to "common people". People who are not out to impress or position themselves in any way. People who are just trying to deal with life as it is.
If you look beyond…
…our skin color (white or black or brown etc.)
…our cars (new, luxury or old practical)
…our appearance (before or after plastic surgery)
…our clothes (designer or T.J. Max)
…our address (new exclusive subdivision or older, simple area)
…our jobs (one sounds important. Another sounds demeaning)
We ALL are pretty much the same. We ALL need Jesus.
Jim,
It is good to read about your visit to CUB. I have been once before and it was amazing.
I thought you might want to know about an online blog debate over whether or not homosexuality is “acceptable” in the Christian church. You can find it on my blog–there is a link to it in the first sentence of the current post.
I remember your sermon on homosexuality from about two years ago. It remains the only Church of Christ sermon I’ve heard on the topic in my life. Thank you for your leadership and God bless your ministry.
Matt
Sounds like a great experience. I’d like to visit someplace like that. Can you imagine the church growth gurus scratching their heads? What? No A/C? No seeker packets? No power point? No intensive programming? How can that be? 🙂