Mark's Notebook


	One of the nice parts about heading toward middle age is that you can find all your favorite music in the bargain bin. - Ken Floyd

Why I Return to the Pews

Christianity Today

Thursday 16 December 2004, 11:39 am
Keywords: Christian Topics , News Articles

John Koessler

The church has often left me bemused, bored, or mystified, but I can no more abandon it than I can myself.

Down through the years I have made a surprising discovery. Most of the Christians I know are disappointed with their churches, finding them either too traditional or too modern. Their sermons are too theological or not theological enough. The people are cliquish. In the end, the root problem is always the same. It's the people.

Yet Sunday after Sunday these believers return to their pews, expecting God to meet them there once again. Some might view such attendance as an act of futility or an exercise in wishful thinking. I believe it is a work of grace.

The author of The Message and veteran pastor Eugene Peterson has written that when we get serious about the Christian life, we usually find ourselves in a place and among people that we find incompatible. "That place and people," Peterson explains, "is often called a church. It's hard to get over the disappointment that God, having made an exception in my case, doesn't call nice people to repentance."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/012/33.52.html