Out of Context

Last weekend, Tom and I visited my hometown, where we met. While there, we spent an evening with two very good friends discussing whatever seemed important with mugs of coffee to egg us on. Only one of us outright claims to be non-Christian, but the rest of us have become uncomfortable with the term and the connotations of being "born-again". Our opinions over most matters were quite varied, but the variance was one of the more stimulating experiences I have had in a while. The respect and fondness between the four of us made differences thought-provoking and challenging rather than irritating and demeaning. And I began to think, "Is this not what I have been looking for? Is this not what church might be if there is such a thing?" The institution of church has outgrown itself, has become a monolith of commercialism and legalism. But the idea of church - a gathering of people that are seeking - seems to be alive in the shadows of confusion in my generation. We do not know what to call ourselves except friends and we do not know what we are looking for except the thing that connects us all.