This is the Church; This is the Steeple

"What if people were invited to come tell what they already know about God instead of to learn what they are supposed to believe? What if they were blessed for what they are doing in the world instead of chastened for not doing more at church? What if church felt more like a way station than a destination? What if the church's job were to move people out the door instead of trying to keep them in, by convincing them that God needed them more in the world than in the church?" --Barbara Brown Taylor

This is the church. This is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people. Does this rhyme sound familiar to you? I learned it somewhere along the way when I was a wee little lad in Sunday School. Perhaps you even remember the motions that go along with it. If Barbara Brown Taylor had written this rhyme, she would no doubt be tempted to add a line about sending the people out into the world because the church is not really the church until it becomes flesh and blood in the world.

It's easy to be the church on Sunday morning. It's a lot harder to be the church on Monday through Saturday. It's easy to sing God's praise in worship. It's another thing to praise our neighbor, especially the ones we don't like.

Barbara Brown Taylor's series of questions ask some pretty profound things about what it means to be the church. Perhaps, too often, the church is seen as the place where we learn about God, when we already know a great deal about God when we walk through the door. I have found that the deepest insights I have learned about God did not come from a sermon or a Bible study, they came from people who shared their lives with me: The good. The bad. The gay. The straight. Death. Rebirth. Lessons learned. Lessons relearned. And so on...

This week I hope everyone will find a place of worship that affirms who we are as a beloved children of God no matter what sexual orientation we may be. But I also hope we'll keep our eyes focused for God out in the world. It is truly the best Sunday school class we will ever attend.