This is blasphemy...this is madness...this is church

the long boring sermon went on and one*no humor*no purpose*just rambling options about what he though was right and what he thought was wrong*but then the faint sound of snoring from the back captures my attention and i laugh a little on the inside*i am not alone* one more story and i will be done -- the fourth time he has made that statement and yet i still do not believe him* my butt is starting to hurt* it feels like it is 60 degrees in here* ahhhhh* why does she keep looking at me rolling her eyes*get me out of here now

whispers*did you know that sarah just stopped coming* i heard she now goes to the lake on sundays* really* i thought she was just embarrassed about being impregnated for the second time by the man she is not married to but sleeps with*huh* she doesn't even take care of that baby she has got right now* she left it a few weeks ago in a hot car all by itself* i heard cps almost took the baby from her* you know she is doing drugs again* well she better not come around my house that little slut drug dealer* hopefully she will not bring that spirit in this church* (sarah who has never done drugs and has never had sex walks out of the hospital sunday afternoon after donating a kidney to her diabetic brother)

beautiful aesthetics* lots of programs and events* friendly greeters at the door* expensive suits choir robes electronic equipment* large steeples* exciting fellowship gatherings* financial campaigns* coffee shops and restaurants* flyers mailouts promotionals* websites and podcasts* all inside

drunkards* homeless* lonely* radicals* liberals* atheists* agnostics* pagans and wicans* buddhists* homosexuals* thieves* murders* child molesters* rock and rap music* intellectuals* all outside

what seems so pretty on the inside really belongs on the outside and what seems so ugly on the outside should be on the inside* is this blasphemy...is this madness...no this is church* jesus came to seek and save what is lost not lose what could be saved* the church needs to be radical* it needs to tear down wall and barriers* it needs to be relevant* or it does not need to be at all