Church

How much of the church experience is a function of people wanting to socialize and organize their lives in a certain way? People who like church like to socialize the way their particular church socializes. But if you don't like to socialze that way, it doesn't mean you don't love God.

I understand that it is important to fellowship with other believers. But does every Christian have to regularly attend church to be a Christian?

Most churches organize themselves into certain customs, habits and rituals. Those who like a particular church's customs, habits and rituals will attend that church. Some don't like rock music, some like communion every Sunday, some don't let women in leadership, some like committees, some like a strong charismatic leader, some like mega church entertainment centers, some like potlucks.

But what if you are not keen on the customs, habits and rituals, but you love God? Are the two mutually exclusive? Can you love God and grow in your faith while not liking the cultural and orgainizational trappings of a church?

I recently attended a church legacy celebration event. It was a five hour program celebrating certain family and organizational patriarchs and matriarchs for following a certain lifestyle that influenced others to follow that lifestyle.

The lifestyle certainly was grounded in trying to be salt and light to the world, but it was of a kind. It was not the only way to be salt and light to the world. For those in attendance who held that lifestyle as an ideal, great. For those who did not completely relate to that lifestyle, also great.

God made each of us unique. Christians are not a homogeneous lot. By definition we share core beliefs. But the expression of the core beliefs will not be the same.