Sunday morning is still my favourite part of the week. I may not agree 100 % with all the sermons at Church, but there's no other place I'd rather be. A preacher from Kerala was talking about how he hated pentecostal Christians, but was transformed after a miracle. I'm always amazed at prophetic preachers, Paul was right when he said the gift of tongues is great, but rather ask for the gift of prophecy. I'm growing through a phase similar to that described in Philip Yancey's "Church - why bother?". He was put off church because of all the pettiness involved and the 'holier than thou' attitude, but then comes back to say that Church is the centre of grace in a fallen world. His church welcomes ppl off the street - prostitutes, drug addicts, anyone really who's seeking grace.
Its a little scary - there's always the safety issue, etc., but that's the true spirit of a church - open and welcoming to all. Having said that, its not just what the Church gives, but what you take with you. I've decided to re-visit those male prostitutes in two weeks. They may not be interested in visiting Church, but they might appreciate somone trying to understand what they have to put up with. I'm hoping the pimp won't beat me up, if he does, that will be an interesting story to tell... ;)
