Healthy Church Blog

This week I read a wonderful blog by Elizabeth Mangham Lott, Ode to an Imperfect Church.  It could be entitled “Ode to a healthy church.” Elizabeth’s writing is a gift to the reader and this blog, in particular, made me pause.  When I work with a congregation, I want that congregation to find the space and way of being that is right for them.  To be and do what God is calling them to do.  Not to be perfect, to be and do who they are. Not to be compared with another, to live authentically into who God is inviting them to be.  As I read Elizabeth’s blog the words grace and acceptance and real streamed through my mind.

Elizabeth sums up how I feel:   “In my church, I want laughter, great conversation and hot coffee. I want a space to breathe and be still. I want silence and poetry even more than I want a 2,000-word sermon. I want to be surrounded by people who tell the truth about their lives and aren’t scared away when I do the same. I want a church that reflects back to me the best of what my life might be — balanced, honest, imperfect and beautiful.”

If we all work at being who God is calling us to be and do what God is calling us to do, the church will be more healthy; and, we will be offering a warm sense of welcome to those who want and need to feel welcome, and maybe a good cup of coffee to go with it.