Fearless

I talked to a guy today.  He told me that once, a long time ago, he went to church.  He told me the reason he went to church was that the pastor's daughter was about the best looking gal he'd ever seen, and he couldn't take her out, if he didn't go to their church.  

According to this fellow, the pastor's daughter had many times dated another young man who was the dictionary definition of a "rebel".  As he regaled me with tales of this young man's wild antics, he admitted to being somewhat disappointed in the church in general.  He said that though this young man was in actuality a true menace to society, he was a church-goer. So the pastor of the church allowed this young man to date his daughter.  

The guy I talked to told me that he figured if his friend, the wild one, could date this girl just because he went to church, then he ought to be able to pull off the same feat.  So off to church he went one clear Sunday morning.  Dressed in his best duds he entered the sanctuary and sat down in the back row.  After some preliminaries, the pastor stepped forward and asked if anyone had anything to add to the announcements.  A man in the front row seized the opportunity and jumping to his feet declared boldly, "I just want everyone to know that my wife isn't sleeping with 'so and so'!"  The guy I talked to thought to himself, "Well, this is going to be a humdinger of a church service".  He told me that as the choir stood to sing, he looked up and counted no less than four adulterers that he knew of, and one gentlemen, a deacon, who was known to frequent the beer joints.  He said to me, "I thought if there aint no more to this than that, I aint got no use for it".  He said that was the last time he ever went to church.  It was 30 years ago.  

I asked him if it offended him that people of "suspect moral character" attended church.  He said, "No, that don't bother me at all.  What got to me was that they all tried to cover it up".

I think most people feel that way.  I have often said that I have witnessed more genuine spirituality in AA meetings that I have in many church services.  Why?  I believe it's because the people in the AA meeting weren't afraid someone was going to judge them for being honest.  What is the reward for creating an environment where people can be transparent?  Authentic faith.  

We all live in glass houses, and we all tend to keep the shades drawn.  But that place of authentic faith and spiritual wellness comes from being willing to pull up the blinds and let others see into our lives.  When we do, we start to see how much alike we all are.  And we get a whole new understanding of  the importance of God's mercy and grace.  

Who knows?  If we could truly be fearless enough to reveal our weaknesses to each other, and see how those frailties demonstrate the glory of God, maybe that guy I talked to - and thousands like him - would come back to church.