More on Church

I'm still thinking quite a lot about loving the church, and the various places I find it. I'm thinking too about the fact that, in a season where I am being increasingly drawn to the most formalized expression of church there is, I am surrounded primarily by friends who seem to have either rejected the church, or have allowed church to become a rote activity, rather than a deep expression of life and faith. I'm beginning to suspect that this will be an ongoing topic of thought and conversation for me.

In the meantime, another reflection on church by Henri Nouwen arrived in my inbox this morning...

Our Spiritual Leaders

The Church as the body of Christ has many faces. The Church prays and worships. It speaks words of instruction and healing, cleanses us from our sins, invites us to the table of the Lord, binds us together in a covenant of love, sends us out to minister, anoints us when we are sick or dying, and accompanies us in our search for meaning and our daily need for support. All these faces might not come to us from those we look up to as our leaders. But when we live our lives with a simple trust that Jesus comes to us in our Church, we will see the Church's ministry in places and in faces where we least expect it.

If we truly love Jesus, Jesus will send us the people to give us what we most need. And they are our spiritual leaders.