my window

as i look out my window of my newly inhabited office (for about two months now) i see an empty parking lot, with pristine white lines marking spaces for cars to park. i see trees that are changing hues as i type. from green to red and orange and various shades in between. the road beyond is slightly sloped with patches of tar, a repaired reminder of the cracks now covered up. and to the left, a basketball hoop with a busted rim, angling towards the asphalt below. and a frayed net taboot.

 to the houses across the street, what do they see when they look out their bay windows? what are we? how are we perceived? are we mere bricks and mortar? a parking lot and a building? an eyesore in the midst of a residential area? a business that becomes an inconvenience on the weekend? with the cars and the traffic that appear? a church that is concerned about its own, yet can't fix the basketball hoop so that neighborhood kids can play? 

on this afternoon of inactivity i can't help but wonder what we are. where we stand. how we are seen - if even at all.

 a mail truck now appears on the street. the mail man delivers mail to each residence, proof of their existence, even though we don't know them. he knows their names. we do not.

 this is our picture. we are the church. we have good intentions. we love Jesus. but we are not capitalizing on the opportunity that may very well be right outside our windows. Lord, give us eyes to see, not mere projects, but people. people who need you and who want to encounter you, even if they've yet to realize it... perhaps even in the littlest of things.. may we go and be Jesus, not to the world, but first to our street. through fixed basketball hoops and outstretched hands of generosity and hospitality.

This is My Confession

notes + quotes from You Lost Me. (Book Review)

NOTES FROM THE BOOK:

You Lost Me. Why Young Christians are Leaving the Church... and Rethinking Faith by David Kinnaman

valuable quotes and statistics from Kinnaman's book on why young people are leaving the church. This book gives great insight as to how the church can adapt in order to reach a generation that is currently disconnected from the church community.

[spoiler alert]

Millions of young adults (MOSAICS age 18-29) leave active involvement in church as they exit their teen years. some never return, while others live indefinitely at the margins of the faith community, attempting to define their own spirituality. (pg. 19)

Millions of young Christians describe Christianity as hypocritical, judgmental, too political, and out of touch with reality. (20)

The dropout problem is a disciple-making problem. the church is not adequately preparing the next generation to follow Christ faithfully in a rapidly changing culture. (21)

61% of young people with Christian background have “dropped out of attending church after going regularly.”
41% have struggled with significant doubt.
35% have rejected their parents faith. (24)
(these averages are among Protestants)

“I’ve never lost faith in Christ but i have lost faith in the church.” ~ Kelly, a young adult ‘Nomad’

FACT: young Christians perceive and interpret reality through screens. (43)


NEW REALITY: young people expect to participate as well as consume.
young people desire to stay connected at all times.
young people do not have a network of older adults to help them succeed.


Young need access, feel alienated and are not interested in the authority structures of that animate Christianity.


Mosaics are tech savvy but not necessarily truth savvy.

Young people are interested in spirituality, but on their own terms.

Young people feel it is more important to be fair and loyal to their peers than to be loyal to the institution.

The Christian community needs to consider our allegiance to these authorities; we must be honest enough with ourselves to determine where our allegiance is merely cultural rather than biblical. We need a new mind in our approach to faith formation in the changing spiritual narrative. (56)







WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LEAVING.








NOMADS:
still describe themselves as Christian.
believe that personal involvement in church is optional.
importance of faith has faded.
angry and/or hostile towards church.
spiritual experimentalists. (65)

PRODIGALS:
Christian beliefs don’t make sense.
Spiritual needs not met.

EXILES:
want their faith to matter.
want to follow Jesus AND connect with world they live in.
skeptical of institutions but not wholly disengaged with them.
see God moving outside walls of church (and they want to be a part of that movement).
not disillusioned with tradition; they are frustrated with slick, shallow expressions of religion.
faith isn’t instructive to their calling or gifts.
struggle when Christians question their motives.

“A film isn’t Christian just because it has inserted the gospel message in there somehow. A film can point to Christ when it honestly portrays our human condition and invites us to experience something about redemption that each of us needs.” ~Justin

How modern exiles compare to the Bible: SAME SONG, DIFFERENT MILLENNIUM (87-88)

The challenge for the Christian community is how to respond to the growing number of exiles. Will we do what we can to equip them to make the choices that faced Daniel in Babylon -- choices about balancing cultural accommodation and faithful, Christ-centered living? Will we listen to and take to heart their faithful prophetic critiques of the church’s posture toward our increasingly pluralistic society? Will we change our structures, guided by unchanging truths of Scripture, to nurture their gifts and unique calling into a world deeply loved by, yet in many ways hostile to, God?

IDENTIFYING THE DISCONNECTION: (92-93)
they find the church to be:
OVERPROTECTIVE - they want to reimagine, recreate, rethink and they want to be entrepreneurs, innovators, starters. To mosaics, creative expression is of inestimable value.
SHALLOW - the most common perception: church is boring. Also, the Christianity they received does not give them a sense of calling.
ANTI SCIENCE -
REPRESSIVE -
EXCLUSIVE - Christianity’s claims to exclusivity are a hard sell. (mosaics want to find areas of common ground...)
DOUBTLESS - don’t feel like church is the place to express doubts. do not feel safe admitting that faith doesn’t always make sense.



Young Christians - it’s your turn to listen.
Well established Christians - it’s time to trust in a deeper way of God working within the next generation.


Mosaic frustration:
Christians demonize everything outside of the church.

Christians are afraid of pop culture (especially movies + music)

Christians maintain a false separation of sacred and secular. (research shows that this generation does not see a divide between the sacred and secular, at least not in the same way their parents do.)

Christians do not want to deal with the complexity or reality of the world. (church = to rigid, unreal + not able to comprehend the world as it really is) (97-98)


Many mosaics grew up in a risk-free Christianity which led them AWAY from God/Church.

Perception of Church: fear based to get you to do something as opposed to giving you logical reasons why you should or shouldn’t do something.



WHAT CHURCH COULD DO TO REACH MOSAICS:
help young people understand fundamental brokenness in humans and an adversary who intends to derail mankind in every possible way.
no fear of ‘secular’ culture/media, etc. let’s watch, listen and read together and do ‘cultural exegesis’ asa faithful community.
guide young people to trust God fearlessly and follow Christ in the power of the Spirit - even at the RISK of their lives, reputations, and worldly success.
(104)

Matthew 16:25
24-26Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Current Church seems shallow - with a faith that is a mile wide but an inch deep.
Don’t just convey INFORMATION about God - DISCIPLE young believers to live wholly, deeply in the reality of God. (115)

Mosaics desire humility.

Christian communities of all kinds must find ways to include teens and young adults in the spiritual life of the church, rather than relegating them to the game room. We need a new mind for facilitating meaning filled rites of passage. How might young people be involved in Scripture reading, praying, leading worship, giving testimony, or providing a short teaching to the congregation?

Responsibility outside of worship, too: serving, mentoring, discipling, etc.
(123)

Churches expect too little of its young people.

Don;t focus on the numbers - focus on discipling like Jesus discipled.
Make disciples. (Matt. 28:19)
Committed people make disciples.

MOSAIC FRUSTRATION: Christians are too confident that they know all the answers. (137)
Christians are not accepting of gay and lesbians
Christians are afraid of the beliefs of other faiths
Church ignores problems of real world
mosaics don’t feel accepted by church people.
(175)


The next generation needs workable, biblical, grace filled ways to relate with people who are not believers.
(empathy)
(183)

NEW THINKING:

The church is a partnership of generations fulfilling God’s purpose in their time.
(more interaction between cross generations / build inter-generational relationships)
(205)

Mentors needed to help young people with wisdom. (204)

God-centered relationships create faithful, mature disciples.

Christians have no idea that their faith connects to their life’s work.

We need new ways of measuring success. If you are in church ministry, one metric of success might be to help young people make one or two relational connections, younger or older, that lead to significant mentoring bonds that will last for several years. (208)

Jesus was in close contact with his disciples that he was able to shape the rough edges of their faith + ministry.

We have done everything humanly possible to make the church as "easy" as possible. We kept the services short and entertaining, discipleship and evangelism optional, and moral standards low. Our motives were not bad. We figured we could attract more people by offering Jesus with minimal commitment. But we ended up producing nominal Christians whose unchanged lives have deterred others from being interested.

There is a new generation rising up. Young adults are studying the Bible without missing the obvious. They see how shallow methodology is incongruent with the Jesus of Scripture who asked everything of his followers. They are bored with Sunday morning productions and long to experience the Holy Spirit. They need to be challenged with the awesome responsibility of praying for, baptizing, and making disciples of their acquaintances. They need to be reminded of the Spirit who supernaturally empowers them for this task.

The days of merely bringing our friends to an event so the pastor can save and disciple them need to end. New churches must be formed where all believers are expected to do the work of evangelism and discipleship. This generation sees the potency of a church where pastors equip and shepherd disciple-makers rather than service-attenders. ~Francis Chan, as quoted in You Lost Me by David Kinnaman (pages 215-216)

FINAL THOUGHTS:
The Church needs to embrace reconciliation.
Recover its imagination.
Hand-craft disciples (not cookie cutter)
Discover ones vocational calling (and how God is at work in the midst)
Radical faith is not about doing edgy things, but about embodying the self-giving love of Jesus. a love that RISKS suffering and matters more than life itself.
Don’t overreact. Reactionary thinking plagues much of evangelicalism.
Make disciples like Jesus.

Increase your Expectations

We have done everything humanly possible to make the church as "easy" as possible. We kept the services short and entertaining, discipleship and evangelism optional, and moral standards low. Our motives were not bad. We figured we could attract more people by offering Jesus with minimal commitment. But we ended up producing nominal Christians whose unchanged lives have deterred others from being interested.

There is a new generation rising up. Young adults are studying the Bible without missing the obvious. They see how shallow methodology is incongruent with the Jesus of Scripture who asked everything of his followers. They are bored with Sunday morning productions and long to experience the Holy Spirit. They need to be challenged with the awesome responsibility of praying for, baptizing, and making disciples of their acquaintances. They need to be reminded of the Spirit who supernaturally empowers them for this task.

The days of merely bringing our friends to an event so the pastor can save and disciple them need to end. New churches must be formed where all believers are expected to do the work of evangelism and discipleship. This generation sees the potency of a church where pastors equip and shepherd disciple-makers rather than service-attenders.

~Francis Chan, as quoted in You Lost Me by David Kinnaman (pages 215-216)

what's next for church.

When the form changes, so does the underlying business model, which of course changes the function as well.

Mail ---> email

Books ---> ebooks

DVD ---> YouTube/Netflix

1040 ---> Online taxes

Visa ---> Paypal

Open outcry ---> Electronic trading

Voice call centers ---> forums and online chat

Direct mail ---> permission marketing

In each case, the original players in the legacy industry decided that the new form could be bolted onto their existing business model. And in each case they were wrong. Speed and marginal cost and ubiquity and a dozen other elements of digitalness changed the interaction itself, and so the function changes too.

The question that gets asked about technology, the one that is almost always precisely the wrong question is, "How does this advance help our business?"

The correct question is, "how does this advance undermine our business model and require us/enable us to build a new one?"

There are projects that are possible with ebooks or Kickstarter or email that could never have worked in an analog universe. Most of the money made in the stock market today is via trading approaches that didn't even exist thirty years ago.

When a change in form comes to your industry, the first thing to discover is how it will change the function.

~Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/10/form-and-function.html

how does this message relate to the church and its future?

"When a change in form comes to your industry, the first thing to discover is how it will change the function."

i believe that mainline denominations have considered the changing of church but i don't know that mainline denominations have ever considered how it will change its function. society is changing. culture is changing. how we communicate, interact and gather information is changing. social media and technology surely have showed us just how magnificent and powerful that medium can be. just look at the civilian uprising in the mid-east. Social media played a significant role in its progress. people mobilized quickly because of Twitter and Facebook and as a result, a series of revolutions.

the world is changing rapidly. but is the church?

if we, the church, are asking the question (and many of us are not willing to consider asking) perhaps we are asking the wrong question.

The question that gets asked about technology, the one that is almost always precisely the wrong question is, "How does this advance help our business?"

The correct question is, "how does this advance undermine our business model and require us/enable us to build a new one?"

how does the advancement of society, social media, technology or whatever new thing is on the horizon undermine not our message of Gospel (for it is the same yesterday, today and forever ) but our business model (how we 'do' church) and require us to build a new one? i don't know if we are truly willing to build a new model for living and doing church. but i am hopeful that there may be some willing to try.

i think Seth's post, although about business, is hearty food for thought for any church planter or redeveloper. other leaders of congregations should take notice as well, for the good of the church and for the sake of its survival.

Book Review: Sunday Asylum

Sunday Asylum: Being the Church in Occupied Territory by Stanley Hauerwas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


short and sweet and to the point. Hauerwas has insightful comments on the topics of belief, conformity, worship despair, hope & the kingdom of God. Jason Barnhart adds thought provoking commentary to Hauerwas' thoughts.



I liked all 5 chapters - but took exception to most of the chapter on worship. in that - i feel Hauerwas misses the boat - or at least doesn't fully understand where some modern worship is all about.



regardless - the book was easy to read and worth my time.



it is set up to be used as a 5 week curriculum for a small group. there also appears to be a video to coincide with this book - but i felt the book was fine on it's own.



View all my reviews

Following Jesus is not meant to make my life safe

Following Jesus is not meant to make my life safe, secure, comfortable, or more tolerable to a majority of Americans. It definitely won't compartmentalize down to a nice, cozy pocket! in the same way, Jesus is larger than a political affiliation, so my allegiance to him should be greater than my allegiance to a political party. Following Jesus is going to make my life dysfunctional to most Americans.

the reality for the follower of Jesus is that we do not need to make the world work

the reality for the follower of Jesus is that we do not need to make the world work. this lie from Christendom has led to more despair than hope. When people die unexpectedly, we don't have to act like we understand or know why. when economies tank, we don't have to have all the answers, you see, when we assume we need to have all the answers and need to eliminate all the mystery in the world, we crucify hope, never experiencing the kingdom reality that is faith.

jason barnhart from the book Sunday Asylum. ch. 3

the Cross is the greatest source of tension the world has ever known.

thoughts while reading ch 2: conflict vs. comfort from the book Sunday Asylum.

the follower of Jesus is the embodiment of the spoken Word of God on mission for God

my tweeted thoughts/quotes while reading ch. 1 of the book Sunday Asylum.

church: dream release risk imagine

from the book, ‘The Shaping of Things to Come’ by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch:

“We need to dream again, and to do this we must cultivate a love for imagination. Before we can do it, we need to dream it...Considered philosophically, all that a great visionary leader does is awaken and harness the dreams and visions of the members of a given community and give them deeper coherence by means of a grand vision that ties together all the ‘little visions’ of the members of the group...My task as a leader is to so articulate the vision that others are willing to embed their sense of purpose within the common vision of the community...It is this capacity to articulate a preferred future based on a common moral vision that allows people to dream again. This is true of all true apostolic leadership. And in a profound sense the leader is the key person in the release of the spiritual creativity and innovation in any setting – the catalyst for reconceptualising the mission of the church (p.188).

But imagination takes courage, as it involves risk. In fact if there were no courage, there could be no imagination. And if there were no risk, there could be no apostolic leadership, only priestly maintenance and more of the same boring stuff that is keeping people from getting in touch with that most radical and dangerous person...None other than Jesus (p.189).”

make stuff

time to turn inspiration into action!
make something.
create.
seek newness + freshness.
go.
be.
do.

innovate.
associate.
invigorate.
communicate.
celebrate.
investigate.
demonstrate.
eliminate.
accommodate.
anticipate.

i'm desperate for change. i only wish it were in our DNA.
and so we must fight to bring about change.
we must strive to bring about greatness.
success or failure, no matter what the outcome.

how much more time do we have?

God is Doing a New Thing. Are We?

God is Doing a New Thing. Are We?
by Tim Beck
New Church Start Team, East Ohio Conference
(originally published in the WINDOW bi-monthly newsletter May-June '11)


One of the most chilling paintings I‟ve laid eyes on was painted by Vincent Van Gogh, the famous 19th Century Dutch post-impressionist painter. The title of the painting is The Church at Auvers and it was painted by memory in 1890, shortly before his untimely death. The painting depicts a church north of Paris. What is haunting about Van Gogh‟s interpretation is that the foreground is lush with green grass and signs of life, but the church is cast in the midst of a dark, looming shadow. The windows are dark and closed and there is no visible door. In his own words, Van Gogh described the church as follows: “it neither reflects nor emanates any light of its own.”

Sadly, this impression of the church is not exclusive to Van Gogh. For many, churches are more haunting than wel- coming; more closed than open; more dark than light. It‟s not that we (the church) don‟t have good intentions. It‟s not that we (the church) intend to shun, but the harsh reality is this: people in America feel less connected with the church building and the church body. We know this because by-and-large mainline denominations have witnessed a steady decline in attendance and membership over the past 10 plus years. The United Methodist Church has had a 7% drop in membership since 2001. That‟s 600,000 people who have left.
This is haunting. But it‟s also nothing we didn‟t already know.

This begs the question: what can we do to reverse such a pattern? I realize I‟m hardly the first person to point out the obvious nor am I the first to ask such a question. None the less, it‟s worth exploring, examining and engaging.

Let‟s face it, while the lights might be on inside the church; while worship and study might be taking place inside the walls, darkness might be perceived to be shadowing the church. We might not see it that way - but to those who have no desire to enter in, how do we suppose they see it? How do we suppose they see us? Kester Brewin, the English author, teacher and church planter refers to those not connected to a faith community as the „Other‟. To the „other‟, church is the same as it always was. Why should they bother?

Maybe what we‟re offering isn‟t fresh enough. Perhaps we‟re missing out on the new things God has in store for us (the church). If we hope for the Gospel to reach the world around us then we have to be concerned with how we are perceived, no matter if the world‟s view is right or wrong. We need a fresh church, a new church. Remember the words of Isaiah “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way...” (Isaiah 43:19). God is doing a new thing, but is the church?

Am I suggesting that we change the Gospel? Absolutely not. I am, however, suggesting that our approach to the ministry of the Gospel might need to be „freshened up.‟ If we the church can tap into a fresh approach, perhaps our shadowed perception might fade away and the light of Christ would shine through.

In what ways could you and your church "freshen up‟?

ten things i wish evangelicals would stop doing

ten things i wish evangelicals would stop doing
by efrem smith

10.) Act as if justice is simply a social issue and not a biblical one.

9.) Reduce the Christian life to individualism.

8.) Major in the minors theologically.

7.) Stop saying “hate the sin, but love the sinner” when we don’t do it.

6.) Feel comfortable with segregated church.

5.) Confuse political ideology with biblical theology.

4.) Act as if race, class, and gender are no longer issues to be dealt with.

3.) Avoid prophetic preaching.

2.) Missing out on being blessed by women in pastoral leadership.

1.) Ignoring the biblical mandate of reconciliation.

Book Review: Jesus Died for This?

Jesus Died for This?: A Satirist's Search for the Risen Christ by Becky Garrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Becky Garrison writes from the heart. she 'calls it like she sees it.' this is a book that is raw. i appreciated the tone that Garrison writes in. I connected with her sarcastic/satirical musings - as i, often feel the way she writes... only she is bold enough to lay it all out there - exposed... for all to see and read.

her musings on the current state of the 'church' (and all of the baggage that comes with that) are poignant and amusing. i appreciated that despite her skeptic bent, she attempted to be fair - acknowledging when God was active and present - even if in ways that she either didn't connect with or fully grasp.

Jesus Died For This is an honest book. we don't seem to get many people speaking as candid as she - so kudos to her for that!

it's an enjoyable read... worth my time... and yours.

the church is screwed up. most church's within empire building nations are probably missing the point (perhaps not intentionally) but Garrison brings to light some groups and communities that truly are uniquely 'church'... communities doing all that they can to BE Christ - with no conditions.



View all my reviews

Book Review: The House Church Book

The House Church Book: Rediscover the Dynamic, Organic, Relational, Viral Community Jesus Started by Wolfgang Simson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


i found this book to be easily digested, easily read and easily understood. Wolfgang Simson has written, perhaps, the quintessential book on the House Church. Simson shows the simple side of the house church movement - a movement he suggest pre-dates what we currently know as church. with roots in the early, new testament era churches - the house church can be a movement that grows 'sideways' (as he puts it) rather than upward. house churches can also be low cost churches, small in size and stature - yet able to grow at faster rates than most mega-churches.

for anyone curious about new church planting or the house church movement - this is a must read. i'd suggest any and all potential church planters read this book as well. there are many practical thoughts that may aid in the development of new church starts.



View all my reviews

Upon this Rock...

{blog posts have been infrequent this summer. i hope this is the first post of many as i aim to blog more and be less procrastinator-like. hope this makes sense.}

the conception of the church, perhaps, can be found in a brief conversation Jesus had with his disciples on the way to Caesarea Philippi. Jesus poses a question (found in Matthew 16:13-20) , "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Less than remarkable answers are given by some of the disciples. I'd say they are less than remarkable because Jesus doesn't dwell on any of those answers. He quickly turns the tables to the disciples themselves. "who do you say that I am?" Peter answers giving the presumable first reply. It doesn't strike me odd that Peter's answers. Peter always seems to be first to say something, only most of the time he sticks his foot in his mouth. But not know. Peter gets it right.


"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus blesses him and states one of the most profound statements ever recorded: "you are now called Peter (meaning 'rock') and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prove stronger than it."

This statement is profound because it is here that the church begins, spoken into existence from the words of Christ himself. "I will build my house upon this rock."

Interesting. Jesus chose to Peter. In an lot of ways this 'Rock' of a person often at times didn't get it, often said the wrong things; once was bold enough to walk on water but lost faith in himself and began to sink; fell asleep in the garden when asked to 'watch and pray'; turned to violence over love when the soldiers came; before the Crucifixion denied knowing or having anything to do with Jesus and who kept his distance during the death of his Rabbi. In many ways, Peter failed and would fail. But Jesus picked him to build his church upon.

I wonder if there might be a parallel to the failures of Peter to the failures of the church that was eventually 'built' on that rock?

Later, in Acts 2, despite his failures, Peter connects the dots, receives the Spirit and the house of Jesus, the church, begins to break ground. The church breaks ground, not on land - but on hearts. The church begins to build on the hearts of man and woman and child. Peter is chosen, much like many other 'failures' were chosen. Remember? Jacob wrestled the angel. Moses led the Israelites but because of his impatience never stepped foot in the promised land. Rahab, a prostitute, was instrumental in the Israelites finding that promised land. King David committed adultery and then covered it up with murder. Thomas doubted. Paul held the coats of members of the Sanhedrin while they stoned Stephen. There are many others.

Fact is, God uses imperfect people to do remarkable things. He doesn't call the equipped, he equips those he calls.

But over the years, the church has acted much like Peter, before his transformation. I suppose it is because we are made up of imperfect people... but that is no excuse for our imperfect behavior. In some ways, perhaps, we've lost our way.

I find it interesting that at the end of this section {Matthew 16:13-20) Jesus 'warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.' Maybe it was because he knew that proclaiming Jesus as Lord could potentially get in the way of emulating Jesus their Lord. Perhaps.

It's one thing to proclaim Jesus Christ from the rooftops. It's another thing to live out his mission of Loving God and Loving People and serving the poor and reaching out to the oppressed.

Maybe Jesus knew that the once and future church that would be built on the Rock would proclaim Him with great joy - but yet, not live like Him, perhaps because, frankly living like Christ is intense. Hard. Challenging.

In closing, i give you the words of Rich Mullins:

"And as the skies proclaim the work of His hands, the Church testifies to the work of His Messiah. Red blood and flesh confess Jesus' Lordship, then drop the ball and are baffled by the immensity of that confession. People who are not pointlessly perfect receive an unattainable revelation and then misunderstand and betray the Truth. They foolishly divide and become divisive and yet He makes them one. They stumble and limp and sometimes turn to lesser gods and then are embraced by the One they've abandoned. As Paul says "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God" and this confession that Jesus is Messiah still changes pebbles into rock and as long as the Church confesses, she will continue to be what is in her genes to become.

We've got pretty good genes. We'll do well to grow into them.'

inspired by Peter Rollins - The Orthodox Heretic & Rich Mullins - The World As Best As I Remember It