The Church is Beautiful

The Church is Beautiful



This weekend, we will be concluding our five week "Lessons From the Road" sermon series around the country.  This has been a great series and I have really enjoyed your comments and feedback.  Thanks so much!  We will finish up  with two stops in Detroit and New York City. 

I was struck with my time in these two cities, but especially during my few days in Detroit.  As most are aware, the city of Detroit has not fared well during these last years.  The region has suffered dramatically from our recent recession.  It is one thing to read about it in the headlines, but it is another entirely to spend a few days there.  While there are still remnants of the glory days of old, for the most part, driving the streets of Detroit and its suburbs is stark.  Businesses are closed or closing, signs are falling down, streets are in disrepair, and there exists a general sense that this community is on the downhill side of the graph.

In contrast, I had the privilege of meeting an incredible church just outside of the city limits: Redford Aldersgate United Methodist.  They invited me to their Wednesday night dinner and Bible study, and I had the opportunity to meet their pastor, Jeff Nelson.  The contrast of the church and the surroundings was simply phenomenal.  There was life everywhere.  The night was filled with laughter, stories, and radical hospitality and generosity with me as a visitor.  More importantly, while the majority of the city is moving out of downtown, this church is moving in, with new ministries and even planting a new church in ground zero of the urban evacuation.

All of this offers a reminder of which we will speak this week.  In the midst of the world’s problems and struggles, the church is beautiful.  Certainly, the church has its scars and sins, but it doesn’t change the fact that when you read the Bible, our risen Lord looks at us and our future, and sees the church with eyes of beauty. 

When we, like that little church in Detroit, live up to that beauty, we shine in the midst of all that human pain and suffering.  I invite you to come and join us in worship on Sunday.  We will speak more of this beauty with this story and another like it in New York City.  In all the ugliness that we see in this world each day, we can all use a reminder that despite us, the church is still beautiful.   See you in worship,

Pastor Pete