We’re better together.

Let’s call it an identity crisis.

After 2,000 years, there’s a lot of confusion about “church.” Most hear the word and think of a building, a steeple, or a pew. They think of something that’s more past than present, more distant than relevant.

Which is a shame. Because what these same people need is a church.

Perhaps the great paradox of modern life is that we’re more connected than ever, but we’re not. Despite the web, social media, and smartphones, we remain hungry for deep, authentic relationships. And that’s what the church is – people coming together in love, across all barriers and differences, in the name of Jesus.

If you’re new to faith, don’t think of church as an hour on Sundays but a family. Not a collection of programs but a web of relationships. Not a place to attend but a place to belong.

God meets us where we are.

What’s God really like?

If you’re open to the possibility of God, that’s the question, isn’t it? “Ok God, what kind of God are you?”

If you’ve got some church baggage, if no-one has to tell you the definition of legalism, or if you’ve got some shame to deal with (and who doesn’t?), it’s probably time to rethink the question.

In other words, many of us carry around a mental image of a god who’s not very good at all. A god who’s angry. Hard to please. Unforgiving.

Consider that God, perhaps, isn’t standing at a great distance waiting for you to clean up your act. Consider instead that God is happy to meet you where you are, eager to cover over your mistakes, and patient to guide you one step at a time.

That’s grace.

From cover to cover, the Bible tells us that God loves us, likes us, pursues us. It invites us to drop our distorted views of God and come face to face with the One who is wholeheartedly for us.

Because to know him is to love him.

It’s not about us.

As you read about Jesus’ life one thing that hits you is “This guy hung out with everyone.” Other rabbis in his day kept their distance from notorious sinners, chose their friends carefully, and their disciples even more carefully.

But not Jesus. He was a magnet for all kinds of folks and all kinds of sinners. And he loved it.

So any view of church as an insiders’ club just won’t work. We believe you’re blessed to be a blessing. We believe it’s not about us, but that we’re simply a conduit through which God is at work in the world.

Our desire is to partner with God by living for others in countless ways – from sharing our faith to sharing our table, from offering a cup of cold water to providing clean water across the globe.

The church is to benefit all the world. It exists as part of God’s mission, and that mission moves forward whenever individual Christians make the decision to live, not for themselves, but for others.

It’s one step at a time.

“Change is a constant in life,” they say.

And with one huge exception, they’re right. Times change. Fashions change. Technologies change.

People? Not so much. That 8th grader who was an overachiever? He’s now 28 and still has something to prove. The 30 year old employee with a bad temper? He’s now retired but his fuse remains short. Don’t make us go on.

Most of us know what it’s like to be stuck – struggling with all the stuff we’ve always struggled with. Our willpower helps us improve our lives here and there, but in major ways, our heart and our character prove immune to our best efforts.

Thank God we’re not on our own. The Bible tells us that our lives are His project, not ours. The love of God is the only force in the world strong enough to change the human heart, and when we surrender our lives to Christ, we begin a lifelong journey of transformation.

The Bible is page after page of examples: God works with enemies, frauds, sinners, and nobodies and transforms them into friends, examples, disciples, and leaders. As you read it you start to wonder, “Is there anything God can’t do with a human life?” And the answer is no.