Putting "Christ" in Christian.

How many of you are against the Church?

For the record, I am not against the church and my experience of Christians, especially in the past several years, has been extremely postitive. I have been completely held in the love of God by those who claim to love God.

For the record, I am not out to defend the Church.

There have been days when I could not walk through the “valley of the shadow of death” that I felt I have been carried by many of you. Yes, I have been encouraged, strengthened, held, loved, and accepted by the church; I have “seen the glory of God” through the loving actions of so many Christians. When my faith has been challenged and there were days of uncertainty and emptiness, I was sustained by the church.

Me, a sinner, has been an receipient of God’s mercy, love, and grace and it is because of the Church; folks who claim to follow Jesus, have reached-out and touched me. I love the Church, for the Church first loved me. That has been my experience. I suspect it is the reason I call myself a Christian-- followers have made Jesus’ way real to me.

"Jesus loves me this I know, not because the bible tells me so..." but because of the Church. The "church": a person and people have come to me and walked beside; those who, like my brother says, have put Christ into Christian.

During the past decade, if left to myself, I would have walked away. I would perhaps have attempted to maintain my faith on my own, but I now know there have been challenges and experiences in my life that I simply would not have made it on my own. The Church came a long beside me and lifted me to my feet; like I said, somedays it carried me.

If it were not for faithful Christians; if it were not for being loved in action, I would not have made it. It was the little Christs in Christianity that sustained me. The “stranger” in my midst really was the Body of Christ, I’ve been touched by the wounded hands and I cannot help but believe. I have stood face-to-face with the Body of Christ and been embraced. It is an outpouring so undeserved yet so real and unexpected that it could only be God loving me through others. I know God loves me because God sent me a community of brokened bodied believers who have loved me, no questions asked. Like Kris Kristofferson penned, “Why me Lord, what have I ever done to deserve even one…”

Along my journey, I have sadly met many people who have not had this experience. Some folks hear Christianese, but haven't experienced Christ. They have experienced the hypocrisy and pain. I sometimes write for those people here. From the hundreds of emails I have received, many are grateful. Many have somehow stumbled upon my site and shared that they have found a renewed hope and faith as a result of some of the things I have written. Me? As a very close friend often says, “Oh my.” It is truly humbling to receive those notes. It’s why I continue to write. I write because I have experienced God; I have hope; I believe, and I can only do so because some have put Christ back into Christian.