Touchpoints from August 2023
Thank you
“In a world where denominational identity is waning. Where church attendance is falling. And where religious systems are being questioned… Spirit in the Desert is a place where people can come and explore their spiritual journey, quest, and path in ways that are unique to their own experience… Surrounded by a gracious and welcoming staff and community … Thank you Spirit in the Desert.”
Come Again to Whose Church?
“We wait for people to come to our institutions called churches. Sure, we advertise, put banners up, and do social media blasts welcoming others to come in. But there’s a dozen different messages once you go into the church, very few of which are declaring people as being enough, just as they are, before God. No, they need more literature and more ritual to belong. Perhaps we need to touch the deep longing within humanity searching to belong.”
Marginalizing Jesus
“Is there a message here for us? That it’s more important to listen to people, especially those on the margins, than to listen to the economic systems, the political systems, and the religious systems in which we have been raised? It is more important to listen to those on the margins than the leaders of those systems or those who have been most successful in them.”
Eyes on You
“And so… When I have little faith… When I doubt… When I can’t stand on my own two feet… When I can no longer be the hero of my faith story… There… there is God. Keeping his eyes on me. Giving his hand. Taking me in his embrace.”
You Count
“Christianity doesn’t exist for the sake of Christendom. And Christian practices don’t exist for the sake of Christendom, either. Holy Communion was made for people, not people for Holy Communion. Though most church leaders get that wrong. We exist for the sake of the world. To feed the world. To provide a feast for the world.”