aah, Saturday Morning....

it's a wonderful, rainy, lazy Saturday morning. My family was slow getting out of bed and coming down for our usual morning around the table chatting and reading the paper together. We finished off the time with heaping plates of blueberry pancakes - yum! Of course I was up early. I suppose that's the result of getting older and having too much spinning in my head at any one time. After heading the wrong direction after leaving the Omni Hotel in Atlanta last night, I ended up in who-knows-where on the southwest side of Atlanta. I still don't know how I got where I was. Anyway, instead of getting home at 10:30 it was closer to 11:30. I had lots on my mind as a result of the conference I had attended over the last two days. Not that the conference was that informative, but my thoughts and reading did stretch me.
These days I've been thinking about being a follower of Jesus outside of the normal church experience. It seems we have confused our religious pursuits - church - from being a Christian. While hiding in the sanctuary or refuge of our church buildings (we have become like Quasimodo running from the soldiers in The Hunchback of Notre Dame crying "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!") we are missing the changing world outside of our doors. I wonder if we'll be able to reconnect with those that aren't within the walls with us? I wonder if anyone really wants to?
I've been reading some great books that have really challenged my traditional thinking about how to do church and be a minister to church members and to those who don't do church. I don't know that I can make the switch from being a desk jocky with my faith to someone who is out of the box, seeking God in all of life and trying to make God-connections for folks where ever I go. I'd like to - but I sometimes find that I don't know what to say to folks that don't do the church thing, that don't know churchspeak. I've so cloistered myself for so many years that I wonder if I have anything in common with anyone not in my church club? It's all rather frightening, actually. I've got to find some ways hang out with folks not in my world - just to stay sane. Now that I've noticed the dichotomy I must do something to change before it's too late. What - that's the question that woke me up this morning. It's OK to read about making the switch - but actually stepping out and doing some things to change my point of view? That's a bit tougher....