Are we closer or further away?

i was at dinner last night with some friends and an old question resurfaced in my head...as we were all enjoying the hard work and delicious cooking of danny, each others company and the joy of joshes little kids running around, i had one of those moments where i realized that something deeper than just dinner was happening...there were new relationships being built, old relationships being furthered, there was laughing and learning, community was being realized, and dare i say that church was spontaneously happening...

which brings me to this question...are we (in the west) closer to or further away from the original model and intent of what church is supposed to be...this is the reason that i ask...for most of our culture, church is the sunday thing with "professional christians" teaching and leading the "non-professional" christians and seekers in a ritual that has become how we define what church is...dont hear that as a slam on those who make a living in full time ministry or even on sunday congregational gatherings, but simply as an observation of what we (i) have come to see church as...

now i know that to some extent, this model of church on sunday morning and night, is a direct result of early agricultural practices and just became how things were done, again, nothing wrong in and of itself...in the biblical sense, sabbath was on saturday, this to seems to be a cultural thing...

then, as jesus enters the scene and the early church starts to emerge, we begin to see church happening in a much more spontaneous and holistic way...we read that they shared meals and everything else together and that there was no need among them...we read that they met together daily and that daily there numbers where added...we see how they were meeting the needs of their neighbors...we see a very revolutionary way of life begin to take shape...

i guess, in my often incoherent way of rambling, my question is this...if we as christians begin to facilitate church happening in our daily practices (where 2 or more are gathered) would we still operate in the same way that we do now? would we rely on our once a week teaching and gathering as our lifeline to faith, God, and each other?...is there a reason that Jesus didnt seem to emphasize church as a place that you go but rather as a way of being and doing? is that the original intent? is either model more important than the other? are we on the brink of a revolution occuring in our midst that will change the face of how we live/work/eat/sleep/breath the kingdom of God on earth? are we willing to make changes if we are called to? does the church need her walls, or are they there because of our own fears and insecurities?

i dont know...

New Resolve

i know, i know...it has bee quite some time although i said that i was going to update regularly...leave me alone...

so, just to get back in the swing of things, this will be a short little guy...

i made the mistake of going to the mac store the other day with a friend, and now i want an i-phone...here is me drooling over the thing...




what am i supposed to do? oh, and in case you haven't heard, on july 11 the new i-phone comes out and it is twice as fast at half the cost...booya!

we will see