Northern Virginia is a glutton for religious punishment. I can't tell you how many friends I know outside of our church opted for 2-3-hour-long masses on Easter that included baptisms and bilingual services in both Spanish and English. Every one of my friends laughed-off the experience, but acknowledged how dreadfully tortuous it was to them.
When God's spirit breaks through the spiritual resistance of northern Virginia and our power-hungry DC culture, it will look like one, big outpouring of grace. Freedom from not only sin, but also the guilt that drives them to ritualism and tortuously long services in Latin. We saw lots of these kinds of folks visit RCC on Easter, and I think the experience was so fresh and enjoyable to them that they probably wondered if it were permitted by God. If they only knew...
Isn't it just pure fun to get to introduce people to the freedom of actual relationship with God, and the experience of his grace, as opposed to a stifling religious ritual? It's like seeing them exhale a big deep breath, and just light up. Ah, the highlights of ministry...
Posted by: jessi | April 17, 2007 at 06:56 PM
Been there, done that. Won't ever do it again. Being raised in that culture makes you numb initially to the freedom I now enjoy in Christ.
Keep at it Ben! We're praying.
Posted by: Scott | April 17, 2007 at 11:12 PM