You have to stretch your mind. And that's what I want from my church - a church that inspires and touches my heart and also stretches and extends my mind. Number II I want a church that accepts me as I am and yet challenges me to be better. It's easy to become discouraged. There are many pressures, stresses, deadlines, burdens, problems and disappointments.
Life can be complicated and demanding.
The truth is that we all need encouragement. The good news of our Christian faith is that our Lord is a God of acceptance and encouragement. When the world threatens to rip our hearts out, God is there to encourage us, to put the heart back into us, to re-light the spark, to give us new life. Recently I had dinner with a minister friend of mine. In our conversation, he told me the Methodist Church literally saved his life.