WORSHIPPING IN THE TRADITION OF NOTHING MATTERS

Celebrating the god of nonchalance.

The headline in today's Sunday Missoulian read, "Keeping Faith Casual".

Aaaah, isn't that sweeeet?

Reading the article about Grace Pointe church, it takes until the SEVENTH PARAGRAPH to read the word "God". And, no, the lower case on "church" isn't a typo. They, evidently, don't want to be identified with God all that much so they left "church" out of their title hoping you'd not notice they were religious until you'd already been put on the Committee for the Prevention of Stupid People Who Read Their Bibles Too Much. And you never read the word "Jesus", but I'm sure "God" is mentioned in passing, or under the youth pastor's breath when he has to clean up after the "Relational Teens" volley-ball-game-tofu-sundae-and-gospel-rap-concert-for-relevance-and-world-peace get together followed by the tattoo art and body piercing demonstration lead by the head of the local chapter of Hell Angels And Drug Paraphernalia Manufacturers For Some Unidentifiable Diety That Most Americans Call God Or Jesus Or Something. After all, talking too much about God would make them psychotic killers or something worse, like fundamentalists or Bible-thumpers, I suppose. Of course, you can find "relevant", "community", "faith", "unconventional", etc. No mention of the atonement or wrath or sin. However, Pastor Coler regularly takes up topics like slavery. Evidently, the slave trade's running just rampant in Missoula, Montana these days, what with the Montana cotton crop rotting in the fields.

Interstingly, despite all this unity and love, there's rumor of a raging doctrinal debate among them, for which I have yet to find solid documentation. (Or any for that matter.) Here's the burning question at the center of the debate:

"Is our faith mysteriously undefined and wordy or vaguely elusive and conveniently undetermined so we don't exclude anyone except real Christians?" Several families of whatever kind you prefer have already gotten up in arms and left the whachamacallit! Disappointed, Pastor Coler has been quoted as saying, "This sort of conflict is so unnecessary. I keep telling them doctine doesn't matter."

Just puking,
Phil Perkins. PS The above is a mixture of fact and errr...faith. On your part. The slavery reference is real, the newspaper is real, the name of the organization and the name of the pastor is real, and the lack of mentioning God, Jesus, and sin is real. Other things are a matter of your faith in my imagination. Oh yeah--the puking was almost real.