Do they Gasp?

Last night, while driving home from my home church in Erlanger KY, I listened to a podcast from Willow Creek Community Church. It was the last sermon from teaching pastor Darren Whitehead before he heads to Nashville to plant a new church.

Really good stuff.

Darren talked about one of my favorite Biblical images of the church--the Bride of Christ. He described what it's like to be the pastor in a wedding--groom at his side, bride in the back of the church, lots of folks looking on. He mentioned that mystical moment when the bride steps into the room and the groom's face lights up, the crowd stands to their feet, and just about everyone gasps at the beauty of the bride. 

Great image.

And he shared story after story about how Willow Creek was a breath-taking Bride of Christ in Darren's years there. 

Beautiful.

So I kept thinking about that. A handful of questions emerged as I drove:

A) As part of the Bride of Christ--the church--do I contribute to her beauty or diminish it? 
B) As I walk into the Presence of the Bridegroom--Jesus--am I captivated by His presence? Is He with mine?
C) As a leader in the church, am I doing everything I can to help the Bride be beautiful?
D) Do our worship gatherings reflect the beauty, joy and love that is so evident in weddings?
E) Is the world paying any attention to the Bride (church) and Bridegroom (Jesus) at all? 

And then my mind raced with a bunch of questions about "E". 

A bunch.

I may share those next time.

As always, would love to see your comments, questions?