Airport Idolatry

Reggie McNeal has a wonderful line. He says there are no coffee table books, "Great Airports of Europe" or "Beautiful Airports of the World".  And then he compares churches to airports. And he challenges us to see ourselves not as the destination, but as a transit hub. The goal of what we do is not to get people to church, but to help them connect with God in this life, in ways that will make them love God passionately in the next.

Even the great Cathedrals of the world were only made beautiful to teach lessons about God. In many cases they were the work of centuries of labor, and those building them knew that they were simply a place to help the passengers arrive safely at an even more majestic destination.

I’m getting all kinds of email about how to get people to come back to church after Easter. But I am not getting lots of emails about how to get the church to go out into the world after people after Easter.

We must decide, are we primarily a destination or a hub?

But there is another question that cannot be addressed by the answer to that question. Churches are built of bodies, not bricks. We are believers, not buildings. We are a community of people traveling together, trusting that we are on an inter-dimensional journey with a foot in two worlds.

“Thy kingdom come, on earth as in heaven” we pray, and then are surprised when it sometimes happens.

Because sometimes God visits the airport, to assure the passengers they’re flying to the right destination.  May God pay you a visit today.