Some might venture to say that I have had a love-hate relationship with the church, but I would respectfully and heartedly disagree. It has been total love on my part. But love is not always about daffodils and pansies, flowing and fluttering in the warm spring breezes. When one risks loving, one not only opens oneself up to the possibilities of moments of wondrous ecstasy, but also to the very real possibilities of deep, cutting hurt. So anyway, in my love for, and in my life of service to the Church, I was often hurt and deeply wounded when I witnessed her (the Church) resembling a shivering recluse hiding in a politically correct dark corner, abandoning truth while embracing cultural norms. Indeed, the church so often seems to settle for so much less than she was commissioned to be, seemingly seeking to bask in the great illusion of safety. It makes me sad when I so often witness the church actively working towards being boring, languid, rigid and arrogant. But it does brighten my soul when I realize that the life of Christ sure as hell isn’t any of those things! Read on!