The Building
"This is where I will build it," the tall, slender man said to the seller of the parcel. "Twenty five acres of God's beautiful creation. It's breathtaking. Don't you think?"
"A chapel," the seller replied. "You said something about a chapel."
"A barn, a stable, a place where Jesus will feel welcome."
"Like a church?"
"Not at all. The building I will construct on this land will be nothing like a church. It will not be labeled by denomination. It will be labeled by faith. That faith will be this, that you believe that he came as a child. He fulfilled ancient scripture. He walked among the people. He taught them about His father. He was nailed to a crude cross, because His father willed it. He was laid in a tomb with a boulder rolled in front of the entrance, and He rose on the third day. There will be no room for egos in this church. No dark corners where piousness can thrive."
"But don't you have to be affiliated with..."
"A denomination," the would be buyer interrupted the looming question. "Many of the shepherds have scattered the sheep. They have preached themselves. They have taken sin and allowed it entrance to their perceived version of heaven. They teach people to tolerate, then to accept and even celebrate that which is sinful. Some even preach pride. Some preach gluttony. Some proclaim the goodness of wealth. They forget that blessed are those who are poor, either in spirit, or in material wealth."
"And you expect to fill a building such as this?"
"Just a few. A remnant."
"Why? Are you a priest, a minister?" The seller of the property asked.
The slender man shook his head in response to the question, and said, "Neither was Noah. Neither were the early leaders of the church. Those who gathered in their homes and broke bread, and shared what they knew about the man who walked in their midst."
"You mean Jesus?"
"Yes, the Son of God. The only one by the way. Never listen to those who claim otherwise."
"A church," the seller seemed to ponder the idea while looking out over the open field.
"But not a church," the slender man said. "Not as some would see it."
"And what would you do in a church that isn't a church as some would see it?"
"Worship. Pray. Study the word. Seek Him. Anything else is of the world, and places a barrier before faith."
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