"There was a time once, when I used to wish that God would overnight remove every church building. Sovereignly and supernaturally. A sort of church building "rapture" if you can imagine it. If that happened, I reasoned, both the world and Christians would have to discover what "church" really is. . Think about it! There would be nowhere to "have church" any more. We would have to BE it instead. We would no longer be able to pass our act of "service" off on to an hour or two's attendance at a religious ritual, and worship could no longer take place in the "sanctuary.... Phew! We might just have a chance to discover what new covenant worship really is! And we could be confronted with the reality of having to find out what "church" really means! It could even mean that ultimately, the world might be faced with the reality of an invisible God in a visible people!..... I've changed my mind. I've realized that would never be enough.
Over the past ten years of being "outside the camp," I have come to learn that there is a process needed which must be far more radical ("to the root").. And far more uncomfortable. You see, its not the things which are outside of us that need to be impacted. It's the things INSIDE of us. And those things go far deeper. They are buried beyond the roots of our traditions and culture in the things which actually CREATE culture and tradition. The desire for identity, the need to belong, the fulfillment of finding a tangible purpose, acceptance from our peers, the comfort of being organized and finding our place - Powerful driving forces! "
(Alan Richardson. To The Church Outside The Camp )
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