Have the Church Hoppers Found A Home?
I have been following the adventures of two "church hoppers" over the course of the last several months. A young lady and her teenage brother have been visiting a different church in the Greater Cincinnati area every week for a year and blogging about their experiences. Erica is a self-proclaimed agnostic and the driving force behind ChurchHop. She's the "good kind" of agnostic, though. She seems to understand that she does not have all of the answers, yet is willing to search out the truth. (I would describe the "bad kind" of agnostic as those who are smart enough to not be atheist, yet don't care enough to seek any answers. They call themselves "agnostic" in an attempt to sound smart.)
It appears as though the Church Hoppers have finally connected to a "church." Much to my disappointment it is the Universalist Unitarian Church! Let me be clear that I am not disappointed in Erica and Bradley for not being overwhelmed by a Christian community of faith. I suppose that I am somewhat disappointed in the dozens of Christian churches who had the opportunity to introduce these church hoppers to the life-changing gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ.
Now, it would be easy to place the fault at the feet of the Erica and Bradley. We could question their intentions, call them cynics, and continue to stick our heads in the sand. Or, we could learn from them. After all, it is people like them for which the church exists, right? I hope that the church hoppers will continue their quest. Surely there is an authentic community of faith in the Greater Cincinnati area that can be an "answer of prayer" for Erica and Bradley. I hope that Erica, Bradley, and others like them discover The Way, The Truth and The Life. I hope that the church will be prepared to answer the honest questions of the skeptics, doubters, and searchers.