a kingdom built of seeds

“I thought it was all about the f*cking dude?”

“It should be,” I replied.

This passing comment had followed an initial question: “Do churches fight with each other?”

“Mmm, not usually. But sometimes, yeah, churches and denominations find things to fight about.”

His comment struck me. Didn’t he put the truth in the most explicit, concise terms? “That’s the name of my next book,” I joked. (“With asterisks,” my other coworker said with a chuckle.)

These guys aren’t Christians; they don’t follow Jesus. They don’t know a whole lot about “organized religion.” But as evidenced in his comment, my one coworker seemed to know the truth more clearly than some fellow “believers” do. Without all the religious nonsense and nitpicking blurring his spiritual vision, the question was poignant, and full of insight. To someone from the “outside,” it doesn’t make sense: Why do we (the church) argue about mostly nonsensical, unimportant and irrelevant (non)issues when it’s “all about the f*cking dude”?

If we’re primarily about anything other than “the dude,” what are we about, and does it really matter? It’s a humbling question we should be asking ourselves. The world is paying attention; and—for better or worse—the world will see our answer.

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