At Front Porch Republic (one of my favorite blogs), Orthodox convert Jason Peters took some swipes at “a place called ‘Bible Harvest Chapel,’ which is a kind of movie theater retrofitted to a former big box electronics store.” Peters wasn’t too impressed by the “First Church of the Sprawl” but a commenter pointed out what he might be missing:
So I would suggest that you don’t let these “grocery store” Christians bother you. Some of them are from broken homes and broken hearts. Their children are oft raised by their mothers. Most of them are without benefit of a college education, many are hillwilliams, poor blacks, drug addicts and alcoholics and wouldn’t fit in the company of more affluent folks, at least some affluent folks. I know this because these people are friends of mine. They are people that every once in a while, I’ve been privileged to help and people who have taught me more about being a Christian than any priest, preacher, or theologian. They may roll in the aisle, they may (God forbid) raise their hand in praise of the Almighty, they may shout “Praise Jesus”, but please remember that every one of them truly believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Word, and the Savior of mankind. Not too bad for “grocery store” Christians!
(Via: Rod Dreher)
