My daughter now faces in the Dayton area what many others face, either because of military transfer or career relocation-- establishing a new residence and the circle of acquaintances and connections that are essential to adapting to the "new place."

But if my daughter's most recent experiences with finding a new church are at all representative of the brave new world around us, we have reasons for concern and a better reason for our existence. Consider her most recent visits to mega-churches in the Dayton area; large, burgeoning congregations with coffee shops and athletic facilities, but no motivation or need to help her connect to a small group or interest in her as a person. Maybe that's because, in some churches, its the choreography that matters. In "Happy Churches" as I shall call them, services are created, driven, and enjoyed for their lack of substance-- even at times the Bible itself. 

Can it be, as my daughter discovered, that we've grown so weary of Jesus' tedious instruction at the final supper on earth before His crucifixion, that because of time and logistics, we must streamline the communion service so as to include only one of the elements of the celebration of His death? Have the bland generalities of Grace swallowed up the specifics of Biblical truth? Do Muslims know more of their Allah than we know of Jesus- The author and finisher of our faith? 

We'll speak more about the "Happy Church" infection this Lords, Day, but until then... 

Rejoice in the tedious but thorough Lord Jesus...