I have been very kindly invited to blog a little for the "resurrected" Ascension blog. Because the webmaster, besides being a friend, is also a person of good cheer and sound mind (he'll probably deny the latter, but don't you believe him!), I have accepted. Of course, I have always wanted an audience in the high two figures to read my unprocessed rantings. =) My family can now safely ignore my emails.

One of my favorite theological writers is the irascible, Stanley Hauerwas, a theology professor at Duke Divinity School, who, though nominally a Methodist, currently attends an Episcopal Church. He describes himself as a Christian pacifist, which he thinks is redundant, and at the same time as a "violent son of a b*tch," which is why it's so important that he is a pacifist.

Anyway, he had this to say about going to church:

“I don’t have any faith in myself of living a virtuous life; but if I am surrounded by other people who are also formed by the same commitments, then we’ve got a better chance. We need one another to live up to the wonderful invitation we’ve been given to be other than we are.” (The Hauerwas Reader, p. 534).

It made me think of why I go to church, and, more specifically, why I go to Ascension. I need to be with other people who are willing to try and see Christ in another person, so hopefully I can as well. Or, at the very least, be with people who are willing to show up week after week and be present for one another, whether or not their faith seems particularly strong that day. I see this amazing variety of people sitting in the pews, with their fears and hurts and joys, asking for forgiveness, being grateful for their blessings, and being concerned about those around them. Pretty amazing to witness, particularly when on any given sunday half the congregation is annoyed by the other half! (Or am I just projecting here?!)

So, what do you think? Does Hauerwas know what he's talking about? Or, in other words, why do YOU go to church?

-Stephen