This week, Pastor Mark authored a post for the Washington Post's On Faith blog, "A pastor response to Ann Rice 'quitting' Christianity". Here is an excerpt of his response to the questions, Can you leave Christianity and keep Christ? Can you be spiritual without being religious?
The answer is yes and no. Yes, you can leave Christianity for a while and still be a true Christian. However, you cannot stay away from church and community with fellow Christians forever. … Rice would admittedly like to have an ongoing relationship with Jesus, but not with his people. Yet this sort of relationship is one that is simply unacceptable, for "whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:21). … Now, imagine that woman wanting to be married to the man but have nothing to do with any of his children. That kind of relationship is devastating, but it is the kind of relationship Rice wants with Jesus and without his spiritual children in the church. … In the meantime, Christians should not be offended by her rejection of Christianity. We should instead use it as an opportunity to search our own lives to see how we have been vicious, cruel, mean, unloving, and difficult to others, and repent of our own sin without fixating on what we think are her sins. …Both the Seattle Times and the P-I reported on our recent purchase of the University Baptist Church's 100-year-old building in the U-District on their websites yesterday, and the story appeared above the fold on the front page of the Times' NW local section today.
