Church as Safe Space

Sometime in the coming months, I am planning a sermon series around community building in churches.  Right now, certain ideas and images are rattling around my mind; eventually I will try to put them together in some sort of coherent and (hopefully) helpful way.  But I imagine that will be sometime next spring.

In the meantime, I've come across an article that touches on one important piece of building a loving and supportive Christian community -- creating a safe place for people to ask hard questions and share real doubts, including doubts about God.  While this article focuses on trying to reach out to young adults (and what congregation doesn't want to do that!), I think that it is generally applicable to all ages.

In particular, I love the professor's answer to the real question of whether the church does more harm than good in the world.  What if we looked beyond Sunday morning congregations to the outreach organizations -- hospitals, schools, service groups -- that Christians have organized and continue to support?  Where would our world be without those?

But if we're to share such answers to tough questions with people who have serious doubts or anxieties about the church, we must create a space where such questions can safely be asked and where such answers can truly be heard.