As I entered Plaza Renon this morning, I was greeted by church music--strange, but distinctly pleasant. What A Friend We Have in Jesus. Made me feel inspired to revisit the old church in Sanur, which I have not attended in some, gosh, I don't know, three or four years? My wife and I used to go there (a place called Gateway Christian Center), and although it wasn't like church experiences that could be found back in Portland, Oregon, it was, at least, something as opposed to nothing. Gateway employs the practice of inviting pastors from the US on a rotational basis, which can be a plus in some cases, as one will enjoy varying messages and styles, and a minus in others, as one may face a three month period of a pastor who happens to be either tragically boring or theologically questionable. Nonetheless, regardless of the sermon or the style, it is the fellowship of believers that answers to a want in the soul. I had found in the past that one unfortunate characteristic about Gateway was the extent to which it resembled a white people club amid the otherwise brown masses, and I do think there are those who are there mainly for that company. They are the monied, the comfortable, the culturally inflexible. But hey, you know em when you see em, and it is what it is. On the other hand, there are those who come for nourishment--and I don't mean coffee and cookies. I mean the body and blood of the Lord.
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