A Pastor Reflects on Home
Everything looks different than it did in 1985—but you know that. There are new office complexes, retail shops, and residential developments taking the place of whatever it was that used to be there that I suspect I would have recognized. The big football field is supposed to be Memorial Stadium. Where did the A&P go? But in the midst of the unfamiliar surroundings of my old home city, I always can spot a church that looks just the way I remembered it. I am trying to decide if that is comforting or concerning, but the comforting part is taking the initial lead. Of course, a church is not constructed of brick and mortar, but of the people who gather there for worship and of the things their faith leads them to do there and when they step out into the community. It has been overwhelming in every good way to find myself back in the Charlotte community and seeing these familiar churches has made me realize how deeply many churches mattered in my life before I committed my profession