Cut Flower Church

The church is no potted plant. Yet, the last thing the apostle Paul wants of the Colossian church is a church that merely looks and smells pretty.

Can you name your neighbors?


Sure, you probably know your next-door neighbors. No problem there.


But how about the people two doors down? Or three? Or four?


You don't have to go very far to run into neighbors who are complete and total strangers.

[Note: Ask the congregation if they know the name of the neighbor sitting next to them in the pew. If not, give them a moment to introduce themselves. Then, you might suggest that they try writing the names of the neighbors on their worship bulletin and see how many they can list. Ask for a show of hands for those who can list the most neighbors.]

It used to be that we wandered out into our back yards and chatted over the fence with our neighbors, cup of coffee in hand.

Now we're more likely to set the cup of coffee on our desks and drop by our cyber-neighbor, mouse in hand, and chat with people we've never even seen. We're plugged in and wired up, but we're often disconnected from the very people we live the closest to.

This loss of...