Tooling around the blogsphere, I found a neat little wish list from a Christian for the near-perfect church. It’s a great lesson in ideas vs. instantiation, whether or not you are a religious person. Some of his wants for this community include:

They use all kinds of music, from ancient to contemporary.

It is taken for granted that the Christian community crosses generations, cultures and every other barrier.

They stay with the Christian year and use the liturgical resources of many traditions.

The sermons are Christ-centered, Gospel-saturated and application oriented.

The creeds are central and the confessions are appreciated, but all human statements of theology are received with a humble and critical spirit.

Scripture is read publicly, and Bibles are brought unashamedly. (And we all read the same translation!)

Worship is expressive and comfortable with both charismatic and catholic manifestations of piety.

Worship is formal at times, and relaxed and informal at others.

Art is appreciated. Technology is used sparingly, appropriately and without developing dependence.

This list comes from Michael Spencer’s post last month “Looking for a Church That Doesn’t Exist….or does it?” His readers, from a variety of denominations, all agreed whole-heartedly with his vision.

And that’s the problem.
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