WWW.IMGOOD.ME I don’t ever remember missing a church service as a kid. And there were weeks when we had church every night of the week. I accepted Jesus in my heart when I was 5, was baptized. But at the age of 19 and 20 I had a crisis of 
faith. See, the relationship a Christian claims is one that comes not by culture but by virtue of a personal choice to follow Jesus Christ. "Christian ideas may be inherited within a culture, but the Christian commitment is a personal affirmation." (Crownover) I made friends with a Buddhist, at work, and he was really nice and I just couldn’t believe God was going to send him to hell. I got really desperate for some answers, but none were forthcoming. For 6 months we worked together, Rainbow Grocery Store, and my faith got the snot beat out of it. I had so much anxiety and conflict I decided to take off and backpack into the Sierras for 3 weeks and fast and pray and read my Bible.
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Our sermon development team went to work about three months back asking non-Christian San Franciscans this question, "Assuming there is a God, and you could ask him one question, what would it be?" Questions poured in. We decided to take the most difficult questions and get gut real.
As i grated through the questions I realized a couple things. First, my questions have drifted away from questions that really matter. I have got all bent out of shape answering the holier-the-thou judgers within, that I forget the weightier task of responding to skeptic sons and wounded daughter without. This led me to think about how mainline denominations and organized Christian groups walk the Jericho road in heated debates, splitting hairs over trite details, condemning the stride and dress, polity and interpretations of the 'other' groups on the road, meanwhile wounded humanity gasps for help. Thank God for the good Samaritans. God, help me, I know I have busied myself with the views and vindictiveness of 'others' when I should be bent over a wounded soul.
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