One of the issues I am very conscious of, is the fact that many of us who gather here, are coming from a position of relative disappointment and even disillusionment with regard to various established forms of church. Maybe we have been let down and did not feel supported at a time when perhaps we should have been. Maybe we just felt that we did not fit in or maybe one of dozens of other and probably fairly valid reasons.

At Zacs Place we deliberately aim to cater for several sorts of people. One of those are unashamedly the walking wounded. The open sores of failure and rejection are a welcome sight here! There are dangers with this approach though. It is easy for a feeling of disappointment to become a cynical barricade and where cynicism becomes the root for meeting together, it is rarely constructive. For many Jesus is still OK, but church as an organisation has become a problem; dealing with our disappointment is an important issue if our faith is to mature.

The good news is there is stuff like this going on at Zacs Place, (and many other places too), to bridge a gap and meet a need. The bad news is, for as long as the church, (collectively), is made up of the likes of you and me we will continue to get it wrong and make mistakes. That is part of the mystery of Gods plans - that he still manages to use us in our weakness.

Where you feel let down by Christian brothers and sisters, where you have experienced difficulty being accepted, I pray that you would not fall into the snare of cynicism. But instead, eventually, you would find it in your heart to forgive, living as part of the all embracing, warts and all, church of Jesus Christ. Difficult words for many - but hey, dressing a wound is usually a painful and often messy experience. Do not let our corporate inadequacies cause you to give up. Keep the Faith.

From one beggar to another, just pointing out where there is some food.
Cheers and God Bless Ya, Sean

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