{"id":10529,"date":"2012-02-15T19:58:29","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T23:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nakedpastor.com\/?p=10529"},"modified":"2012-02-15T19:58:29","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T23:58:29","slug":"10-reasons-why-i-love-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/2012\/02\/10-reasons-why-i-love-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"10 reasons why i love the church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I know this comes as a shock to many of you. I call myself a graffiti artist on the walls of the church. But it\u2019s because I believe in it so much and I want to challenge it to be what it is. I\u2019m like any other artist who cares enough about something to continually address it.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s why I love the church:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. it helped me find my own spiritual identity;<\/li>\n
  2. it provided me with a few life-long friends;<\/li>\n
  3. it taught me that genuine community is possible;<\/li>\n
  4. it proved that authenticity is the best way to live;<\/li>\n
  5. it revealed to me the pervasiveness of the principalities and powers;<\/li>\n
  6. it accidentally taught me to be independent;<\/li>\n
  7. it let me practice merging my freedom with my responsibilities;<\/li>\n
  8. it let me experience the Mystery that layers our mundane existence;<\/li>\n
  9. it connected me with the very rich roots of a great theological tradition;<\/li>\n
  10. it gives me something to passionately write and cartoon about, connecting me with people all over the world about something vital and interesting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You might notice that my list doesn\u2019t include, \u201cconnected me to God\u201d or \u201cintroduced me to Jesus\u201d or \u201ckept me in touch with the Spirit\u201d, because all of these I have experienced independently. However, they have to some extent nurtured these connections.<\/p>\n

    Check out\u00a0my books<\/a>\u00a0and my gallery<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I know this comes as a shock to many of you. I call myself a graffiti artist on the walls of the church. But it\u2019s because I believe in it so much and I want to challenge it to be what it is. I\u2019m like any other artist who cares enough about something to continually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,1111,722,1470],"class_list":["post-10529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thought","tag-church","tag-david-hayward","tag-nakedpastor","tag-online_community"],"yoast_head":"\n10 reasons why i love the church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I know this comes as a shock to many of you. I call myself a graffiti artist on the walls of the church. 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