Eugene Peterson on a local church (The Pastor, p. 40):
“Congregation is composed of people, who, upon entering a church, leave behind what people on the street name or call them. A church can never be reduced to a place where goods and services are exchanged. It must never be a place where a person is labeled. It can never be a place where gossip of perpetuated. Before anything else, it is a place where a person is named and greeted, whether implicitly or explicitly, in Jesus’s name. A place where dignity is conferred.”
Immediately this brought two pastors to my mind, Dr. Jeff Garner in San Francisco and my pastor here in Portland, Ken Garrett. Both pastor in parts of major cities where the “least of these” come every Sunday to worship and they have pastored the church in such a way that these people are treated equally. These are churches where dignity is conferred.
the archives near Emmaus 
and me, I came to mind as well… 😉
Mark, I am sure you should be included as well. Maybe your church should fly me out to visit. I’ll even do a Sunday homily. Then you can show me around before sending me home where I will mention what a great pastor you are! 🙂
Honored, Brian, and looking forward to ministry with you and Miranda!
See you Sunday, brother.
@Ken: You’re welcome and we share the anticipation of serving with you. See you Sunday!
Thanks for all the quotes from the book.
It reminds me why the simple greeting at the beginning of the church service is so important. It is an opportunity to remind us all that we are in a different space than the space outside the doors.
You can see, given this, why people grow to attach such significance to a church building. It makes me less prone to have unkind words to say about such an impulse.
Ba, Brian. I have been trying to get Mark to fly me and my family out to visit him for a long long time, at least 3 months. He wont take the hint.
@John: I agree. A church building can have the same significance to that of a home for others. It is where family can be found and it is where acceptance is expected. Every other building in their lives represents the opposite.
@Doug: So I figured when he no longer commented.