Good post and good questions Rachel. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart...I think we will always be obsessed with how we look while we worship, how others look, what we're doing, what others are doing. I think this is one reason that worship is a discipline: it takes work and intentionality to focus on God. And what else is worship, but focusing on God?

I miss England. My wife and I had the opportunity to live there for four years, and most of what you've written could be applied to London, or the small village just west of there where we lived.

We did feel like outsiders, but I think it has helped me to be more compassionate towards people who find themselves in the minority.

One of the best parts of living overseas is that you realize how inward focused we are in America. I never had a clue that other countries had sporting events that they were just as passionate about as we are about March Madness or the World Series. The FA Cup...The Ashes...Champion's League...it was a lot of fun learning more about the traditions of a place where most people never watch the Super Bowl.

It is interesting to me that denominational Articles of Faith have, at some point, morphed into Articles of Certainty. It is just as healthy to ask questions about any denomination's Articles of Faith as it is to have them in the first place.

This is why I love what you guys are doing at The House Studio. Like it or not, the generation of people who are currently 40 and under are obsessed with asking questions. The Church can either engage them, or forsake them.

It seems to me that most people who seem very concerned in the comments section already know what The House Studio is about. If you don't want to encounter uncomfortable questions, or engage in polite discourse about controversial topics, then perhaps you should read or visit the thousands of other blogs that are out there?

You could start with http://shawnsmucker.com although I'd imagine you wouldn't be too happy with me either.

Weren't Go-Bots rather plasticky in comparison to Transformers? Unfortunately my parents weren't too crazy about anything that changed form and shot missiles.

Chris, it's a little late at night right now for me to answer your question at length - I often feel the same misgivings about modern day controversies within the church.

But the main reason I'm chiming in is to congratulate you - you've managed to write a post that got three comments, all of which were longer than your post. Sounds like you hit on a good topic.

I'll think about your question this weekend, and if anything comes to me I'll be back next week.

I tend to share your perspective on this James. But I also share your addicted status.

Oh, and I'm not sure if writing a blog post about it counts as sitting this one out :)

Some very interesting questions Scott. I think it comes down for our generation's strong desire for community and a sense of individuality. We want to know and be known.

By the way, this is in no way a response to your earlier post about small group certainties :)

Certain