In one of her books Annie Dillard notes the curious way in which we come to church on Sundays. Here we are, with padded pews and carpeted sanctuaries. Everything orderly, neat, tied down, and respectable. Yet, says Dillard, if you know much about the Bible and what it says about what it's like to meet God, then the ushers ought to be handing out crash helmets rather than hymnals!

Now if you look at the weekly bulletin of one of our full program, successful churches, I think you might conclude that church is not risky at all. Church looks like a great place to hang out. Ceramics classes, yoga classes, trips to Florida in winter, New England in the spring. Church is a wholesome place to kill time.

Recently, in an airport waiting room, a nt1rnber of us watched in horror as an enterprising four …