My family recently went through quite a storm. Our son had trouble swallowing. We were presented with a mystery; a mystery flowing with seriousness. Our church prayed and supported us, as only churches can. My son came out of this better, but to this day we are uncertain as to why he had the problems. I also came out with a respect and a gratitude for the church.

The key question for the church today: Is Christianity a morality, a lifestyle or a way of life? Many view Christianity as a morality and as a method to negate and condemn the other. The Bible talks more about the way — the way being Jesus — which makes a claim not as to how to view others or offer opinions about others behavior, but the virtue of how to live in each moment.

Today, Christian bookstores are filled with books cataloging Christian marriage, Christian parenting and Christian dating. These books are witness to a lifestyle that seems more like a riff on American middle class life. Yet, surprisingly enough, there is little about the way of Jesus. To follow Jesus seems to be beyond these best sellers.

So what is the way of Jesus? If I follow Jesus, then does not my whole way of seeing change and in fact keep changing as Jesus keeps forging my sight. If if all we can offer is a better code of conduct, what use are we, since we have removed the cross? If all we can offer are tools for better marriages, and better ways of being successful, are we nothing more than another self-help activity? Again the cross lies abandoned.

I offer little in the way of answers. I only know this is the question the church must ask.