David Brooks in this New York Times column unleashes some incredible optimism. It was overwhelming. To have such an optimistic piece after a couple of years of bad news piling on was almost too much. I had to take it in small doses!

But I needed that article. The Church needs an article like that. Lately I have been reading with a heavy heart the divide that happens within the Western Church. The vitriol is amazing. Calvinists slamming Arminians. Calvinists slamming Calvinists. “Who’s in? Who’s out?”

John Piper invited Rick Warren to come to his Desiring God Conference in Minneapolis this fall. You would have thought Piper had committed the unpardonable sin!

We need a dose of reality. The Church is TRIUMPHANT. The Resurrection is the powerful exclamation point to that. It’s not the Calvinist church or the Arminian church. It’s not the Pentecostal church or the Baptist church. It’s not the modern church or the postmodern church. (And it’s really not the emergent church, but don’t get me started. I’m trying to stay positive!)

It is Christ’s Church. It is alive and well. There are billions who love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. I serve people in my congregation who love Jesus. They don’t get it all right. (How could they? I am their pastor!) But WOW! Do they love God!

The Church is alive and well. People are loving Jesus and longing to love him more.

This is the day we fall in love with Jesus all over again. It’s his Church.