torn bibles

recently, i have the pleasure to attend a "black church" - a church in the historical african american tradition - and i was amazed. i was not amazed by the music, which was great - nor was i amazed at the preaching, which was fantastic - what amazed me was that in each pew they had pew bibles - now, that may not seem like a big deal - after all, many churches supply pew bibles - i have been in luthern church, methodist churches and even baptist churches that had pew bible - the big difference, that i saw, was the pew bible in the african american church were worn, torn and dog-eared; they were used.

i am not suggesting that the pew bibles in other churches are not used, but i have never seen them used like that - i have been in "white churches" where the pew bible looks as new as the day it was purchased. i have been in churches where i pick up a bible and the spin "snaps" as i open it - and the gold edging is still stuck together.

i was impressed with how used those bibles were - and they were used - written in, pages marked, dog-eared and folded - it was exciting to see that in a church - this got me thinking, i need to get out more and visit more churches :)

in fact, i would challenge each and every reader to visit a church of a different tradition this sunday - your pastor should understand :)