Ma'am, This is NOT a church.

Since last November, I've been meeting monthly with a group of Christians from all walks of life (educators, social workers, clergy, concerned citizens) who want to pray and collaborate for a Greater Cleveland http://www.agreatercleveland.org/ through the power of Jesus Christ.

Today, we were honored to have Mayor Frank Jackson address the group and field questions. (Thanks to Channel 8 for covering the story). Knowing he was talking to people connected to the church, the Mayor shared a story about a day in the office at his newly opened campaign headquarters when he first ran for Ward 5 councilman years ago. A known neighborhood prostitute, in a moment of wanting to change and reach out for hope, wandered in to the building. He was dressed in a suit and the chairs were arranged in such a way that he resembled a preacher and the room a storefront church. As he listened to the lady speak, he realized that was the assumption she had made. Finally he said to the lady, "Ma'am, this is not a church." She hung her head, walked out, across the street and got in the car of a john and road away.

My involvement in church planting, both at Rockside Church and across Ohio, caused my heart to leap inside me to say, "God help us to plant more churches and especially inside the cities." But beyond the need for more churches, what if we were to see more Christian hairdressers, realtors, bankers, librarians, doctors and truck drivers who leave for work each day full of the Holy Spirit and understanding that WE ARE THE CHURCH. That lady didn't need to find a preacher nor a church building. She just needed to meet one Christian willing to hold out hope for her and show her the love of Christ. May God help us rewrite that story in Cleveland.