I (Alvin) hate cats. I love animals and even big cats from the jungle, but
not housecats. I like snakes more than cats and even have snakes for
pets. Hate is probably too strong a word, but of all the animals on earth,
except for mosquitoes and ticks, I like housecats least. I actually ran over
a cat the other day. Right front tire. Quick little thud. Of course, I had
to drive through three yards and a picket fence to hit the thing, but I did
get her!
Okay, I am only kidding about that, so please save the e-mails to PETA. Cats are tolerable. We actually have three cats, because my wife, Michelle,
loves cats, and I love her; and because I have pet snakes, also having cats
seems a good example of marital compromise. One cat, a big calico named
Patches, has been my nemesis for years.
In the fall of 2004 my family moved to a new subdivision. Early one
morning, just after moving, Patches awakened me from a wonderful night’s
rest, crying to let her out. So I did. And she didn’t come back—not after a
week, or two, or a month. It was a sad time in my household for my wife
and kids. So, being a good husband who loves his family (and trying to allay
any suspicion that I had some role in the disappearance of Patches), I let
Michelle, Josh, and Hannah pick out a new kitten.
Then Patches came home—about seventy-two days later, skinny, near
death, but still alive. For whatever reason, she had grown discontent in our
new home and wandered off on an uncertain journey. An animal expert
friend said she probably went to our old home about ten miles away but
finally gave up and found her way back. After months of recuperating she is
better than ever, and Patches is now my friend. She even climbs into my lap
most mornings as I read the Bible.
Patches reminds Mark and me of so many believers we meet. In the
course of our travels, we run into countless followers of Christ who find
themselves immensely restless in the ever changing cultural milieu in
which we now live. For them, a brand of Christianity that focuses on attending
Sunday services and emphasizes rigid moral standards while its
members live obviously hypocritical lives holds no drawing power. Add to
this the fact that a postmodern worldview dominates the cultural landscape,
and many people find themselves setting off on religious journeys
in search of a home that some believe no longer exists. They have begun
to wonder and to wander: to wonder if there is more to the Christian faith
than certain scripted lifestyle patterns or rituals, and to wander in search
of what they hope will be a better form of Christianity—if such a thing
exists.
If you have met some people like that and want to help them discover a biblical, vibrant Christianity, pick up a copy of the book The Convergent Church: Missional Worshipers in an Emerging Culture (Kregel) by Mark Liederbach and Alvin Reid.
