No idea what to title this post, so I’m stealing from myself…

In my quiet house, I finished “Telling Secrets” by Frederick Buechner tonight. 

Towards the end, he speaks about some healing experiences he had through involvement with an AA group. 

The thoughts that followed echoed in the corridor where my mind camps out occasionally…

“I do not believe that such groups as these… or Alcoholics Anonymous… are perfect anymore than anything human is perfect, but I believe that the church has an enormous amount to learn from them. 

I also believe that what goes on in them is far closer to what Christ meant his church to be, and what it originally was, than much of what goes on in most churches I know. 

These groups have no buildings or official leadership or money. 

They have no rummage sales, no preachers, no choirs, no liturgy, no real estate. 

They have no creeds.  They have no program. 

They make you wonder if the best thing that could happen to many a church might not be to have its building burn down and to lose all its money. 

Then all that the people would have left would be God and each other.”