Blind Foxes & Churchless Faith

A humorous look at trend against “organized” Church in the poetic style of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham

Many years ago when I was an associate pastor at a large church, I saw a lot of mission drift. I became disillusioned with "big church" and the loss of community. My experience led me to deconstruct my theology of church and eventually to plant a church. I wanted to create an environment where we could really do church as a family. Along that journey, I got heavily involved with some leading voices in the house church movement. I was even invited to speak at one of the major conferences in Florida. As time went on, I saw the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. The thinking seemed to be, "if the structures of big church are bad, then the good must be to have no structure at all." I was again disheartened by the trend to disparage any "organized" gatherings. Some voices called for the rejection of any Elders to guide the church. “The Holy Spirit,” they said, “is our only leader.” My experience back then was the inspiration for this poem about Blind Foxes & Churchless Faith.

Today, the labels have changed, but I see much of the same problem among those who identify as "nones." Nones are those who say they are religious but don’t participate in church. Second to those who identify as Christians, the “nones” are by far the second-largest group of students in my freshman college classes.

Times change, labels change, but the goal of the Deceiver does not. Don’t be misled by the Blind Foxes who want to lure you away from the beauty, safety, accountability, and power of biblical community.

To appreciate the poem, be sure to read it in the style of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.