Family Vacation

This week I write to you thanks to a slow internet connection from Colorado Springs on our family vacation. We've rented a house for the week in the historic Broadmoor area as a home base for the entire Petersen clan. We've hiked mountain trails, climbed to see waterfalls, and gone to royal gorges just for starters.

While we've done a lot of fun things like white-water rafting, my favorite part of the trip so far was our visit to the Air Force Academy where we attended church. And maybe you know what this chapel, this church looks like because it's one of the most famous and architectually stunning places of worship in the country.

If you haven't seen or heard about this church, it resembles a giant A-frame building with numerous points across the top. It is so big it can be seen from miles away. Once inside your eyes are automatically drawn upwards. The side windows provide a view of the nearby mountains. The giant silver cross hanging near the front boldly declares this as a place of worship.

Over the years on our family vacations we've attended services at a number of iconic churches. We've been to the Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles, Southwest in Nashville ( one of the ten largest churches in America), oh and maybe my favorite, a small Missouri Synod Lutheran church in the heart of Atlanta led by Pastor Pete. Going to church is an important part of our family vacations.

Sunday, I wondered as I sat in worship, if Jesus were to return to earth to attend church, if He might pick a place like the Academy Chapel. Surely He would I guessed. Then I considered that church really is never a building, it's the people. Where Jesus would attend church certainly wouldn't be determined by the beauty of the building I decided. Better yet, I know that He does attend every service where two or more gather in His name. So I decided to strike that question.

Thinking about it now, I realize that I worshipped Him this week in another even more awesome cathedral than the Cadet Chapel as I spent time in the Rockies. This week I and my family have explored the proof of Romans 1- that God's great creation speaks to His presence. His creation is His cathedral and I have been blessed to get to view its awesome majesty.

Hey, I think a nice church building is a wonderful thing. By the power of the Holy Spirit it can inspire those who pass by to think about God. I even wish we were still building great cathedrals in His honor but that doesn't happen much anymore. The good news is we don't need cathedrals to worship our loving God. We can step into the great cathedral of His creation, our world, and give Him thanks anytime. And we can step into a small church in Keystone on this Sunday- another awesome place where He promises to be. See you fellow cadets there!

Blest Regards,
Keith