in response to Us = Church

I agree with what is being said about what must change in how the Church is perceived. It is true that we are not responsible to other individual's perceptions; this will make us fall. Yet the Church is the the body of Christ, and for the body to be what it should be, shouldn't it change? I find this part of the Sermon on the Mount to be enlightening, aggravating. From the Message:

"Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'rll prompt people to open up with God, thyis generous Father in heaven."

"I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out or your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best - the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty...In a word what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously towards others, the way God lives toward you."