Church Doesn’t Always Have to Happen in a Church

I skipped church last Sunday. I wasn’t sick or out of town, and I didn’t have a scheduling conflict. I simply decided not to go. Instead, while the kids slept in, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, slid on my running shoes and slipped out the front door. I jogged down the bike path with the sun warm on the back of my neck and the sound of birdsong in my ears.

Fifteen years ago, when I started attending church regularly again after a two-decade hiatus from both religion and faith, I could...