When I flew into London at the beginning of the year, the group for which I was preaching sent a car service to pick me up from airport. It was a long drive to Luton, where I was staying (it's like Cleveland, just without all the charm), and so Roy the Cabbie immediately began to evangelize me. About 45 minutes into his personal testimony, I was able to interrupt Roy and tell him that I too was a Christian. We chatted for a while and I asked him about the church of which he was a part.

He replied, "I have no use for the church. I've got my preachers on the radio, my Bible in the glove box, and my passengers are my congregants. What do I need the church for?"

Well, I don't think I changed Roy's mind that night. But he came to mind in the past weeks as I have been reminded again what a precious gift the church is to God's people.

In the last week or two of my wife's pregnancy, the doctors became concerned that there might be something seriously wrong with the baby. We wouldn't know until he was born, but we were facing the possibility of a child who would know a lifetime of suffering or even worse. That's hard stuff for a parent to face, but by God's grace we didn't face it alone.

A few ways the church met us in our time of need:

-- The sermon text for that Sunday was Luke 12:4-34. Not many better passages to reflect on then the Savior's words "Fear not, little flock".

-- Brothers and sisters wept with us and prayed tirelessly. Their sympathy was palpable.

-- Some families had already served us by going through suffering with faith and hope. We were able to look at them and their testimony and be reminded that God will sustain us through the worst.

-- When the baby was born healthy (all thanks to God), our joy was reflected to us in scores of phone calls and emails and hugs and handshakes all week.

In one sense, this is nothing special: stuff like this happens in thousands of churches all over the world every week. Joys are celebrated, sorrows are shared, burdens are born and love is grown.

In another sense, this is the most special thing in the world: an absolutely gracious gift from God to his people.

Roy the cabbie, wherever you are, I hope you've found a good church.