Andre asked me this question; and, had it not been 2:30 a.m. I'd gladly have answered it. It's an excellent question, and one for which we should each have an answer. Though I doubt most of us have ever even cogitated upon such a notion as the manifestation of a "perfect church."

This is a small glimpse of that church:

Nobody that walked through the door of this 'perfect church' would be greeted by an assigned greeter. In fact, there wouldn't even be any assigned greeters. Why not? Because there would be no need for that in this 'perfect church'. Every visitor would be welcomed by a very observant 'perfect church' member - a member who has taken it upon themselves to be the kind of person to which everyone is attracted; that is, a universally interesting person (the key to a universally interesting person is that he is universally interested).

And so, showing universal interest in each visitor they would not simply shake their hand, give them a bulletin and point them in the direction of a Sabbath School class. No. The encounter would be more like this:

"Hello friend! My name is Jason, what's yours?"

"Fred."

"I'm glad you're here, Fred. Are you visiting family in the area or just passing through?"

Now, Jason, being the 'perfect church' member that he is, is so familiar with his church family that he can't help but notice that Fred is a visitor. Jason wouldn't make the insipid mistake of asking a long-time church member if they're just visiting.

"I'm just passing through," comes Fred's response.

After chatting with Fred for a couple of minutes Jason says:

"Fred, I was just on my way to Jim's class - his class is great. I'm really looking forward to it. Would you join me?"

Of course Fred says 'yes,' because Jason has already shown a genuine interest in Fred and Fred sees Jason as a universally interesting person.

Now this is where Fred gets a shock - Sabbath School in the 'perfect church' isn't the same as all the other Adventist churches he's attended. The Sabbath school time isn't spent arguing or regurgitating trite Adventist cliches. Instead, it's spent doing community outreach... Each class has it's own unique contribution to this ministry.

Of course classes won't let out at 10:45 like usual. They would obviously need more time than customary in order to accomplish anything. And so they may be out in the community until 12 or so.

The divine service is noticeably different as well. Most good Adventists would probably mistake it for a Sabbath School class. The pastor would not play any prominent role. His main purpose would be to keep the group focused. The discussion would not necessarily be topical. It would be a time of sharing testimonies, discussing doctrine, and digging into the Bible.

The informality of the setting would invite input from all present, while the solemnity would encourage deep and through contemplation of the subject matter. This part of the 'perfect church' service may last until 6 p.m.

Of course any normal person would have worked up an appetite before 6, so there would be a wonderful vegan potluck at about 1 p.m. - not because every 'perfect church' member is vegan, but because, in the event there is a vegan visitor present, they need not worry about what's 'safe' to eat. To me, a day of that magnitude seems full enough. Some may want more - there'd be plenty of opportunity to organize, lead, and participate in other activities.

Of course there'd be more community outreach on Sunday and small groups on Wednesday evening.

And throughout the week, every 'perfect church' member fellowships with another over a meal as the disciples did.

Does such a church exist? Is such a church 'perfect?' I'm not sure I have an answer for that question.