--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The church is the great lost and found…" description: "\"The church is the great lost and found department.\" — Robert Short" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg" --- # The church is the great lost and found department. ![“The church is the great lost and found department.” quote by Robert Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg) > “The church is the great lost and found department.” Robert Short ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The church functions as a place where people lose and later find spiritual direction. **In simple terms:** Church helps people find lost faith. Key Takeaway Seek community for spiritual guidance. Themes faith community spirituality Mood reflective hopeful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual seeking - church attendance - counseling Key Concepts redemption search for meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does community aid personal loss? - What does “lost and found” mean to you? A Different Perspective Faith may not resolve all personal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [What was so great about Lost was that it came to the front door as a drama that was straight-up and really gave you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-wyman/what-was-so-great-about-lost-was-that-it-came-to-the-front-door-as-a/) [J.H. Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-wyman/) > [Perhaps your quest to be part of building something great will not fall in your business life. But find it somewhere. If not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/perhaps-your-quest-to-be-part-of-building-something-great-will-not/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Government has crowded out the role of many social institutions, including the Church, that have been a great force for good in public life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-long/government-has-crowded-out-the-role-of-many-social-institutions/) [Wendy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-long/) > [Church is great, but I found my church here. Hugh Hefner has been nothing but a gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/church-is-great-but-i-found-my-church-here-hugh-hefner-has-been/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [A local church will only be as great as its conception of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/a-local-church-will-only-be-as-great-as-its-conception-of-god/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Looking back to the earlier centuries of the church, most of the great teachers were also bishops and vice versa. It's only fairly recently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/looking-back-to-the-earlier-centuries-of-the-church-most-of-the-great/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [In the Church, great wonders daily occur, such as the forgiveness of sins, triumph over death . . . the gift of righteousness and eternal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-the-church-great-wonders-daily-occur-such-as-the-forgiveness-of/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [What makes a church great in the eyes of God? Participation, proclamation, preservation, and propagation. Every church ought to exhibit all four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-s-hawkins/what-makes-a-church-great-in-the-eyes-of-god-participation/) [O. S. Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-s-hawkins/) > [There is great mystery in a church. For me, there is a great privilege to be confronted with the design of a church because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-botta/there-is-great-mystery-in-a-church-for-me-there-is-a-great-privilege/) [Mario Botta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-botta/) > [To a large extent, the American church has become merged with the world. It has adopted so many of the world's ideals and standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/to-a-large-extent-the-american-church-has-become-merged-with-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The church and religion has lost tremendous power and positive power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-church-and-religion-has-lost-tremendous-power-and-positive-power/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If we lose the spirit of 'go,' we have lost the very Christian spirit itself. A disobedient church will become a dead church. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-d-gordon/if-we-lose-the-spirit-of-go-we-have-lost-the-very-christian-spirit/) [S. D Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-d-gordon/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The church is the great lost and found department.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Short" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-short/the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-department/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-short/the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-department/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/robert-short-273718_church_the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-d_601500.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The church is the great lost and found department.” — Robert Short", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Short", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-short/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The church is the great lost...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-short/the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-department/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-short/the-church-is-the-great-lost-and-found-department/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```