I Love THE Church

I've never been able to choose my church before. I was (almost) literally born at my home church. My parents are charter members. Though I have friends and family who are part of different faith communities and I have visited their churches, I have never had the opportunity to explore other options. Bethel was home - the place and the people. Every single significant life event happened there. I got saved there, baptised there, married there, dedicated my babies there. I grew up in the affirming and sheltering presence of people who loved Jesus and loved me. My home church was the place I practiced my musical skills, where I learned what it meant to live a life of faith; it's where I discovered my call to ministry; it's where I was given the freedom to lead in many different areas - some more effectively than others. My husband of 38 years hasn't really had a choice either, bless his heart. He grew up in a different denomination, but because he loved me and because Bethel was my "home", he joined me there and learned to love it as well.

When new folks would come to our church I listened to their stories and heard how scary it was to find a new church, how often the church and its ministries felt closed to them; I heard about the cliques and how hard it was to find a friend and to "break in" to the "inner circle." I'm sure I must have looked like a deer in the headlights. I had no idea what they were talking about. My mom used to say, "If you want friends, you have to be friendly." (I think there's a Proverb about that...) I really didn't get their point of view. Turns out - I still don't.

We moved to a new town. We're looking for a new place to worship and find community. The search for a new church home has begun. We've only attended two churches so far, but I can already see how difficult the choice is going to be.

The first church we visited was very much like our home church in Chehalis. So much so, that it would have been very easy to just slide in and get comfortable. I already had some acquaintances there and it was the same denomination I grew up in. This church makes "sense" since I am an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. We got in the car and my husband said with a slight bit of resignation, "We'll probably end up here." He liked it, liked the sermon, liked the people - but I did feel sort of sad that I already had "friends" there and he did not. It didn't seem quite fair somehow. And, a part of me does not want to be comfortable. I want to learn and grow from this new experience. So, even though the part of me that likes easy and comfortable would have liked to make a decision that very day and never try another church, I promised that we would try a couple others.

Yesterday we attended a community church. It is the oldest church in town and though it is non-denominational, it definitely has a more traditional feel. The pastor is Presbyterian, so it probably leans that direction. We attended Sunday School and the Traditional Service because they still have a choir. (One of David's desires is to attend a church that still embraces all forms of music) The choir was, eh. But the people were marvelous. A sweet older couple (Older is relative I know - they are well into their 80s) invited us out to dinner. We completely enjoyed the company. We still have at least one other church we'd like to visit, but this one is definitely a possibility. We plan to go back for their contemporary service.

I came away from Sunday wishing I could go to all the churches. All this left me with one firm conviction. I love THE Church (capital C). Not just my home church, or the AG church in town or this community church, I love the Church of Jesus Christ. She is diverse and wonderful and I'm so glad to be a member of that Church.