I hit the wall last Sunday. My husband and I were both baptized Lutheran and felt that because of theology, we wanted to be apart of a Lutheran church. (We can't deny our beer-drinkin' German roots after all...). This past Sunday, the preacher approached the pulpit and gave his sermon. It went a little something like this: "Don't be anxious for tomorrow [add weird preacher-man voice inflections] because the birds and the lilies of the fields don't worry about how they will be taken care of - God takes care of them, so don't be anxious." We walked out of there completely exhausted. For one, the preacher made no relation between the message and his audience. And amidst the random hymns and standing up and sitting down I checked out. This is the God of today? This is the God that we cling to when we're in times of trouble? This is our strength and anchor in times of need? This is the God that hears my sins and forgives me because he ultimately sacrificed EVERYTHING for me? We repay that God with worship that we trudge through with random notes and ancient lexicon...that doesn't seem right.
So, Brian got a second wind and said, "Let's go check out a church in Corpus." I was about ready to crawl into bed, but instead, I agreed to the long road trip that had another long sermon waiting upon our arrival. We finally arrived (15 min late) to a racially diverse congregation - so racially diverse that I picture it being what heaven will look like someday - and they were gettin' dooown to gospel. Arms were raised, voices were loud, refrains were sung a million times over and people were running through the aisles. This was worlds different than our Lutheran experience 45 minutes prior. After a Kirk Franklin song, a speech from guest missionaries from Israel, offering and announcements (a good hour and 15 minutes in) the lead pastor took the helm. That day we were going to talk about Ephesians and how men and women should treat each other. IT was amazing. Had I heard this passage taught before? - OF COURSE. But have I ever had it told to me by a hilarious older black man that brought the scripture to life in an evangelistic, love-the-lord, "let's get rowdy for jesus" sort of way? - Nope, that was a first. After he preached, they continued with closing praise and worship...sooo at about 2 hours, Brian and I called it: it was time to go.
After experiencing both corporate worship experiences, Brian and I gathered our thoughts over a Sunday brunch. We ultimately pondered, how should we shop for a church? With a baby on the way, we feel the additional pressure to be rooted in a christian community during the Big Event. So what do we need? This is what we ultimately concluded:
1) praise and worship that is current with music one may hear on the radio
2) a message that is applicable to life and theologically sound (using the Bible)
3) a preacher that is a humble leader, interesting speaker and an intelligent student of the Lord
4) a community that is relatable to us (either in the same age group, socio-economic background, or life path)
5) opportunities for us to get involved and use our spiritual gifts (serving, singing, teaching, etc.)
I have concluded that those 5 aspects won't always rank chronologically on our scale of "church needs." Based upon where we're at right now, I need 2, 3, 4, 1 and 5 (in that order). So what I realized is that it's semi-easy to figure out what I need; here is a short list on what I don't need...
1) church that makes me feel exhausted after a sermon
2) guilt trips from the pastor or community
3) feeling that church is worlds different from the real world
4) church community that distracts me from the worshiping experience (please, if your baby is crying....LEAVE THE SANCTUARY)
As a Christian, it's so hard to make these sort of lists without instantly feeling guilty. There's the thought that the people are the church and if your church sucks...well, that kinda means that you suck. My little caveat to that argument is that for families that are mobile (i.e. us in the military), we need a church that we can fit into, not start from scratch. That's the latest thought process on the church search. Please pray for our continued search this weekend!
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