So, after more than six years in a state I had never planned to move to and knew nothing about, I finally have a church home. We’ve gone through periods of no church attendence and getting fed from radio and television broadcasts by pastors we respect and we’ve gone through buffet-style sampling of various churches on a weekly basis to see what’s out there.
A few times, we thought we had good hits and then found out something that made us bolt, from rules in the membership guidelines that were extra-biblical and thus shouldn’t be part of church “requirements” to vague sensations were weren’t welcome to downright cultish behavior in one case where the church seemed OK at first and then began to change, like some zombie-bite victim or werewolf-bite victim in a horror movie.
This church is a bit on the liberal side, but not unduly so. They seem on track with the Bible, though it’s a little on the “light” side in terms of approach, choices and sermon topics. Then again, who always wants a heavy meal, right? There are plenty of television shows, radio stations and Web sites I can still go to for that.
The important thing to us is that the church seems genuinely Christ-led and they are warm, open and accepting of a mixed-raced couple. We’ve never felt anything other than welcome there and after a while of off-and-on attendance, we finally became members today.
So, even if it isn’t the “perfect” home, it’s a good one to be at.
Anyone have stories of their own current or past troubles finding a church home?
It’s good to have a home.
You know what, Satan is amazing.
Remember how I voiced concerns here and at my spot about my new church and complained about the pastor a bit? Maybe I didn’t do it in cyberspace, but I definitely did it in real life.
Anyway, I realized that all of those concerns were really overblown in my mind. Seems that once I sat under the pastor for a while and got more involved in the church’s business, all that other stuff seemed stupid. It’s weird how Satan will make us believe things are much bigger than they really are.
I said all that to note that I wouldn’t be surprised if even your minor quibbles became non-issues after a while. Part of that is our human need to belong and our willingness to adapt to maintain membership in a group. But, the other part is that once you’ve found a body of believers and commiteed yourself to staying there, Satan will move on to easier targets and the pressure on your life will wane.
Also, I know how you feel about the cult thing. My wife and I had an experience like that at a church and I’ll never forget it.