Week 5 – People’s Church

We really struggled to decide where to go this week. A combination of fear of the unknown, sliding back into uncertainty about continuing this journey and plain old not feeling any strong leading to any particular place. Once again, God led us exactly where we needed to be. As soon as I heard the topic of the sermon, I had to smile. It was about our lives at work. This just happens to be our biggest source of stress right now. Before we even heard the sermon, God provided confirmation that He knows what we need, when we need it, but most of all, that He really cares about us. Work is God’s plan for us and as the pastor talked about the kind of employees God calls us to be, I was thinking “boy, there sure are some people at work that need to hear this message.” By the time he was through, I had to admit, I was one of those people.

This church started out conducting services in a movie theatre and when you walk in, it still feels that way a little. But this is definitely not a movie theatre. They have 3 services every Sunday morning. We found the people there genuine and passionate about worship. They had a fantastic praise group that played contemporary, energetic music. I started off feeling a little awkward and out of place, but ended up feeling this was one of the best churches we’ve visited so far. The funny thing is we’ve felt that way nearly every week. Going somewhere new each week is so far out of our comfort zone that we face each Sunday with a certain amount of anxiety. Right now I confess that I gravitate towards the bigger churches because it’s easier to walk into a big church as a stranger and just blend in. In the end, we leave each church we visit inspired and happy we were there. While we were standing in the lobby visiting with friends after the service, the pastor introduced himself to all of us. He was friendly, approachable and really made you feel like he was glad you came. That made an impression.

As a side note, we have some friends who sometimes join us at the different churches we visit. One of their family members had previously expressed an interest in visiting this church so they joined us also. God clearly had a plan this morning I never intended. Why am I surprised?

(Comments from John):
It’s hard to add to Vicki’s comments. I agree with much of what she wrote. We typically discuss our overall impressions, feeling’s, etc. The message was on target as Vicki mentioned and I feel the need to spread this message to others at work from leadership to 1st line workers. I truly enjoyed the overall experience of the congregation (passion, excitement, friendliness) and felt very free to worship. I have to admit that I’m very conservative, yet I did something I typically don’t during worship--I raised my hands in praise and felt comfortable!! I can’t wait for the next place that God leads us. He definitely has his hand in our journey.

Week 4 – Memorial Road Church of Christ

Greetings. I guess I have to change the title of my blog to 52 Churches in “however long that takes!” For the one or two of you actually reading this, I woke up last Sunday extremely sick. I didn’t figure this into my plan. My lesson last week was to quit worrying about things I cannot control. Humm, I wonder how many times I have tried and failed to learn that lesson. So, enough of that. Let’s move on to week 4.
We attended Memorial Road Church of Christ. We have never attended this congregation, although we know many people who do. It was certainly familiar territory in terms of worship style and order. They have two services and about 2400 members. A large congregation by most people’s way of thinking. This week, the lessons to be learned here were all in the sermon. Even though this is only the middle of January, the year 2010 so far has been filled to the brim with stress. We have found ourselves dealing with one problem after another and focusing completely on our own drama. It has crossed my mind, frequently, that I don’t think I have the energy, emotional or otherwise, to keep this project going. I think this morning God said hold on; let me remind you of some things. When we turn our attention away from “life” and towards God, we find comfort and hope. The question in the face of trials is not “what is the purpose of this” but “what is MY purpose in this.” God wants us to receive His comfort so we can come alongside others and provide hope and comfort. This means I have to look beyond myself. Coming alongside others in their time of need is the best distraction I know of to my own problems. I would really like to be the kind of person that faces trials with joy and perseverance. That’s a fantastic goal, not always easy to live though. If we didn’t know better, we would have thought this preacher had been watching us and said, “I know exactly what they need to hear.” The mission now, is to actually live out the lesson.

Week 2 – Crossings Community Church

This is supposed to be about what I learned each week, but I think I’ll start first with just observations. This was our first visit to this church. For starters, this is a really big church. They have 5 services. We attended one of the two “blended” services on Sunday morning. They also offer “contemporary” and “traditional” services. The service we attended was packed and we were told they have 5,000 members. This falls into the category I refer to as “mega” churches, but they managed to not really make it feel that way. We were warmly greeted upon entering and had a lovely, encouraging conversation with a woman staffing the information desk. The full orchestra, very large choir and worship team did a fabulous job of mixing traditional hymns, contemporary Christian and even a little accapella. The sermon was led by pastor Marty Grubbs. It was reinforced for me that I have a “style” of learning even in church. First off, he used visual aids. I am a strong visual learner and I loved that. He was relaxed, humble, structured without appearing so and delivered a fabulous message. He made me want to come back and hear the rest of the series. Another observation was that the members really worshipped and seemed to respond as God inspired each of them individually. When a few people stood, hands raised, the whole congregation didn’t follow. Those who felt led to stand stood and those who didn’t stayed seated. It seemed perfectly acceptable and comfortable to do either. One older gentleman really caught my eye. He was worshipping with his whole body and seemed like he was practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, occasionally to the point of tears. I would love to know his story. I would like to learn to be less inhibited in my worship, just responding as I feel led and not worrying about what people will think. Today was fun. I can’t wait to see what God has prepared for us next week.

Week 1 - New Hope Church of Christ

From Vicki: Ok, I have to confess that we kind of took the easy route this morning. We attended New Hope Church of Christ. We’ve visited there once before and we know a lot of people there. I learned a couple of things right off the bat. I really miss a lot of these people. We attended church together for many years before our church split into two congregations. I don’t personally know each of their motives for making the change to New Hope, but what I do know is they were friendly, welcoming and clearly a group who loves each other—a lot. That’s a good thing to find in any congregation. The next thing I learned was that I really have not been paying enough attention in church each Sunday. Something about knowing you are going to write about what you learned makes you a more tuned in worshipper. I have learned that I should attend church actively seeking to know what God wants me to learn that day, not just warming up the seat. I was reminded also that we aren’t the only ones who have felt lost and out of place since our church split. I have encountered several people, one this morning, who still haven’t settled in a church home after the split. I will pray for them this year. The last thing I learned is that Satan is already trying to get me to abandon this project. As I sat in church this morning, more than once I thought “you know this is a great congregation, with great friends. I could be very happy here and just forget this whole 52 churches in a year thing.” That would indeed be easier. For now, we’re sticking with the plan.

From John: Mark’s discussion about stewardship of our gifts and resources was a much needed reminder about letting God be in control. This is a lesson we all need on a regular basis. To see 1st hand the closeness of this congregation, I can only guess as to what drove this unique love, caring and involved congregation. They truly have elements of what I believe existed in the early church. Today’s visit made me ponder if I truly wanted to embark on this journey. I was able to see several good friends and re-kindle relationships. But, I still feel as Vicki does the need to finish what we began and see where God is leading us.

Ok, I guess we're really going to do this.

Hello friends. Not wanting to be left out of the blog frenzy out there, I have decided to jump in and add just one more to the mix. Inspired by a combination of church life and movies, we have decided to embark on a yearlong adventure of visiting churches “Julie and Julia” style. Instead of cooking our way through a cookbook in one year, we are going to work our way through 52 churches in one year. Yes, it sounds crazy. I felt inspired by the idea at first and then as I shared it with people, fear and self-doubt took over. I am not a talented writer and I do not consider myself by any means spiritually mature or insightful, so why in the world would I want to do this? We have been taking a very long break from the church we have known and loved for many years for reasons that don’t really belong here. We’ve visited several churches and loved them all for different reasons. Yet, we still didn’t feel like they were where God wanted us to call home. Getting up every Sunday morning and flipping a coin about where to go to church just didn’t seem right. This journey is not about finding a new church home and it is not about analyzing and critiquing the churches we visit. It is simply about exploring the different perspectives out there and discovering what really matters to us in a permanent church home. Hopefully, at the end of this year, we will be ready to settle down somewhere. Being rooted and actively working in a church is important to us. During the year, we will be looking for different kinds of opportunities to work and serve. We also have a fabulous group of friends, who we’ll lean on for those times when close, personal Christian relationships are needed. I am going to try to write something each week as we visit the various churches. I believe God has something to show us at each place and that we can come along side any group of believers and worship, which is, for me, what I think Sunday morning is all about. I welcome your comments, your suggestions about churches to visit or anything else you want to share.