Quest for the un-church
Quest for the un-church
We have been in a place of well, limbo I guess, concerning church and community for a few weeks. I have felt very aloof and distancing myself from pretty much everything related to church except for the closest relationships we formed over the years. 9 years to be exact. Our community we have been a part of was really all we have known as a family. Christian was a little over two and Emma was about 9 months.
For the time we have been searching, the kids keep asking when we are going to church again. It’s been a strange place to be in. We don’t have any answers. We are asking God to show us what to do and where to be. I, in my selfishness, being completely content to sleep in, clean my house and prepare for school on Monday. Sounds like church to me! They are not seeing it that way.
I have had more than my share of invitation s to various churches to the point where I was imagining what an un-churched person must feel like getting a barrage of people begging them to accompany them into this strange and mysterious land called “church”.
I talked about it with the kids asking them if they had any suggestions. My favorite moment was when talking about one community and discussing if we should attend, my oldest questioned, “It’s not going to be ‘church-y’ is it? I found this so amusing, since we have been part of something so un-churchy, but never taught our kids that that was what we were doing. Somehow, he knew.
Friday night we took the kids to a youth meeting at The Worship Center. It was small and home-y and just great. Christian is playing drums and loving it. At the end I felt very drawn to the people there.
So to bring a long story to a close, we are going to The Worship Center this morning. My stomach is in knots about it. If the slightest reason to NOT go arises, I will take it. I desire to be in fellowship, but fear it greatly. If I make it, I’ll let you know how it goes. I’ll tell you this, for me it won’t be the music, the sermon, the length of the meeting. It will be the people. If they aren’t real. I’m outta there. Not to pressure anyone.
November 4th, 2007 at 10:23 am
You guys will be in our prayers today. I have felt some of these same yearnings, but we have not been ready for all the “churchiness” that most churches serve up. Brooke and I have been to all sorts of churches over the last 10 years or so, been very involved in most of the ones we attended. I think one of the hardest things that the “Bridge people” will have to experience as they search for a new “church” to attend, is just how different the Bridge really was. This difference was what Brooke and I loved so much about the Bridge. It seemed so real compared to anything we had experienced.
We miss corporate worship. We miss seeing everyone. We miss feeling part of the conversation. We miss Greg.
This is a strange time indeed. Thanks for sharing your heart about these things. We would love to get together sometime soon to talk together about these things.
November 4th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Hope everything went well this morning for you all, we walked to BFC again.
I talked to Sara about going to the Worship Center as one of the Churches in our tour de church ‘08, so next week we may join you.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:55 am
We’ll be on our annual fall drive next week. Worship in the mountains.
November 5th, 2007 at 8:40 am
ah, forgot about that.