Some Churches Just Stink

So this past Sunday I visited another church in the area. It had one of those "The Church at ...." names. Very nice building with a coffee shop setup in the lobby. All the goodies were free, it was comfortable and they focused on making it feel very welcoming. The building is completely decorated to look like it is THE place to be. I entered the worship center (aka sanctuary) and took a seat in the back (see picture below for my view).

When worship started the band was awesome. They reminded me of the Reach band, but more trendy and good looking (sorry guys). For those of you who don't know, the Reach Band is the band that leads worship for our young people back in Delaware. I was in the band and we rocked.......but let me get back to the story.

The worship was great both in talent, participation and song selection. I was getting very excited that this may be the place for me even though I had reservations about what I had seen outside the service. Then the pastor come onto the stage and stunk the joint up. His sermon was awful. I suddenly realized why the pretty girl at the welcome counter hurried me into the sanctuary so I didn't miss the worship time. Her quote was, " worship is the best part of the service". Boy was she right.

The pastor didn't just stroll on the stage area. He came down and roamed around the crowd like a crazy homeless man wandering the streets and hassling people for money. It was like a bad motivational seminar about finances in these troubled times. At the end he made a "gospel" presentation. It consisted of the declaration that God loves us, and that he desires a relationship with us, and that if we want one with him that we just need to do it. That was it. Jesus name was not mentioned, nor the cross, nor our sinfulness, nor our need for a savior. The good news was...get right with God. So, this church was a dud. I will not return.

In other news, I have to say that my friends back home are great. On Monday I arrived home to discover that I had a package. This package contained a photo album that was put together of pictures of them with notes to me. I have to say it made me cry..... I was doing pretty good with homesickness until that point. Now I am really thinking I need to get back home for a visit. I don't know when/if I can make it happen, but I may be back in Delaware before my planned visit in May. Maybe this is their twisted plan to get me to move back home. Pretty clever.

Decisions Decisions Decisions

A funny thing happened. I checked my email today and in my inbox was my latest traffic report for my blog. I don't normally check it since I have been so inconsistent in updating the blog. I decided to take a glance, and wonder of wonders there was a spike in traffic after my recent update. I guess if I write something new, people will visit. So.........

As my adventures in worship continue in the great state of Ohio, I am searching for a church. The body of believers I left back in Delaware were truly family. When the Bible talks about us being brothers and sisters in the Lord, there is a real tangible connection. Even though I am away, I am still connected. The notes, and letters, and facebook posts, text messages, and phone calls all keep me connected. I am a big proponent of electronic communication as a means of staying connected, but I am no dummy. I know that it can not replace the true gathering together of the saints. I miss the saints in Delaware. I miss them a lot, but when I left I was confident that I had brothers and sisters where I was heading. I just had to meet them and be grafted into that particular branch of the tree of life. I am searching for that branch.

In that search I have visited two different churches. One is a mid sized PCA church that reminds me of my home church in several ways. I could see myself grafting in nicely there, but in a different way than "back home". The music program is less mature than what I am used to, but I am not sure that this makes a difference to me.

The other church I visited is a larger Brethren church, and it also has many good qualities. I could see myself really enjoying being involved in what they have going on. They have a large singles group and a mature music program. The problem is that they aren't reformed. Now I think it important to point out that I don't feel that they are apostate, but reformed doctrine is what I believe to be the most correct form of doctrine in the visible church. So at this point I am praying and pondering my decision. I am also looking around to visit a few more churches before I make a final call. One thing I do know is that I want to choose and commit to a place very soon. I feel that body life is important, and I need to get to the grafting part. I don't want to spend the entire adventure here alone in my apartment.

Hello From Ohio

I live in Ohio now. Thats right, I haven't posted in a while, and a lot has happened in my life since then. Short story = I moved for work, and leaving everyone and everything back home was painful. I'll probably share more on this in future posts.

So here are some initial thoughts on Ohio........Its nice. Its not super, and not the greatest, but it is nice. I think I could learn to really like it here. I live in a two bedroom apartment that overlooks a pond with a water fountain in its middle. Very peaceful and calm. I can't wait until the weather warms up and I can sit on my second floor deck and sip tea and read at the end of the day.

Two things I already miss about the east coast (besides family and friends) are hoagies and pizza. They have them here, but it just isn't the same. I think that the mid-atlantic region has these culinary delights down pat. The versions here just don't compare. This is probably for the best anyway, because I absolutely need to eat less of these treats. One of the things I want to focus on while I am here is my fitness. Since I don't really have a social circle yet, I have lots of time to work on me. I don't know if that is selfish or not, but I think that one of the reasons God has provided this opportunity is for this very purpose. I intend to return to DE some day as a resident, and I want to look very different when that happens. Goals.....I must have goals....and I need to accomplish them.

Well, there are some thoughts today. I am really going to try to post more frequent. Please hold me to it if you don't see anything for a while. If this moving experience is anything, it is an opportunity to really have an adventure, and I want to strive to make it an adventure in worship.
RAV