This weekend Jonathan took Laine and Bowen with him to work at a guy's ranch. It has been wonderful to be at home alone although I'm waiting with baited breath for them to come home. Last night when I was folding clothes I was thinking about church and suddenly I thought about visiting another congregation, not only another congregation but one that is of another denomination. I've always been curious about this particular church because I like the idea of denomination not being the most important part of church. I was so nervous trying to make the choice as to whether or not I should do it. I was still indecisive this morning as I got ready to go. New things make me nervous, I was about to go somewhere where I didn't know anyone and experience a service maybe like I had never experienced before. What if they do weird things, what if I feel uncomfortable, what if I feel conspicuous? I went anyway. Here are my pros and cons on the Bible Church. And I really don't feel you can get an accurate snapshot of a church in one Sunday morning service.
Pros:
I LOVED the worship time. It was instrumental and I thought it might be overwhelming, but it made everything sound like I'd like God to hear it coming from my body.
Two services and plenty of thing for kids to do during the service.
Beautiful building.
Seems to have an awesome youth ministry.
Cons:
From what I can tell, communion only once a month.
No Sunday night service or small groups (from what I could tell)
Just different:
Very casual service, no order of service in the bulletin.
It didn't seem like there was a specific invitation.
People stood or sat at will during singing, lots of hand lifting and waving.
I could Tell this was a church that is trying to reach those who a unchurched or lost. It seems they are doing a great job. The sermon was definitely Bible based and lots of time was spent in scripture. When any scripture was read everyone stood and read the verse together. I also liked that the preacher wanted us to read along with him in the Bible and the verses weren't just projected on the screens.
I'm glad I went, I'm just not sure if would be for me.
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3 comments:
Get the small book, Jim and Casper go to Church. It's a quick read. Jim is a minister who hires Casper, an atheist, to visit churches with him. They go all over the country, taking their laptops into church and making notes. Jim and Casper visit some megachurches and some smaller groups. When the preacher tells the congregation about some new program, Casper often asks, "Is this what Jesus wants you guys to be doing?" The book is quite insightful, and they find a few places that both of them like
We attend a Bible church and we love it. But I think it takes finding the right one. We attended another one for a few years that was not right for us. So - just like anything else - it takes some research.
the good part is that it's not like jumping into a marriage...or having a baby...the decision can always be changed if you're not 100%. GOOD luck, it's a hard choice, but the good news is God is in all of them!
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