The Church Search Begins Anew

I decided tonight that, in keeping with my determination to not have this blog be entirely about the kids, but also a little bit about me and Scott, I will share the account of our renewed "church search." Yes, after just 15 months at Central Christian Church, we've concluded it is not the right church for us, and have begun looking again for the place that will be our home. For now, I am going alone to each church, because Scott and I are wary of putting our kids in childcare in a church where we don't know anyone and don't know how sound their policies are.

I visited our first church on Sunday, a Calvary church in our area. Calvary churches seem to be a good overall fit for us theologically, and we like how they're run. But this one was a no-go. There were factors there that were not a big deal; the music wasn't terribly polished, but it was good, and the congregation was small, but I'd take a small congregation over a megachurch any day. But the preaching...I just knew we couldn't sit through that week after week. The pastor is clearly a man who loves Jesus, he is gifted as a teacher, he is a skilled communicator, and it is clear he studies the Bible faithfully and thoroughly...but I honestly think he didn't even plan his sermon for Sunday. He was going to preach on Ephesians 1:9-14, and in forty minutes of speaking, he never even read the entire passage! He rambled for awhile, then read verses 9 and 10, then rambled awhile longer, then finally, it was over. I admit, my mind wandered after 20 minutes or so. Don't get me wrong--everything he said was true, it was biblical, it was highly encouraging--there was just no linear progression of ideas. I think he probably, in preparation for the sermon, just read the passage a few times, came up with a title, and said, "good, I'll preach on the mystery of God's will revealed." And that's what he did, with no more structure than that. I think all he needs is a good communication or preaching course, and he'd probably be a great preacher.

I've also chosen which church we're going to try next, and this one will be quite an adventure. Funny, how mainline protestants would walk into a Foursquare or Assemblies church and consider that an adventure, but I'm going to be attending one from the "Lutheran heritage," and this, to me, qualifies as adventurous. Don't fret, my fine charismatic friends, we are not going off the deep end. This is not a Lutheran church, but a church in the Lutheran tradition, where certain areas of theology have been revised, and from what I could discern on the website, appear to be well in line with Scott's and my theology. They believe the Holy Spirit is still active, and all gifts are for today, they have a high view of scripture, and their view on Communion seems in line with mine. They use contemporary music in their worship, but they also incorporate some more traditional forms of worship such as liturgical readings and the recitation of creeds (which actually appeals to me--I regret that evangelicals have sometimes thrown out the good with the bad when separating from an older denomination.) I do still have some theological questions in areas that weren't specifically explained on the website, so I hope that when I visit I'll be able to talk with one of the church leaders and have a good dialogue. One of my fears is of repeating the same mistake we made at Central--committing to the wrong church because we're so eager to get plugged in somewhere--so I find myself wanting to know everything I can about the church as soon as possible. And I know that just won't be possible. Sometimes the issues in a church that make it a bad fit are things that you just can't find out in your first or second visit. That's what makes it such a matter of faith to find a good church, and I'm not that great at listening for God's direction (see above, committing to a church too quickly.)
So, pray for us as we search! And I'll update you all on the "church in the Lutheran heritage" after I visit!

P.S. Andrew is still a little snot factory! This kid just gets sick so often! And I can't help but think (with good old-fashioned mom-guilt) "if I had breast-fed him, he probably wouldn't get sick so much."