CHURCH SEARCH

Over the years of our married life, the genius and I have had quite a wild ride in an effort to find a spiritual home for us and our family. In order to explain I’ll start at the beginning.

We were both raised in the same denomination and as we grew older, we both began to have doubts about our faith. In effect, we were questioning the beliefs we had always been taught and trying to find answers for ourselves. Eventually, we both became agnostics even though we continued to attend church, especially after the children were born.

At age thirty-one I had a spiritual experience that convinced me that there is a God, One who cares for us and watches over us in every aspect of our lives. Someday I will share that experience on the blog, but it’s not time yet. For me it will be the most important blog I’ve written to this point.

A few years later, the genius gradually began to believe somewhat the same as I did and although our beliefs are not exactly alike (what two persons’ are?), the fundamentals are the same. So we began a search for a church home that would suit both us and the kids. Sounds easy, right? Wrong --- it took us thirty-three years.

What in the world were we looking for that took us so long? Well, at the top of the list was the sermon giver. This person had to be grounded in the Word, but intelligent enough to appeal to us in his sermons. Secondly, the music is very important to us also. We both like the old hymns, but I also like the contemporary Christian songs that have become so popular over the years. Neither one of us likes mournful music that makes us feel sad. And while the children were still with us, we wanted a strong youth program. Last on the list was a feeling of camaraderie with the other members or guests attending.

The first church we joined had all but the music. The choir director liked loud, somber pieces that made me feel like I had been to a funeral. I remember telling him once that I had really liked the anthem that day (it was a joyful number that had uplifted me). His answer was, “Oh well, I have to please the young people some of the time.”

So we didn’t like the music, but we stuck with that church for a few years until they had a huge split and half of the congregation left to start a new church. We attended both churches to see what they were like and we ended up not liking either one. The search was on again.

By this time, Ashley was in college and Jim IV soon to go, so we started attending an old church on the other side of town that was a lot like the denomination we were raised in, but they were stricter in their beliefs. We loved the service – the pastor was good and the music was really great. However, (there always seemed to be a “however”) we knew very few of the people. And since it was on the other side of town, it was a chore to drive there.

After attending for about five years but not ever joining, I had begun teaching at a Christian school that was connected to a church. It was actually the same church that had broken away after the split, but there were now many more people added to the mix. We ended up joining that church even though we were not crazy about the preaching. We remained there a few years and then when we moved from the house that we had raised the children in, we quit attending. Once again, it was too far to drive.

So on to the next one. This was a much more contemporary group that we visited and was anything but traditional. The people met in a school building and most of them were much younger than we were. We loved the preacher, but the genius was uncomfortable with the informal and charismatic worship. Plus, they hardly ever sang hymns.

Finally, we found what we were looking for. The genius attended a funeral at a church and came home raving about the service and the minister who performed it. I was very willing to try it and we did soon after the funeral. As soon as we walked in and looked at the people, we both felt like we were right at home. For the first time ever, all of the qualifications were met. The sermons, the music, the people, the traditions --- all were what we had been looking for. And it is five minutes from our house!!

So I can look back at all those years, and the journey we had just makes me appreciate all the more what we have found now. I am truly grateful!!!