EncourageYou!

First of an occasional series

This past Sunday, a new era, an exciting adventure began for me. My family and I walked into a nearby church as first time visitors. It is a day I do not expect to forget.

The church is large, but don't let size fool you. I've found that it is the atmosphere, culture, and priorities of the church, not the size, that helps or hinders attenders in their relationship with God and other people. Where we went this weekend the campus and the parking lot is so big that they have a ministry of people in the parking lot helping drivers find their way, just like going to a sporting event or state fair. Someone helped us get parked and he represented his church well by his friendliness.

Next, we found our way to the Children's Wing, where our 6 and 4 year olds would go to Sunday School. Our 8 year old will be with us until the Fall programs begin. Next, we found where the large worship auditorium was. In the meantime, we found a friend we already knew and talked for a while before it was time to take our seats.

Joy and enthusiasm started the worship time. The worship leader, praise band, and choir led us in singing contemporary praise and worship songs. With video, monologue, and song, we transitioned into listening to the Senior Pastor's preaching of his sermon. For the summer, the messages are from the Old Testament book of Proverbs. This morning, the sermon's title was Words of Life. With Bibles in our hands and Bible verses on large screens, we read several proverbs about the good of speaking Life Giving Words: kind encouraging words, the right words at the right time, appropriate rebuke (loving correction), and disarming words.

Reading the Bible is powerful in its own right. The reason God wants us His Word to be publicly proclaimed in churches is that a pastor can explain the text and teach how to use, or apply, it in today's world. I learned something this morning that I could use forever. This morning we learned one effective way to speak these Life Giving Words to others:

Be aware, listen, and ask follow up questions.

Simple, yet profound to me. To me, this lit an explosion of excitement and hope within me as I matched Bible words to something I can actually do this week to improve the quality of life, in Jesus' name, for me and the others I touch this week. The timing was excellent as a week's vacation was beginning for my family and me, and what better time and place to be more Christlike than with my family?

By the way, I asked my children how well they liked their own classes. They both loved it and want to go back next week. My 4 year old asked if we could go there instead of his other Sunday School.

The exciting adventure comes not just from being in a new building, seeing and hearing church done in a different way than what I've been used to. For the past 11 years I've been a member of my current church. The adventure continues when the worship hour is done for the day and it is time to go back to "life at large" for another week. When I have the double edge sword of Bible Truths and a plan on how to use those truths, I feel ready, willing, and able to make an impact for God and the people He sends my way. While I do not want to judge my current church, it has been a few and far between experience when I have gone to church and left empowered in such a way. So much so that I've been thinking about making a change for a long time.

For the past 11 years, my wife and I, now my family and I, have been active members of our current church. For the past couple of years or so, I personally have struggled matching my temperament with the distinctives of our particular church. One struggle has come from making the choice between worshipping or serving. A church should allow their attenders to both serve and be served, but our structure has the unintended consequence of being an either/or propostion. It works like this: We have three worship times on Sunday, each one 1 hour 30 minutes apart. The plan is for 1 hour 15 minutes for church, with 15 minutes to go to/from Sunday School, dropoff/pickup your children, go serve in the nursery, children's Sunday School, as an usher, and such. Unfortunately, our Pastor consistently uses that extra time to go long on his preaching. So much so that it is a running joke in our church. So, people who come to 11:00 worship have to wait until 11:05 for the previous worship time to let out, then there is the traffic jam of people coming and going, everybody running late. Meanwhile, the poor Children's Wing servers, from nursery school on up, have to wait for children to be picked up. As it turns out, those who desire to serve God in our local church are rewarded with confusion because the lessons are done but the preaching pastor is not, and the servers cannot get to worship on time, and when they do get there, they cannot find a seat. In my opinion, even though he means well, he does not respect the time and the logistics that need to be managed in a busy church.

This is petty, I know, especially when Christians around the world are "inconvenienced" by government persecution, imprisonment, torture, and even death. I know that. At the same time, I have responsibilities to lead my wife and children spiritually. Ephesians 5:25-26 reads, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…" This means that a husband has a responsibility to empower his wife's spiritual growth. That is also true in raising children. Ephesians continues in 6:4, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." I also have a responsibility for my own growth. God calls us to active worship. Darling Bride and her friend Carla were talking about this, and the comment was made that it is a shame that our church makes their volunteers decide between worshipping and serving.

Strong, accurate, truthful preaching on Sunday mornings is a good thing. Our church emphasizes that. Unfortunately, I wonder if other worthwhile church things get sacrificed. Not keeping to a schedule disrupts all the other ministries going on at the same time. It stresses the servers, parents, children, and traffic flow. Fellowship time is eliminated, not allowing the flock to build relationships among each other, instead we are rushing to get to the next thing only a few minutes late (hopes for being on time are lost). Sunday worship becomes a thing to "get through" instead of an opportunity to quiet my heart, be intimate with my Savior, and love my neighbors.

Just as my good church may not be the best fit for my family and me, the church you are going to may not be the best fit for you. Changing churches is serious business and not to be taken lightly. Also, if you are not now a churchgoer, you couldn't do better than finding a good church for you (and your family, if you have one). If you are thinking about trying out a new church but don't know where to start, here are some ideas:

• Check out church websites. Many churches have banners outside that include their web address. You can read about them, download sermons for free, and find out when the worship times are.
• Ask neighbors and friends, "Do you go to church? Do you like it? Do they welcome visitors?" (and so on)
• Use your favorite search engine with terms like "contemporary worship (your city, state)" or Emergent Church, Emergent Worship, and such. Certain churches are actively pursuing those who might want to go to church, but may be afraid. They address that by fostering an atmosphere welcoming to newcomers.
• When you go to a church, find literature such as a "New Visitors Packet". It could answer some questions.
• Check back here often and I'll update about my experiences.

# posted by Jeff Hoots @ 4:17 PM