This article sparked something in me. I wanted to share. In November, of last year, I found a church I loved. The music was great and the preaching was PACKED with truth every week. The problem? No one seemed to be interested in knowing me. I sat on those pews for 8 months trying to walk this walk alone thinking that music and preaching were enough to help me along. Simultaneously, I had an extremely drunk and party laden Spring/Summer. I am not a HUGE drinker, but this past Summer I was partying like a fricken rockstar. I sat on those pews, being ignored and no one seemed to care about the state of my soul. I smiled on Sundays, so clearly I was okay. After three different attempts to plug in at this church, and being essentially ignored again, I just gave up. I BAWLED the Sunday I realized that was the end of going to that church. WHY am I not important enough to know? Even when I would try, I would still fall flat. Well, I decided enough was enough, I looked for and found a new church (I literally Google Non-Denominational Church Euless, TX) I read the website and the Pastor wrote Im a no nonsense Pastor. JACKPOT. When I pulled up to the church that next Sunday, I hesitated a little. It looked like a church from the 30s, battered and used. It was tiny. The website was so AWESOME, I expected something a bit....well...more. I decided to not judge a book by its cover and went inside. The first week I had 4 people talk to me, including the Pastor. That was as many people who talked to me at the other church in 8 months. God was there. God moved. I felt at home for the first time in about 6 years. I came back 3 more weeks and found that I hadnt quite found my niche. To avoid the feeling of loneliness in a crowd. Im not above working to get what I want or putting myself out there. If I tried three times with that other church, I could try with this new one. I emailed the Pastor to tell him about my experience. I kind of spilled my guts about my party girl ways and basically how I still felt like I didnt fit in church. One thing I said to him was that I dont know how to feel about the fact that I seemed to be more welcomed in a bar than I am at church. Is it me?! My Pastors response is one that has changed the trajectory of my soul. He said..A woman here used to go to karaoke bars a lot too! Come to the Womens gathering tonight and Ill introduce you. Its not you. Come meet some people and get connected. So, I did. Here I am eight weeks later (ONLY EIGHT. WOW) And God has moved more in my life in the past 7 weeks than in the past three years! Im sure you guys have noticed my speech is a little different on this here Facebook. A lot more talk of God, prayer, church and OH YEAH, a missions trip. Never, in my life, did I have a desire to go on a Missions trip, but just 4 short weeks after joining New Life Family Church, I was in Mexico serving. Beautiful. So, I wrote all that to what end? This article is so true. I grew up in church but I never grew up churchy. My life was different than most who went to church in their younger years. I found that as I got older, I didnt fit in so much. I went to church after church that reiterated to me. You dont belong here. However, I went to bar scenes and outlier places to find that I fit perfectly. Or so it seemed. Then I went to New Life and it was like...Youre a weirdo, outlier, unorthodox, sometimes sailor mouthed sinner? Us, too. Lets Walk this thing together and see what kind of strength we can build. I was telling my friend Josh that I think that the point where I knew this was home was when I realized they cared as much about my soul and my Walk as he did. (Hed been my Walk Cheerleader for 2 years.) Church isnt about a huge, ornate building. It isnt about what amenities they have to lure the restless culture in to worship. Church isnt about the beautiful music or the seemingly poignant message from the Pastor. Its about a group of jacked up people, in need of a Savior and a touch from God, coming together to uplift each other, grow TOGETHER and speak truth in love. Isnt that what Ephesians 4:12-14 says 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. If church misses that point, they exclud and alienate so many good people that are only desiring fellowship, family, friendship and accountability. I didnt know how to ask for accountability and for someone to tell me that my ways were jacked up and need improvement. My ways were infantile and as long as I sat on the pew, ignored, with the assumption of growth, I would have faded away. I am grateful, beyond all words, for finding my church home and finding a group of people as weird as I am, fighting the fight WITH me not just adjacent to me. Priceless. Now its time for more churches to hope on this band wagon and start caring about the people beyond the smile every Sunday. It changes the world when you have churches who care about the people more than the perspective.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 16:41:16 +0000
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