We did it.
We finally went to church.
I know– pigs are flying somewhere. Hell is freezing over, or it least a cool front moved through there this weekend.
I have had experience with two types of churches in my life — Catholic and Assemblies of God, which in terms of worship, could not be at further ends of the spectrum if they tried. They are so completely polar opposites, and I think it is why we have been so drawn to the Assemblies of God style of service and worship. It is fun, exciting and never the same each week. There is no routine– sometimes the sermon is towards the beginning of service, sometimes not. Service can last 45 minutes or it can last 90 minutes. It just depends on what’s on the agenda for the morning.
In my opinion, Catholic churches are all about tradition, schedule, routine. When you have attended a Catholic church for any length of time, you become so experienced at the routine and order of things, you can follow along with the entire Mass in your sleep. I have not been to a Catholic church in YEARS, but I know I could walk into Mass this weekend and be able to recite every verse and prayer along with everyone else, and know exactly when to sit, stand, or kneel. It seemed too easy to me to lose sight of what is being said, because there is no reason to pay attention.
So, on our search for the perfect church, we do not care what religion the church is affiliated with. We just want to feel like part of a family, find a place that we enjoy going to, and be a part of all the things a church family has to offer. With that being said, the churches we have checked out so far have been similar to our previous church. Energizing music, casual dress, with fun & inspiring sermons from a pastor full of personality.
While we had planned on finding a church to try out this past Sunday, some friends of ours jumped the gun and asked us to go to their church Saturday evening instead. I will admit I was a little leary about it, because it is a Lutheran church. To me, Lutheran churches are the closest you get to a Catholic church without actually having a priest. I expected the same routine, tradition and boredom I had grown up with in the Catholic church.
I was wrong.
There was a band, people! There were electric guitars and a band, and singers. And it wasn’t boring solemn hymns either. It was actually songs I knew from the radio! They even sang one of my favorite songs “If We Are the Body” by Casting Crowns:
We saw people we knew there, and I was surprised at how welcoming everyone was. The Pastor was dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and khakis, and while not extremely exciting, it certainly wasn’t boring either.
I am sure we will still keeping exploring other churches in the area, but for now, at least we made the effort to get started.
