Church Hopping

December 20, 2011

Church Hopping

Not a good word in my vocabulary.  I never wanted myself or my family to be known as church hoppers.  Having grown up moving every 2 years, I wanted stability for my family.  I wanted my children to grow up in the same house their whole life and for them to graduate with their kindergarten friends.  This idea of “stability” also spilled over into my spiritual life--I wanted a church, a pew that was known as ours.  I wanted to be buried in the church grave yard because we had been long-standing members.  But the spiritual journey is not a straight road.  It is much more like a roller coaster with slow climbs and sharp turns.  As we embarked on this part of our spiritual journey, God taught us many things about church along the way.  Sometimes pain was the tool used to teach us.  Sometimes heartbreak, anger, disgust, longing, wondering, frustration, reflection.  And at the end of each one of these lessons?  Crying.  Were we looking for something that did not exist?  Where was the Acts 2 church?  Why was everyone too busy to fellowship?  And where was the sense of belonging?  Were we the only ones longing for this?  What had happened to spiritual leadership?  My husband and I would grapple with these questions and without any answers, embark on the journey again.  It was like picking up a spy glass and looking out over the ocean and discovering land and becoming so excited--only to realize it was a mirage.  Some spyglasses were more like kaleidoscopes with beautiful patterns and exciting designs that were pleasant for a while with entertainment and thematic messages but lacked depth for the soul.  We battled discouragement and disillusionment. We were at a crossroads again.  Where to go?  Where to turn?  Where to begin. . .again.  We longed for community.  We longed for depth.  We longed for leadership in our church.  Strapped in, we began the climb.  You know, the dreaded climb to the top of the roller coaster.  The anticipation, the heart throbs, the stomach in your throat--the same feelings of entering a new church for the first time--not knowing when we reached the top whether we were in for the ride of our lives or just the dreaded drop.  So, here we are.  God is good all the time.  I don’t know why our journey has been what it has.  I just know that perseverance pays off.  There are believers who want community, depth and believe in leadership.  They were right under our nose all along.  Maybe we weren’t ready for them until now.  God has had His chisel out chipping away all the external “stuff” that we call church.  He has left us experiencing, in the raw, daily living in Him with fellow believers who aren’t afraid to say, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.  Let’s walk this journey together.  Let’s cry, laugh and love together.  Let’s know God deeper and challenge each other in His Word.  Let’s belong.”  I pray that you will not give up on the journey to community.  Somewhere, out there, God’s people are longing for YOU saying, “Come sit in my pew.  Let’s do life together.”