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I love my church!!!

Let me forewarn you…the following post could cause some serious bleeding retinas.  It’s a whole lot longer than I originally intended. But read anyway!

I love my church! Since June, Jerrad and I have been going to Golden Corner Church and have been loving it! Let me go back to April to where it all started. When we got married in April, I was content with leaving my home, I was content with moving to another county, and I was content to start a new life with my new husband. The one part of my life I was not content to give up was my church. I had been at Arial for 10 years. I was very involved in different ministries and my friends and family were all there. The second Sunday we were married was Easter Sunday and we went to Jerrad’s home church…my “new” church. I cried during the entire service. I never said a word to Jerrad but he knew. I missed my family so much! It was the first holiday had ever been away from them. He consoled me and tried to encourage me. With both agreed that with time I would get used to my new church, and that with time, I would come to regard it as my own. But to no avail, the next several Sundays weren’t much different. I dreaded church.

I thought I had found a fix for my problem. Get involved. When I was in college and facing loneliness and mounds of strangers, I would just get involved. There, I would meet people, make connections, and create lifelong friends. I thought it would have to work for church too. So I tried it. I let some folks know that I really wanted to help the media ministry. After all, that was my main job at Arial. I knew the ins and outs of MediaShout and felt I could bring a little bit of creativity and professionalism to the presentations. No one ever called me or asked me to come help. I was asked to help with Bible School. I felt so lonely. When the teachers had a 30 minute break and were all eating snacks and socializing with each other, I had no one. I just stood in the corner and ate my snacks. I felt so entirely out of place. No one was being mean or rude. I just didn’t fit. I was completely unhappy with the whole situation. I had promised Jerrad I would try and I did try.

I also started singing with the praise ensemble. I enjoyed it, but even still I would think back to how we did it Arial. I found myself struggling to find a place on the team. Somehow my presence intimidated some members. Often times at practices or during services, I wasn’t even given a mic to sing with. I kept reminding myself of the reason I was there…to worship and not to put on a show. And on one particular practice, Jerrad and I both had enough. We were practicing a song with my singing lead and the choir as backup. We had ever-so-slightly modified the ending of the original song to make it flow a little more smoothly. And to be exact, the change was to sing the final chorus once instead of twice. You would have thought I had asked the choir to cut off their right arms and sell their first born children. They were outraged! “That’s not how the book does it!” “We are going to have some unhappy choir members!” “See here! This is how it’s written!” “I don’t see why you and the band can’t just change what you’re doing!” “We CAN’T ask the choir to sing it differently than the book has it!” Jerrad and I had had enough. I was angry! My feelings weren’t hurt because my judgment call was questioned. I was angry that the Spirit of our Holy God had somehow been limited to what was printed on sheet music.   We sang the next Sunday morning and never came back.

Please don’t think I’m trashing that church. I’m not. There are some wonderful things happening at the church, but it just wasn’t for us.  And this wasn’t the only thing that made us unhappy.  This was just the final straw, so to speak.   So, the next Sunday, we visited Golden Corner, a relatively contemporary church. I must admit that I haven’t always been a fan of contemporary churches. Often times I have found the services to contain much hype and little substance. And I’ll admit that the first time we visited, I didn’t want to like the church. We were greeted and welcomed by at least 10 members. I wanted to think they were insincere. The praise band was wonderful. I knew the songs and sang along with every word. I wanted to think the band was in it for the show. The pastor was wonderful…somewhat quiet with brilliant re-tellings of the Old Testament. I wanted to think he was dull and boring.

We went home and talked about the church. We liked it. I was trying not to love it. The next week, we went back and we stayed there. And the church motto: Loving God, Loving People. Let me tell you, they mean it! I have never been to a place where I have felt more loved and welcomed! The pastor and his wife took us out to dinner and basically opened the doors of the church to us. We were welcomed to participate in any ministry we wanted to. Immediately, I was asked to help with the media. Soon after, Jerrad was asked to play in the band. We’ve been involved so much more in GCC than we ever would have at the old church. For the first time in many many, years, I am proud to tell people about my church. I look forward to worship every Sunday. I look forward to the practical message I’m going to hear. And I look forward to being loved on by such wonderful people.

Fresh Starts

The last year has been one of new starts and new opportunities and I figure that while I’m at it, it’s time for a fresh new blog start.  I an attempt to redefine who I am as a wife, a follower of Christ, and a professional, I decided that it’s time for my blog to take on a new role.  Instead of using my blog as a venting spot or a sounding board, I want to be able to share my life with my readers.  I want to be honest and up front about the challenges and successes in my life.  I can’t promise I’ll post every day or week, but I can promise truth, reality, and substance.

Six Months Later…

Jerrad and I were married six months ago today.  It has been absolutely wonderful!  Over the next week, I’ll be posting a few things I’ve learned since April.