Going to church
So for the first time since the fall semester, I'm actually going to church IN BIRMINGHAM today. I can't believe that this the first Sunday I've been in town and not sick in almost six months. Yay for being well enough to actually get up! Anyways, I'm going here today. It's been mentioned to me several times before by various acquaintances, but I always end up going elsewhere. I guess I'm still just really wary of any more charismatic-type church. I'm not really sure why. The church I went to in Athens was charismatic, and Chi Alpha met in a warehouse downtown the entire time I attended.
I guess I just love the beauty and glory of a more orthodox service, and hate how my generation sometimes gets so caught up in the 'emotion' of God that they forget to use their minds as well. Just because something 'feels good' does not make it right. We are called to interpret everything against Scripture. In a more charismatic service, it is so easy to get so caught up in the emotional high that we forget to engage our minds as well. Actually, I love both orthodox and charismatic services. With the former, I get to love and praise God with my mind; with the latter, I get to do so with my heart. Are we not told to do both? My other reason for loving orthodox churches: if you were going to be entertaining a king, how would you go about it? I'd be dressed in my finest with the building decorated in such a way as to reflect the respect a king demands. Does the King of kings deserve less than what I would give an earthly king?
I love the old hymns. Don't get me wrong, praise and worship choruses are great, but the theology in all the old hymns feeds my soul. For me, praise and worship choruses are like the bread you eat before a meal: yummy, but necessarily the most nourishing part of the meal. Hymns are filled with the meat my soul needs to survive, and I do love them so. Plus, it's just awesome to me that as we recite the Apostle's Creed or sing an old, old hymn, it's like joining voices with all the saints ('saints' in the sense that Paul calls all believers 'saints') that spoke and sung these same words. I read John 17 last night, the prayer Jesus prayed for all believers. It constantly emphasizes His desire that we will all be united, not split by the petty bickering so many Christians engage in. (And yes, I get that there is lots more there than simply unity of believers. It's just that this is what particularly struck me last night, probably because I'm surrounded by petty bickering everywhere I turn right now) Singing the old hymns and reciting the old creeds reinforces that sense of unity for me.
Theologically, I really am very much a Wesleyan at heart. I love his emphacis on God's love, grace, and mercy, and on showing those qualities to the world. However, Wesley was grounded enough to not loose sight of God's Word and Laws in connection with these things. The Methodist church today, as much as I truly love it, seems to be moving farther and farther away from His Word. We rotely recite our creeds and mechanically sing our hymns, missing out on the joy they should bring. We get so caught up in 'not judging' and 'accepting all,' and we twist and stretch what is plainly written in an effort not to offend anyone. We are called to love everyone and not to judge, but when you remove all consequences and all sin from your reality, why then do we need a Savior? If we leave someone trapped in their pit, are we truly loving them? I refuse to rally around that empty shell of 'love.' I do not and cannot understand God, but I know He pulled me from the pit of my despair. 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life (I Timothy 1:15-16),' and I want everyone else to have that joy as well.
So, back to today and why I am attending a non-denominational church: as I was debating what church to visit today, I was once again invited to Crossroads. Initially, I brushed it off, but for some reason, I included it in the list of churches I asked my mommy to give me her opinion on (because I respect my mommy's guidance tremendously on such matters). She picked it immediately, despite all my protestations and over all my arguments in favor of the other places I was considering. I've been praying for God to show me where He wants me right now. I so need to be fed. As my physical body was starving these last few months, my spiritual one has been as well: I've been too sick to even get to my church back home. I missed Easter for the first time in my life. I am angry and completely weary from the journey of the last year. But He is shouting and I am trying to listen. For some reason, God wants me here today. He has something He knows I need from Him. I pray that I'll be listening close enough to hear it.
I guess I just love the beauty and glory of a more orthodox service, and hate how my generation sometimes gets so caught up in the 'emotion' of God that they forget to use their minds as well. Just because something 'feels good' does not make it right. We are called to interpret everything against Scripture. In a more charismatic service, it is so easy to get so caught up in the emotional high that we forget to engage our minds as well. Actually, I love both orthodox and charismatic services. With the former, I get to love and praise God with my mind; with the latter, I get to do so with my heart. Are we not told to do both? My other reason for loving orthodox churches: if you were going to be entertaining a king, how would you go about it? I'd be dressed in my finest with the building decorated in such a way as to reflect the respect a king demands. Does the King of kings deserve less than what I would give an earthly king?
I love the old hymns. Don't get me wrong, praise and worship choruses are great, but the theology in all the old hymns feeds my soul. For me, praise and worship choruses are like the bread you eat before a meal: yummy, but necessarily the most nourishing part of the meal. Hymns are filled with the meat my soul needs to survive, and I do love them so. Plus, it's just awesome to me that as we recite the Apostle's Creed or sing an old, old hymn, it's like joining voices with all the saints ('saints' in the sense that Paul calls all believers 'saints') that spoke and sung these same words. I read John 17 last night, the prayer Jesus prayed for all believers. It constantly emphasizes His desire that we will all be united, not split by the petty bickering so many Christians engage in. (And yes, I get that there is lots more there than simply unity of believers. It's just that this is what particularly struck me last night, probably because I'm surrounded by petty bickering everywhere I turn right now) Singing the old hymns and reciting the old creeds reinforces that sense of unity for me.
Theologically, I really am very much a Wesleyan at heart. I love his emphacis on God's love, grace, and mercy, and on showing those qualities to the world. However, Wesley was grounded enough to not loose sight of God's Word and Laws in connection with these things. The Methodist church today, as much as I truly love it, seems to be moving farther and farther away from His Word. We rotely recite our creeds and mechanically sing our hymns, missing out on the joy they should bring. We get so caught up in 'not judging' and 'accepting all,' and we twist and stretch what is plainly written in an effort not to offend anyone. We are called to love everyone and not to judge, but when you remove all consequences and all sin from your reality, why then do we need a Savior? If we leave someone trapped in their pit, are we truly loving them? I refuse to rally around that empty shell of 'love.' I do not and cannot understand God, but I know He pulled me from the pit of my despair. 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life (I Timothy 1:15-16),' and I want everyone else to have that joy as well.
So, back to today and why I am attending a non-denominational church: as I was debating what church to visit today, I was once again invited to Crossroads. Initially, I brushed it off, but for some reason, I included it in the list of churches I asked my mommy to give me her opinion on (because I respect my mommy's guidance tremendously on such matters). She picked it immediately, despite all my protestations and over all my arguments in favor of the other places I was considering. I've been praying for God to show me where He wants me right now. I so need to be fed. As my physical body was starving these last few months, my spiritual one has been as well: I've been too sick to even get to my church back home. I missed Easter for the first time in my life. I am angry and completely weary from the journey of the last year. But He is shouting and I am trying to listen. For some reason, God wants me here today. He has something He knows I need from Him. I pray that I'll be listening close enough to hear it.