I love my church

Because it's filled with sinners who have been redeemed.
Because it's welcoming and cheerful, but not afraid to cry.
Because not everyone there looks like me or thinks like me.
Because it's centered firmly on God's truth.
Because we serve each other so willingly.
Because my son is so well-loved there.
Because I can see us growing old there.
Because it feels like home -- like family.

Ephesians 2:19

Why do you love your church?

If you're having trouble finding a church you love -- don't give up. In order to be supported in your walk with God and to serve others, it is imperative that you do life with other believers. Some tips on finding a church:

1. Know what is important. Keep your priorities in line when searching for a church. People can be so picky about a church's music, and yet how important is a musical style really? Maybe the building isn't perfectly kept up, or at first glance people seem stuck-up... but is the Bible faithfully taught? Are there opportunities to fellowship and serve and worship?
2. Think outside denominational lines. Just because you grew up going to one type of church doesn't mean you should limit yourself to being a Lutheran or Baptist or Methodist for life.
3. Network. Ask pastors and Christian friends you trust about churches they would recommend checking out.
4. Meet with church staff. Check to see if the church has a visitor's social, or just ask to meet with the pastor. Hearing about the vision and plans for the church from its staff will tell you a lot.
5. Commit. When you find a church you like, stay there for awhile. Get involved, put yourself out there. So often, people church shop until they just give up. Be committed to taking the time to find a body of believers that you connect with. And if you're not connecting, ask yourself why. Is it on your part or theirs? Are you serving and giving of yourself?

Do you have other tips for those who are looking for a church family?

The Beauty of the Church

I love the Church because God loved her enough to die for her (Ephesians 5:1, 25). Jesus knew perfectly well the ugliness and depravity of mankind... and yet he came anyway. He experienced hate, rage, rejection, violence... and yet he chose to die anyway. He knew that the ugly and depraved would be made beautiful and righteous because of His suffering and sacrifice.

Aren't "before" and "after" pictures so much more meaningful when the "before" was truly horrible? Jesus paid it all, with the "after" in mind. The Church is beautiful, not of her own merit, but by God's grace and favor. Those who once were dead in spirit, isolated from both man and God, became alive and reconciled to God and man.

God shows this new life and reconciliation through the amazing image of a Body in which Christ is the head and every Christ-follower is a body part (Rom. 12:4-8). This image is preceded by an incredible prophecy, thousands of years before Romans was written; Ezekiel 37 tells the story of dry bones becoming flesh, and flesh becoming spirit-filled. God prophecied through Ezekiel to remind his people of his promises - that he would not cut them off entirely, that they would be given land, and that he would put his own spirit in them. As believers in Christ, we have been grafted into these promises (Rom. 11:11-24). We have been given God's Spirit, and have been resurrected from "dry bones" to a spirit-filled body with Christ as our head.

I ask you: what can be more beautiful than the dead coming to life, than the outcast being reconciled, than being grafted into the most incredible promise ever made? Church, we are part of something more beautiful than we know.

How is the Church beautiful to you?

Belonging to a Body

... Or to be more specific, The Body. Of Jesus.

 

I learned at church last weekend that my generation (Millenials) are the least "churched" generation in U.S. history. And I wondered... why?

•  Is it because we value authenticity so much that church is no longer considered a "social club" that every respectable person should belong to, no matter if they believe it or not?
• Is it because we have become disillusioned with the concept of organized religion?
• Is it because there are truly fewer Christians in my generation than ever before?

I'm not sure. If it's #1, then I'm perfectly OK with the decline of Millenials going to church. I would rather belong to a Body where all of the members are headed in the same direction, than belong to a Body where some of the members are only pretending to be members. Isn't a body in which all of the parts function together so much more effective than a body in which the eye is only pretending to be an eye?

If it's #2... I understand. But I don't agree. I have had a tiny taste of disillusionment with my local church. It was bitter and sad, but it did not diminish my opinion of The Church. However I might disagree with a decision my local church makes, my love The Church does not change. And in the long run, my love for my local church does not change either, because I am committed to Eagan Hills Church. I love her members, her leadership, her servant's heart, her committment to the truth... and only a major geographical move or a major dissent with her foundational beliefs will shake that commitment.

And if it's #3, I still do not doubt that God has a plan for my generation. And I am passionate about sharing His Truth with them. And everyone.

Next up, I plan to share more about why I believe belonging to a local church is vital to a Christian's walk with God. And more about why I love my church, and how being a mother of a toddler has affected my connection to her.

P.S. Yes, I decided to call my church a "her". You can think I'm a dork. But the Church is called the Bride of Christ... so I figured I can call my church a "her". :)