I have been a member of my current church for the past 23 years.
I don't remember the exact day that I first visited, but I do remember (like it was yesterday) the events that led me to my current church.
I had already been a member of a different church, Revival Time Church of God in Christ. One Sunday morning, as usual, I got my daughter Lauren, and myself ready, hopped in the car and headed to service.
Lauren may have been 2 years old at the time.
We arrived at the church, I unfastened her from her car seat and we headed inside.
Before we got to the door, I had a prompting in my spirit that said, "Get back in the car. You won't be worshipping here today."
That was odd, and I didn't understand what was going on. But the command was so clear, I chose to be obedient.
So I secured Lauren back in her seat, got in, started the car and asked, "Lord, where am I supposed to go?"
The answer, "Drive, and I'll tell you when to stop."
So I drove down the street for about ten minutes, not knowing WHERE I was going. Then, "Here. This is where you will worship today."
I was too far down the street to even see the name of the church I was going into. Parking went down the entire block. I just knew that at the end of the block there was a church. I got Lauren out, either carried her on my hip or held her tiny little hand (it was so long ago I really can't remember) and we headed inside to what I discovered was Doublerock Missionary Baptist Church.
We returned Sunday after Sunday, and all these years later, we are still members. Although the church has since moved, and now has new name, it is still our "church home."
It's a great church, lead by God first and foremost, whose message is delivered through our fantastic Teaching-Pastor. I have learned (and continue to learn) so much under this man's teaching and preaching. An example of that is in the way that I now attend service for different reasons than I did in the beginning.
I cringe to even say the following words, but they are the truth, and thankfully I've grown since this time, so...I'll go ahead and say it.
In the beginning of my spiritual walk, I went to church for the MUSIC. Our church had one of the BEST choirs in the city. My my my!!! They were "off da chain" as was the phrase back then.
Although I'd stay for the message, it was always the MUSIC that got my attention. I made sure to be on time for church so that I wouldn't miss any part of "Praise and Worship."
After all that great singing, the message just seemed dry and without any "umph."
Over the years, my spiritual "likes" changed. I didn't care nearly as much about the singing, and had begun to time my church arrival until AFTER "Praise and Worship" was over. I would arrive just before the message was to be delivered, because all I cared about at that time, was the Word.
Awful...I know.
Oh, but God!
I'm sure that there were many-a-Sunday when God would just watch me and shake His head. Thankfully though, like clay on the potter's wheel...He kept shaping and re-shaping me until I began to look and behave the way that He intended with regard to worship.
One day I finally realized that Praise, Worship and the Word ALL go together. They are all a vital part of the service. I needed to arrive at church ON TIME for ALL of it. Now, I do.
After having said all that, we move to "present day" and what I have tagged as my "Season of Visitation." The interesting thing is that I don't know how long this "season" is going to last. Only God knows.
As I said earlier, I have been a member of my current church for 23 years. And I am under the direction of EXCELLENT Bible-Based preaching and teaching. Even with all of that though, for the past two years (maybe longer), I have had a prompting in my spirit to VISIT other churches. I was reluctant to do so because my Pastor has often cautioned against "eating from too many spiritual tables" as one may end up with "spiritual diarrhea." For that reason, I stayed put.
But there is SOMETHING about the Holy Spirit. When He wants you to do something, He will continue to poke and prod until you finally OBEY and follow His direction.
So after two-plus years of hemming and hawing, I finally decided to be obedient and have declared 2016 as my "Season of VISITATION". I have NO IDEA what God has in mind for me in all of this, I just know that it's what He's been wanting me to do, and as I do so, I believe that He will eventually reveal to me what the purpose is in all of it.
I haven't visited too many churches yet, but the three that I have gone to have provided me with wonderful experiences.
When I visit, I go with these things in mind:
Is the presence of God in this place?
I know that may sound like a difficult question to answer, but all I can say is...I've been in services where I knew without a doubt that the presence of God was there, and I've been in others where God was no where to be found, and wouldn't come near the place with a ten foot poll. You can tell...really, you can.
Is this a Bible-believing church, and is the Bible where the message is coming from?
I understand that a lot of preachers are great story-tellers, and they will often tell a story that will lead into the biblical message. I get that, and think it's great. What raises my antennae are preachers who ONLY tell stories and NEVER open the Word of God. For me, that's a "red flag."
How welcomed do the members make me feel?
At my church, I know how important it is to our Pastor that we make visitors feel welcomed, and after the "meet and greet" portion of our service, he actually asks our visitors if they had been made to feel welcomed. He also follows with, "If anyone made you feel unwelcomed, I wanna know." And he means it!
I understand that it may be a bit easier to be greeted personally in a smaller church -- I have a few large churches on my list of churches to visit -- so I'm curious to see how that will go when I visit them.
So far this year I've visited the following:
City of Refuge in Gardena, CA
Carrollton Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA
and
Rhema Word Bible Church in Long Beach, CA
I have had great experiences at ALL THREE, and for different reasons.
Although this year was not my first time attending City of Refuge -- I've attended their New Year's Eve Watchnight services in the past, but added them to my list because of the option to attend evening service at 6:00 pm. Some Sundays I wanna sleep in, or do other things during the day, yet still hear a word from God. City of Refuge allows me to do just that.
It is a bible-believing church, and although they don't have a special part of the service where they acknowledge visitors (unless I've missed it along the way), I feel welcomed when I'm there. Actually, a more accurate term would be that I "feel at home" when I'm there.
I've only had one experience that I wasn't too keen about which was during "Praise and Worship" at one of the services I attended during their "Revival Week." The Praise Team leader kept referring to the Holy Spirit as "it" versus "He." Throughout the ENTIRE song, she kept saying "it." That bothered me because I know that the Holy Spirit is He, not it. As a "Praise and Worship" leader, I would've thought that she would've known that too. But hey...we're all at different places in our spiritual maturity, and I pray that one day she will come to that knowledge.
When I visited New Orleans last month I knew that attending worship service on Sunday was a MUST. Being in the city for the first time, I had NO IDEA where to go. I googled churches, even found a few within walking distance but was still unsure about where God wanted me. So I prayed on it. He finally directed me -- to a church that I had to take a taxi to -- Carrollton Avenue Baptist Church.
From the moment I walked in I was IMMEDIATELY greeted and welcomed. I took a seat and shortly thereafter we moved into "Praise and Worship." Many of the songs were familiar and some were new. I loved that.
After "Praise and Worship" it was time for the Word. Pastor Webber reminded me a lot of my own pastor in his preaching style. His message wasn't filled with a bunch of "Whoopin' and Hollerin'." Instead, I could tell that he had STUDIED in order to deliver a message that God's flock could learn and grown from.
Overall, it was a wonderful worship experience, and when I go back to New Orleans (yes...I'm going back!) I will be sure to worship there again.
Now we fast forward to the past two Sundays.
In case you've been wondering how I decide where to go -- my method is quite scientific. Okay, not really. My method is the old "pull a name out of a bowl." That's what's pictured here.
Over the past few months I've asked friends where they worship, and have added their churches to my bowl. Other times I'll see a Facebook "church check-in", and I'll add that church to my list. So the list is fluid and continues to grow.
Three Sundays ago, I pulled a name out of the bowl and was on my way. Before heading to the new church though, I headed to my own to take care of a few things. Well...the quick stop at my church resulted in me staying for the entire service. That was a-ok with me. God's plans ALWAYS go before my own. For whatever reason, God said, "Not today" that day.
Last week I decided to try again. I had a church in mind, but couldn't get ready in time to make their 9:00 service, which is the only service they have. So I went with my second draw, Rhema Word Bible Church and was able to attend their 11:00 service. What a GREAT decision! Last Sunday was Valentine's Day and we began service by singing "Love Songs" to God. It was BEAUTIFUL.
After our heartfelt serenades to God, Pastor Johnson delivered a message on "God's Love Language" which made us reflect on how we show our love to God and more importantly, how God WANTS us to show our love for Him. It's all in His word.
I enjoyed the message so much last week, along with the welcoming spirit of the congregation, that I went back THIS morning and attended the 8:00 am service. I was hoping to see a friend there who attends that church, but I don't think she was able to make it as I didn't see. The church is small enough that you can easily see who's in attendance. Overall, RWBC is a wonderful place to worship. Once I've gotten through my list of churches to visit, I may very well drop in for another service one day.
In case anyone's wondering...NO, I am NOT leaving my current church. At least that's not MY purpose for this "Season of Visitation." Although, as I said before, this is not about MY will, this is about God's will. There's a reason why He kept prompting me to do this, and I won't know what His purpose is until He reveals it to me.
Yes, I am still a faithful member of my current church, I contribute financially even when I am not in attendance, and I still serve in ministry. So this is in no way, my way of looking for another church home. I am simply moving as the Spirit leads.
Whew...that was a lot! Going forward, I will simply write about each church individually as I visit. One thing's for sure...I am excited about this journey!
Now, Let the DIALOGUE begin: Where do YOU attend church? Tell me, and you never know when I may show up. :-)
Talk to me!
Til next time...
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