I’ve had quite a few memorable experiences in church. Some good and some bad.
I’ve been to churches where everybody knows everybody and if you are a new face, they will make a point to get to know you by name. I’ve also been to churches where they don’t have a worship team, they just play the music over the speakers and everybody joins hands across the isles and sings along. I’ve been to the largest church in America and I’ve been to one where the pastor brings in celebrities and the worship team is bigger than some entire church congregations.
There are so many churches out there, it’s almost overwhelming. And there are so many denominations that I can’t even keep track of them anymore. I’ve been to Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Non-Denominational and the list probably goes on but I can’t think of any more off of the top of my head.
I’ve had a pastor lie to me, I’ve thrown a basketball at a pastor out of anger, I’ve met friends, lost friends, been ignored, been embraced and all of the in between at a variety of different churches.
One thing that particularly bothered me when I was looking for a church was when I pulled up a website and the first thing I saw was a picture of the pastor. For me, I want to see a church that is focused on God, I don’t want to see the pastor on every single page, every book that they’ve written, every advertisement or commercial they’ve been in. I think it’s important for you to connect with the pastor but those churches gave me a bad vibe. I felt like their existence was on themselves and not where it should be. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of churches that practice this exact thing that may be a perfect fit for you, I just simply wanted to share one thing that irked me about some churches.
The point that I’m trying to make is that it took me a long time before finding the right church for me. The reason I like the church I go to now is because it fits where I am in my walk with Christ right now. I’ve been to churches that believe you need to be tied to one church your whole life and I don’t agree with that. I like that my church isn’t afraid to show it’s flaws, I love the music, I like that the pastor is easily accessible, I like that my pastor challenges us and preaches on tough subjects, and most of all, I like the people that attend the church.
But once you find one that helps get you closer to God, hold onto that church and then reanalyze your situation in a few months or years. Make sure that you are continuing that path to get yourself closer to God’s plan for you.