Tag: church services

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Christian Living

What Do You Do When the Church Doors Are Locked?

locked doors

My wife and I recently headed off for a church that met in an office complex, using space rented by a ministry organization. Through a series of errors on our part and a bit of misinformation on theirs, we got lost and arrived six minutes late.

We tried the first door we saw, and it was locked. Another entrance with the same name on it was locked, too. Then we spotted a third door, and it was likewise shut tight.

We walked around the complex, looking for hints of where to go or how to get in. Some walks were shoveled, and we noticed random footprints in the snow, but none of these hints revealed a common entrance or even a way into the building.

Then we got back in our car and drove around the facility, looking for a sign or another entrance. When this produced no new clues, we returned to the parking lot.

There were other cars there so we knew they were meeting. My wife pressed her ear against one set of double doors and could hear music emanating from deep inside.

She rattled the doors and even pounded but garnered no response. She waited and repeated her efforts, this time with more fervor and increased ire.

She returned to the car, frustrated over the situation. Now twenty-two minutes after the start of their service, my impulse was flight, while hers was to fight. We drove home in silence, wondering how something so simple could go so wrong.

She later vented to the pastor in a private Facebook message. He apologized but offered no explanation for the locked doors. He gave a vague description of which door to use, but we tried the door we think he mentioned.

We will visit again sometime, arriving plenty early so we can get in. This church claims to have a different approach to doing church, and I want to learn more.

I’m just not sure if I can work past my frustration of being locked out while the faithful gathered inside.

Get your copy of More Than 52 Churches today, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Christian Living

Is It Wrong That I Haven’t Missed Missing Church?

Missing Church

I haven’t gone to church for the past two weeks. First, I was sick and stayed home to sleep. Last week, my wife and I headed off for a church that met in an office complex, but the doors were locked. I’ll save that story for later.

I wasn’t bothered about not being in church these last two weeks; I didn’t miss it one bit—and that does bother me. Church has apparently become such a trivial experience that I feel no void when I skip it.

I actually feel guilty because I experience no guilt over my truancy.

Of course part of the problem is that, despite knowing better, I still tend to attend church as a consumer: What will church do for me? What will I get out of it? Since I get little from most church services, I don’t value them much.

So why go to church? I can think of two key reasons.

One is to worship God. If our goal is to truly worship God, then nothing else really matters: not the music, the message, the people, or the facility. Yes, those elements can make worshiping easier or harder. I’m still working on that one.

What I do know is that I find worshiping God easier in places other than most church services.

Another reason is to hang out with other followers of Jesus. In fact, the Bible tells us to persist in meeting together. This could happen at what we call church or it could be something else, such as meeting at a coffee shop or sharing a meal.

Having recently moved and presently in a temporary situation, I’ve not made many connections with people to hang out with. Plus, in visiting churches, I’m unlikely to ever again see the folks I meet.

This meeting together is what I call Christian community; it’s what I miss and what I need: not superficial community but true, deep, intentional spiritual comradery.

I hope to one day find that at a church, and I expect to find it outside of church.

But right now, I don’t have it, and that’s what I miss most.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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Categories
Christian Living

Three Places Where I Find More

Last week I posted that while the Sunday morning church service can be good, I desire more. And I do occasionally experience more. Sometimes it’s in those solitary moments with just me and the Almighty.

But the sweeter times are when I experience more in community. There are three situations when more can occur.

1. Intentional Activity

Twice a month I have the opportunity to meet with like-minded spiritual seekers.

We share, we pray, we listen, and we practice, putting our faith into action in ways that stretch us and grow us: often uncomfortable but usually encouraging.

This is my prime community of more, one that has formed me into who I am today.

2. Around Food

There are a handful of close friends who I meet with periodically at coffee shops and in our homes.

We share our lives together, not in a superficial, gossipy way, but with deep connection, encouraging and being encouraged, challenging and being challenged, serving and being served.

Life is better in their company. Together we experience more.

3. Affinity Group

Once a month, I meet with a group of Christian writers. Our intent is to share our writing. By design we don’t offer a requisite prayer to start or end our meetings. We don’t schedule time to read the Bible or share a devotional.

We focus on writing—though God is always the subtext. We are artists, sharing our creations with each other and offering them to our Creator. This is a highly spiritual experience for me, a valuable time that can provide more.

All three of these situations offer me more. They provide the more I seek, surpassing the Sunday morning church service as my key times for spiritual formation and connection with the divine.

The traditional church service pales in comparison when I encounter more.

May we all seek and find more.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
​
​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Visiting Churches

An Intriguing Consideration, But We’ll Pass

Consideration

When we made our list of churches to visit, we included everything found under the heading of “churches,” which we would adjust as needed. Next up is a “meditation group of self-realization fellowship.”

Since our mission is to visit Christian churches, if there’s any evidence of this being a Christian community, we’ll check them out.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

According to their website the Sunday meeting is a “reading service.”

It includes devotional chanting, short meditations, and readings from the Bible and Bhagavad Gita, which Wikipedia indicates is “a 700-verse Hindu scripture.”

There’s also mention of Kriya Yoga.

I conclude they’re essentially an Eastern religion, with a touch of the Bible thrown in. There’s seemingly nothing Christian there and we decide not to visit.

Nevertheless, I wonder if a Christian could attend and experience a connection with the God who is revealed in the Bible. I suspect so, but caution would be warranted, guarding against spiritual forces not conducive to the Christian faith.

However, my ponderings will likely never go beyond the theoretical, but it is an intriguing consideration nonetheless.

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.