what is church?

Finally another blog!
I am not sure who reads this silly thing, but it gives me a chance to post my rambling thoughts of nonsense out there for anyone crazy enough to read.

For a few years now my idea of "church" has been evolving.
I realized a few years ago that my view of church has been all wrong. I attended church because I felt like I should or to see what I could get out of it. I only wanted to attend big churches that had a style of music that I liked or activities that would benefit me.

A few years ago we ended up at Memorial Baptist a small church in Corsicana, Texas. There was not an orchestra, a band or even a big choir. There were no special activities or programs to attract us. This was not my idea of the church I wanted to attend. However, for the first time since I started attending church, I felt like I was a part of something. I was a part of a "church body". I was actually a part of the "church" not just sitting in a building every week and soaking in the music and preaching.

During those few years that we were at MBC I began to read and learn what God has told us the "church" should be and how it should function.

Now we are in Lawton and trying to find a "church" to be a part of. After visiting multiple Baptist churches we went out of our "box" and visited Dayspring Community Church. During one of our visits the sermon was on the same subject that I have been studying for the past couple of years: "what is the church". On the wall at the front of the church the following statement was written (in black permanent marker) "This is not a church". A couple of weeks later the pastor wrote on anther wall (again in black permanent marker) "U R the church".

I believe many people in the world view "church" as just a building and going to "church" as a required Sunday morning event. I feel that many who do attend "church", simply go to a church building, sing a few songs (that is if they actually sing), pretend to listen to a guy in a suit tell them how they should live their lives, and then go home. They go home not changed by their "church" experience. It is just a routine that they do. I believe that many are not even sure why they go to church. If this is how Christians view the "church" then why would a non believer want to even consider going to "church"?

The "church" is not a building, it is not a denomination, it is not singing music or being involved in the music program, it is not going to "Sunday school", it is not the preacher or other staff members. The "church" is a body of believers. All Christians, regardless of background or denomination are a part of the "body" or "church".

God does not even tell us that we must "go to church". We are told to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul (Matt 22:37). I believe that because of this relationship with God, we will want to be part of a "fellowship of believers". It was not until we got involved with Memorial that I realized the importance of fellowship with other Christians. The fellowship we had at that time helped me to grow in my faith and relationship with God. It even helped improve our marriage, because we were both motivated to walking with God more closely.

This blog post has been rolling around in my head for a while. I actually started writing this post in May 2008. I finally wanted to get it out because of a "church" experience I had this past Sunday. We were out of town and visiting a very large church in a large city. The music was awesome and the preacher was pretty good. During the service, I was looking around the large sanctuary and noticed that the people there seemed lifeless. There was no joy or excitement in their faces. I truly felt sorry for them and wondered why are they even there.

I pray that I never again just attend a "church" service. I pray that I will remember that "church" is not about a routine or a building. I pray that I can share with others that God does not care about our religions or denominations, but simply wants a relationship with us. He just wants to share His love and mercy with us.

free time

It has been a month or so since my last blog. It is not like I am real busy. I actually have more time on my hands than ever. I have not had this much free time since I was in high school ( a long time ago) and I am not sure how to manage it yet.

My first goal was to practice everyday for a couple of hours. (that actually does happen occasionally). I planned to read a little more, but reading is so boring. Then I decided to start some correspondence classes through the Army to get some promotion points. (I have completed 3 so far and started about 10 of them) . Then I got addicted to Facebook and watching online TV and Youtube. The one good thing is that I don't play much Playstation anymore, but mainly because I sold all my good games.

I know God has allowed me this time so I can better prepare myself both musically and thru the classes I have signed up for. However, the last nine months of being on a very strict schedule makes me think I have earned this free time.

Maybe this next week I'll do better. We'll see.

one anothering

I've been reading a book called "One Anothering - praying through challenges together". The authors are Dr. Dan Crawford (retired professor from SWBTS and currently interim pastor at FBC - Lawton, OK) and Al Meredith (pastor at Wedgewood Baptist Church - Ft Worth, TX). The book was given to us by Dr. Crawford when we visited FBC Lawton a few weeks ago. The book is a study on the numerous scriptures that instruct us how to specifically pray for "one another".

When I got to the section of the book titled "pray that we would bear one another's burdens", I was quickly reminded of our church family at MBC Corsicana. This section focuses on
Galatians 6:2 - "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
I was reminded how each week in bible study we would start with a prayer request time. This was a time for each person to not only mention their requests, but to share praises of what God was doing in their lives and to get updates on previous requests. Each person took these prayer requests very seriously and agreed to pray for each other. They would ask each other what the status was on previous prayer requests and committed to continue to pray for each other.

I think that this is a prime example of what we are called to do for each other. We are to "carry one another's burdens" by taking concerns and needs of others to God in prayer. Even last week as Misty and I were visiting the class, they wanted to know how God was working in our lives and committed to continue praying for us.

I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to be a part of such a great family. Even though it was only for a short time, they have truly blessed our lives.

home again

We had a great time this past weekend surprising and visiting our friends in Rice and Corsicana.

On Friday we decided to surprise our students at Rice High School with a quick visit. It was great to catch up with some of the other teachers we used to worked with. We were able to hear the band play their UIL Contest program, they sounded great. I am so proud of their continued success. I do miss all those kids, but don't miss the teaching.

Then on Sunday we surprised our church family at Memorial. We had a great time catching up and telling them about our journey the past nine months.

It was great to go back to what was our "hometown" for six years. Now we began the next part of this adventure and began meeting new friends.