My Perfect Church

I know that was a heavy question out of the blue but that's how my mind works. One thought leads to another which leads to another and BAMM! There's a big question for you. :-) I was thinking about what you said in an earlier post how one of the first questions people ask you when you meet is "what do you do?". I jokingly thought to myself how here in Lake City it is usually closely followed by, if not preceeded by, "what church do you go to?". I've never lived anywhere like this before. I'm sure there are plenty of other communities closely bound together by their churches but this is the first one i've lived in. People don't ask "if" you go, they just assume you go.

I've had the great opportunity to live in five different towns in this great country of ours. I wish I could say that number was ten or even fifteen. I love the thrill of moving somewhere brand new and figuring it all out. Each community is so unique. But before I start reminiscing about my days in a town that was actually awake at night and had more malls than I could shop at in a day, let me get back to this church thing ...

Since i've lived in Lake City i've had my thoughts on church tested by many people. I've been invited to go to church more times in the past three years than in the other twenty-seven years of my life combined. Brett and I talk about it and we do want to "belong" to a church eventually. But we want it to be the church that is right for us and that we are comfortable with. I know some people think i'm being too picky or may even think the devil is invading my thoughts but here's the thing: I'm not going to force myself to go to a church that doesn't align with my thinking just so that I can answer the question of "what church do you go to?".

I've met some wonderful people with great views on God and Christianity. I've had some great talks. I've also met people with very different views from my own who think it is their mission to get me to church. And I know that they do it because they care and because they think and are taught that I am going to go to hell because i'm not active in church. And I appreciate the fact that they care enough about me to reach out like that, I really do.

I've been given books on Christianity by at least three people (off the top of my head) and I have actually read most of them. And I enjoy reading them. I am and always have been very interested in learning about different religions. I think it is fascinating that we live in a world with so many different religions and people that feel so strongly about their religion that they are willing to die for it. And here is where my question arose ...

As I sat watching Joel Osteen on TV one morning I found myself wishing that a church existed here in Lake City that I felt comfortable with. One that I could find like-minded people in. I tend to be very scientific minded (engineer .. go figure). Some people have blind faith because that's what works for them. I'm a thinker and always have been. I can't just have blind faith. I have to question. That's part of who I am. So I got to thinking ... how would I define my perfect church, in a perfect world?

A couple of weeks later a friend of mine called that grew up here in Lake City. She now lives a couple hours south of here. She was telling me about this great church that she and her husband have been going to for about a year now. It sounded great. It sounded like something that I would really like to go to. I told her that sounds very close to what I would like to find in Lake City. And she laughed ... because she knows more than I, having grown up here, that for some reason that type of church does not exist here. I wonder what it is about Lake City that makes it this way. Is it the small town thing? Is it that LC is full of people who have never lived anywhere else in their life? I'm not sure.

So once again I found myself dreaming of a perfect world where we could all have "our own" perfect church. One where we all accept each other and are all open-minded. One where it doesn't matter how or what you believe God to be ... just that you believe. You see I believe, and let me comment here that I know some of you will think negatively of this but i'm going to share anyway and hope I don't offend anyone too badly, that everyone has it right. How can one little section of Christianity have it right and everyone else is wrong and going to hell? Who has it right? The Baptists? Catholics? End-timers (sorry had to throw that in there, don't let me get started on that whole thing)? What about Hinduism and Judaism?

That's just it ... I think everyone that believes there is a higher power is right. Because there is a higher power. We understand it in the way that we can. And we are all different. And here is where my scientific background comes in ... just think about our planet, and our solar system, and our universe. How can we ever get a firm grip in our minds as to how that all works and how it came to be. The fact is that it is all above us. We, as scientists, attempt to explain and understand the workings of the universe. And as a species we are very impressive. We sent men to the moon (no it wasn't a tv set), we have people living in space, we've sent spacecraft to take pictures of other planets, etc. But how did it all get here? In my mind, science and religion are very closely related. With all that is out there, is the planet Earth the only place where life exists? I find that hard to believe. And to some people that makes them think i'm going to hell. To borrow a phrase here .... "why can't we all just get along?".

My mind is racing with several follow-up thoughts involving the most popular book around ... The Bible. But my kids are calling so I must leave that for a later post. Andy, you asked me to answer the question as well and here is what I have so far ...

My perfect church would be:
... a place where everyone is accepted no matter how they believe, just as long as they believe ...
...a place where people can openly discuss their different beliefs and find enough common ground to see that we may all be right ...
... a place where don't judge each other because that should only be done by our maker ...
... a place that balances the physical with the spiritual (which is why I like Joel Osteen)...
... a place that integrates yoga with its service, maybe a short series of breathing exercises at the beginning to open the mind and a relaxation practice at the end to let everything sink in (just thought about this and added this last one a couple of hours after posting this) ...

Until next time...
~Celena

***Sarah, as my most Christian/religious/spiritual non-church-going friend, if you read this I would love to hear your answer to our question. Please leave it as a comment to this post.***