The Church, Part 2

There has been so much going on in the last month, not from an "activities" standpoint, but from a "thinking" standpoint, that I have been fairly quiet. Some of my thoughts are related to matters that are confidential, and some are related to matters that I was afraid would be misinterpreted. Thus, the quiet. I've decided to start thinking aloud again at least about one of the matters.

I have been struggling with my break-up, and after discussing the situation with the man I'd been dating, the root of the matter really came down to one thing for me: what church we'd go to. I've been discussing this matter with people I trust. I find that the counsel of wise believers is worth so much - especially when it's from those that you've respected, not just from a "they're smart" perspective, but from people who live godly lives and have studied with you, prayed with you, and cared for you. Ultimately, what I realized is that in two to six years, my children will be grown, probably moved out of Tuscaloosa, and hopefully worshipping in a gospel-preaching church. And while my church family has been my spiritual family, there have been times of loneliness because of being single. It is hard to be single in a small church. No, everyone is not married. We actually have a number of single women, and a few single men. However, when I think of my future, I'd like to be married. I'd like to walk into a marriage knowing what it truly represents: a mirror of Christ and the church. Christ serving the church. And, God's sanctifying grace to the church because of Christ - which represents how sanctification occurs during marriage. These are all concepts that I didn't have any idea about in my first marriage.

So, my thought process followed, if I was dating a godly man who liked the preaching of my church but not the overall worship service, then wouldn't it make sense to see if there was a church that suited both of us? This proved to be much larger of a question than I'd ever realized. Because with this question, you start thinking about what's important in a church. Things like:

What are the basics of belief you won't give on?
How does a church preach on sin?
What does church membership look like?
What does "joy" look like in worship?
What is done in the liturgy (Lord's prayer, reading of scripture, communion, benediction)?

Since I've only ever belonged to one church, I have taken much of what I've done there in the worship for granted. But I think there is much more to church than worship, although that's the first place to start. It's also about the underlying teachings and how they affect our lives from day-to-day. It's about how the members fellowship with one another. And it's about accepting that it's a body of sinners, and in that body, accepting each other's sin and working through differences can also sanctify us. It makes us more like Christ. Isn't that amazing?

So it's with those thoughts (which I've prayed about) that I asked myself, is there another church in Tuscaloosa that might work for me AND the man I'm dating, and if so, what would that mean?