Twin Pines Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

I have to give this church a Friendliest Church award! I arrived 10 minutes before the church was to start and was greeted by at least 3 people. Not just hi, how are you greetings, but who are you greetings. Quality greetings along with the quantity! I had more people greet me after the service--something like half a dozen. At no time did I feel overwhelmed by people greeting me, and I felt very much that they wanted to know who I was and to have me return to church. They also gave me a welcome bag as I left. Talk about a warm welcome!

Twin Pines is currently holding their services in an alternate location in their building due to renovations. Instead of pews, there were chairs set up. The accoustics were a bit of a problem, to be honest. There was an echo at first, but they realized it and dealt with it appropriately. It was difficult to hear the choir and the instruments to some extent. I daresay that it isn't a problem when they are in their sanctuary.

They had a small choir, two guitarists, a keyboardist, and a drummer. The pastor doubled as one of the guitarists! All of the pastors at the church are women, and that's certainly something I can get on board with!

They had a children's moment where they took up a "noisy collection," asking for your pocket change. That was the first time I'd heard it referred to like that. I think that everyone there enjoyed it. Talk about a great way to part with your money!

They state in the bulleting that they have a nursery for ages birth to 3, then invite children up to 2nd grade to participate in a children's service called Worship & Wonder. I felt like the church was very child-friendly, but I think that the Jewish faith has it right when they hold bar/bat mitzvahs at age 13 to celebrate the advent of adulthood. Children between 2nd grade and 8th or so fall through the cracks in this way. I don't think that those kids get anything out of sitting through a church service. In the same way, I think that it's also not a good idea to have a separate service for teenagers. An additional service/group, yes. Separate, no.

The only other comments I have to make are that the communion service was interesting. They used little cups, but in addition to communion squares, they also had a piece of bread you could tear off, catering to either preference. Everyone drank their cup at the same time, which is a bit too ritualistic for me.

I really enjoyed my visit to Twin Pines, and I will most likely visit again in the future. I am really enjoying journeying through the different churches in the area, meeting all the people and seeing each church's quirks, rituals, and personality. I'm not ready to settle down and commit yet, so to speak!

Dear Churches,

Dear Churches,

On behalf of anyone who has ever attended church: please discontinue the "Meet n' Greet" portion of the service immediately. We know that you want us to think that you are a friendly church. You probably are a friendly church. Most people who go to church are friendly.

Contrary to popular belief, the Meet n' Greet actually keeps you from being a friendly church. For one, it's not long enough for anything more than a short greeting. It's not enough time for me to get to know anyone else at the church. It's not enough time for you to get to know me and ask me to come back again.

It's also an excuse for no one to talk to me again for the entire service. No one has to ask me what my name is or what I do. No one has to say that they hope they will see me again next week. No one has to look at me or care if I come back the next week.

Let's face it. It's important that your church makes a good first impression. The mega churches get members to come back because of their assorted services and groups. Why not bring people back because they feel a connection. I know you mean well, but the Meet n' Greet is not the way to do make that first impression.

Sincerely,
A Churchsurfer

Center Point Church

When I first began attending Center Point, they held their services at Regal theaters in Hamburg. It definitely wasn't your typical church service. They have since moved to a storefront behind the Kroger on Richmond Rd. You can check out their website here if you are interested in attending.

They have a full praise and worship band, complete with electric guitars and drums. The music was great! The worship leader was really enthusiastic and passionate about his faith. In addition to leading worship, he delivered the message on more than one occasion.

I was greeted at the door, and the greeters remembered my name the following week. The church is made up of mostly younger attendees--college-aged or young families. There were a few families with teenagers as well. The attire is strictly casual, and most people wear jeans.

I felt welcomed at first. However, one of the vital functions of a church is to make connections, to have a fellowship. People were very friendly and welcoming. It was mostly a "Hi, how are you?" rhetorical question as opposed to really being interested in getting to know me. Most churches have Sunday School or small group options on Sunday morning. Center Point has what they call Connect groups, and you were offered these as a way to get in touch with people.

I advocate being involved with church more than once a week. I have never wanted to be a Sunday Christian. It's important that you serve as well, either at church or some other opportunity in the community. The reality is that most people are very busy with their family's activities during the week.

With that in mind, I think it is essential that a church fosters fellowship relationships during the Sunday service. At Center Point, I never felt like anyone's conversation with me went anything farther than a surface connection. I attended church several times and never felt like anyone was interested in getting to know me.

I thought when I started attending this church that it was a nondenominational church. Boy, was I wrong! I stayed after the Sunday morning service for their Intro to Center Point session. The three men on the pastoral staff led the session and talked about the history of the church, how the senior pastor chose Lexington as the location for his church plant. Personally, I think we have quite enough churches as it is!

Then came the bomb. They're part of the Southern Baptist convention. Yes, that convention. Where women are not welcome as leaders in ministry. Where divorce is not tolerated. Where homosexuality is decried as the worst sin.

I'm not one to jump to conclusions, though. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and did not ask about women in ministry in the open session. Instead, I emailed the pastor. I received a very nice, very prompt reply telling me that the church adheres to the scripture in 1 Timothy. In short, while women are welcome in leadership positions in the church, they are not welcome in pastorate positions. That was the last time I attended a service at Center Point

In essence, Center Point was not for me. I am too much of a feminist to feel comfortable attending a church where women were not treated equally. I felt a little bit like they were Baptist on the down low. They were definitely not open and honest about their Baptist doctrine. I ended up with the feeling that I was lied to the whole time I was attending.

I was actually attending with a friend at the time, and I believe my friend still attends the church. I know that my experience isn't the only one. It's just mine. I would love to hear from other people who have attended the church and might have had a different experience.

I'm a slacker!

So, I didn't go to church yesterday. School starts this week, and I wanted to sleep in as many days as possible. I am NOT a morning person, and that's something that definitely hinders my churchgoing.

I'm going to post about a church that I attended when I first moved back to Lexington last fall some time tomorrow. Stay tuned for more churchsurfing!

Crossroads Christian Church

I was blown away by my first church visit! I think I may have found my new church home. Lucky for my readers, they have a Saturday night service that I plan to start attending. I'm having too much fun churchsurfing already to stop.

Let me tell you about my trip to Crossroads in an objective way. I'll try, anyway. I really have a lot of good things to say.

First, I have to say that it is a million times easier to go to church when you have someone to go with you. It's intimidating to go by yourself. You never know who is going to talk to you(or not talk to you). I was greeted by a lovely local lady and accompanied by another lovely local lady(both of whom shall not be named because of privacy issues). I feel like I got to cheat a little this time because I got my questions about the church answered. Most times, I would have to attend quite a bit longer to get the inside information that I got this morning.

Crossroads is a spectacularly child-friendly church. They have child care/Sunday School classes for children from newborns all the way up to high school. The middle school and high school programs are only during the 11:15 service in order to have the largest group in attendance.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how they reach out to the singles in the congregation. That's a big concern for me, being a single woman looking for a church. I love families and children, but I certainly don't want to be overwhelmed by them.

Attire is anything goes! I daresay they wouldn't even look at you askance if you showed up in your pajamas. Not that I'm going to, but just in case I was ever late for church... There were a lot of jeans, and the lead guitarist even wore flip-flops. Instead of pews, there are chairs.

The music was upbeat, and the church has a full band--drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, and keyboardist. They also had vocalists, one of whom kind of looked like an aging hippie. Definitely my kind of people! None of the songs were any I knew until it came to communion time. Then, they took a traditional hymn and changed it so that it sounded like contemporary praise and worship song.

One thing that I prefer at the churches I attend is that they have communion every week. This is a personal preference, and I think it has a lot to do with the denomination I grew up in. If you learn that it's best to do it only at certain points during the year, that's probably going to be your preference. I think I'll probably write a post later on about communion and what it means to me, so I won't go into that now.

Something that really impressed me was that I was told that there is a very active group of parents of children with disabilities at the church. The children are integrated into the class that best meets their needs. I don't think that other churches are necessarily unfriendly to the needs of children with disabilities, but more somewhat ignorant of their needs.

The sermon was about taking a risk. To my surprise, one of the church's female ministers got up to give the message. I'll say that it's no fault of the church's. I'd had a conversation with a friend the night before about characteristics of Christian churches. Among those was that they don't allow women in leadership in ministry. I was thrilled to find that I was wrong. I was raised by a feminist, and I consider myself a feminist as well. Any church that doesn't let women take leadership in ministry doesn't fly with me. My friend who attends the church told me that she gives the message at least once per sermon series.

I really enjoyed the sermon. The speaker brought the scripture to life. That's awesome for me because I feel like I've heard them all so many times that I could tell them myself, in my sleep. She spoke about the time when Jesus washes the disciples' feet. She described it in such a vivid way. The disciples arrive, and there's no one to wash their feet. On those reclining benches they ate on during Biblical times, your feet would end up in someone else's face. Yet none of the disciples themselves offered to wash one another's feet. I can't do it justice, so if you'd really like to know what she said, go here and read the transcript.

Obviously, I really enjoyed myself and I have plans to go back! If you have questions about anything I didn't mention, please feel free to ask! And if you're looking for a church, certainly check out Crossroads Christian at either its Lexington or Georgetown campuses!

A New Beginning

I'm going to church in the morning for the first time in nearly a year. Intellectually, I'm excited about it. I'm excited about blogging about it and telling people what I thought. I'm looking forward to thinking about religion/theology again.

Emotionally, I'm not very excited at all. I feel like I've forgotten how to dress for church, how I should act at church, and even the rituals. Of course, every different church has its own rituals. I really enjoy figuring out what the quirks of each particular church are, and I'm sure that the words will come back to me quickly enough. I don't feel the passion for church any more. I think that is really what I'm searching for.

I feel like I am going about this totally differently than I ever have before. In the past, I've always been hunting for a church home. I am now, but I don't expect to find one. I feel like I will never find a church that measures up to my last church. I'm not ruling it out, but I wonder where a place is for me in a very conservative geographical area. Where do the liberals go to church? Do they go to church at all? I don't know where to find them. That really is a question that those who churchsurf face: Where can I find the people like me?

What happens when liberal and conservative collide?

Short answer: You get me!

Long answer:
I grew up in a liberal household. My parents are "recovering" hippies. 'Nuff said. I lived in a very conservative town on the fringes of the Bible Belt. I had very different messages from my parents than the people I lived around and went to school with. How do you choose which point of view to follow?

In the beginning, I went with my peers. I followed friends to church. I went to every church in town's summer Vacation Bible School. That might have had more to do with my parents wanting me out of the house in the summer! I grew up in a tiny town(two stoplights--you'll miss it if you blink driving through!), and if you wanted friends your age, you went to church. In my case, I ended up at a local Disciples of Christ church. My family followed since my parents likewise wanted friends and the pastor and his wife were about the same age as my mom and dad.

Fast forward through living at a Methodist dorm in college and attending Southern Baptist services during college. In 2001, I was fortunate enough to be sponsored for a trip to the most fantastic religious community in France, Taize. Please, please go check it out. Link is here.

In Taize, I rediscovered the roots of my faith. I reveled in the simplicity of the services, the music, the way of life, the silence. It was a revolutionary experience. No church service will ever be the same for me again. It was at the same time both highly conservative and highly liberal.

Then I moved to Los Angeles. Talk about challenging your beliefs. You can only say that you hate the sin and love the sinner so many times before it becomes lip service. I love my friends. I am an unfailingly loyal friend. If you treat me well, I will bend over backwards to help you. I will loan you money, babysit for your kids, spend a week with you while your husband is out of town, do your grocery shopping, house-sit, whatever you ask without asking for or expecting any compensation. I do it for the pleasure of making your life easier and putting a smile on your face. Even if you don't treat me well, it takes a long time for me to get upset enough that I won't spend time with you any more.

So, there I was, a liberal. A liberal who goes to church. I found my church home at the amazing, wonderful, not enough explicatives to describe how great it was, Pasadena Christian Church. The pastor was great, and his family was vegetarian. I didn't have to "break people in" to get them to be vegetarian friendly. There were all types of people at the church, and they went all-out for high holy holidays. Not in a typical way, however. I learned about Labyrinth walks from them, and I think they're a great spiritual tool. I was very sad to leave them when I moved away, and can't imagine ever finding a church that feels as much like home as PCC did.

Now, I am back home to the conservative Bible Belt. I am way too liberal. People aren't sure what to make sure of tattooed, pierced, hippie me. If you meet me, say hello. I promise I'm really super nice. I haven't bitten anyone outside my family in a few years. I'm also on a journey to find a church where I feel at home, a church that embraces the conservative and the liberal in me. I hope you enjoy sharing in that journey.

What is Churchsurfing?

You might be wondering what churchsurfing is. Actually, I would be quite surprised if you did know what it is!

Churchsurfing is a term that one of my friends coined to describe what you do when you go hunting for a new church. You try out a church, feel out their specific doctrine, listen to their music, get to know the people, get an idea of what the church culture is like.

I live in a middle-sized city in Kentucky. I lived in Los Angeles for six years, so L.A. thoughts, attitudes, and moral standards crept into my way of thinking. The result is a liberal person in the fringes of the Bible belt. It makes it hard to find a church that suits me and vice versa.

I'm on a journey through the city, church by church. I'm determined to try out every church in the city, week by week. Hopefully by the end of it, I will have found a church that I can call home. Agree or disagree, I'm just one person. Let me know if you'd like me to visit your church!