Today's Sermon and Our First Church Visit

When I decided I wanted to find a church to attend, Bryan and I talked about our upbringings and the theologies of various churches in our immediate area.

Of those churches immediately around us, there's a Baptist church, several community-type churches, an Episcopal Church, a Catholic Church, a Church of Christ and a whole slew of Methodists.

We went down the list.

Neither one of us wanted to attend a Baptist church--no offense to any Baptists intended.

It's simply that the theology of most Baptist churches is a bit more black and white than either of us are comfortable with.

The community-type churches are neat and have some really cool start-up stories.

That said, the one closest to our house is a pretty big church, and we were hoping for something smaller.

And honestly, there are several churches closer, and we wanted to check those out first.

As for the Episcopalians and the Catholics--well, they're pretty much the same, minus the Pope-centered authority found in Catholicism.

We don't ascribe to several theological aspects found in both--so those were out.

Bryan grew up Church of Christ and, due to some negative experiences, really didn't want to go back.

I was fine with that as there are some attitudes and theologies that I've observed in the Churches of Christ that I attend with which I don't really agree.

Plus, I'd miss the instrumental music ;-).

Which left us with several Methodist Churches to choose from.

I grew up Methodist and have always enjoyed the laid-back, open-to-discussion atmosphere.

Bryan and I discussed it, and we agreed that the Methodist theology and attitude is the most in line with our current beliefs.

Today we went to the closest one--which is literally 2 stop signs down the road!

We left our house at 9:33 and sat down in the sanctuary at 9: 38 to attend the Blended Worship Service.

The whole experience was wonderful!

We were greeted by a few folks as we walked in, but not in a greeter-hiding-behind-the-door-waiting-to-jump-out-and-shake-your-hand-off manner.

It was just pleasant smiles and good-mornings.

The pastor was very friendly--he came around and shook are hands.

Oh, and he's an Aggie to boot!  Whoop!

The combination of traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs to the music of a piano and clarinet was very enjoyable and not at all distracting.

People were dressed in everything from nice dresses to blue jeans and nice tops--the whole atmosphere was very chill, as well as being one of community, happiness and worship.

There was a baby dedication--I loved the format!  A dedication is what Bryan and I want to do for our kiddo as opposed to an infant baptism, which we don't believe in.

The message was a good one--love others.

It was delivered in a sharing format, instead of a traditional sermon.

The church is currently doing a series that highlights their core theological points--Love God, Love Others, Serve the World.

As the pastor said, when you get religion out of the way, it's really very simple.

I couldn't agree more.

We're going to continue visiting for a while before we make the decision whether or not to join.

We want to hear the pastor actually give a sermon as well as get a long-term feel for the congregation and for the church itself.

That said, I think this might be the place--the theology, the atmosphere, the people...it felt like a fit.

Anyway, I'm very excited about going back next week!

Hope everyone else has had a wonderful weekend!