thank you for tuning into the my weekly church synopsis
yesterday i tried out two churches. yes, i know. it is ridiculous. i went to evergreen in the morning and imago dei in the evening. both are emerging communities, which i loved. they both were great.
i'm not big on church hopping. i'm of the conviction that you need to find a church you feel comfortable with and stop trying to find something that will meet your every need...because that is not what the church is there for.
but at the same time, i want to find a place that i can call home....which takes trying out different places to see what is a good fit.
both seemed to have community at their focus and both seemed to have a diverse age group...two things that are very important to me...i don't decide on a church based on the pastor or the worship. sure both are important, but they don't make up the entire community.
evergreen
met at lucky lab pub
was about a group of 60 or so
had great acoustic music....they played in-between parts of the sermon (the sermon seemed to last the whole 1:30 with music at different parts...hmmm)
the sermon was more of a discussion...i liked that there was so much audience participation throughout
the people i met were very welcoming
imago dei
met in an old church and are looking for another place
they have three services and each one has at least 200-300 people...if not more. that is a little big for me, but it seems like there are plenty of ways to find community in "connection groups" or "home communities"
i didn't get to meet too many people, but the people i met were great
had a violin with their band (wahoo!)
sang some old hymnes mixed in with their other songs, which was absolutely wonderful
the service isn't everything...so, i don't like to judge the church based on their weekly meeting...but i do think it is a window into what the church is about and what they care about.
i saw that imago dei, even though it is huge, allows things to rise up from people in the community. (if someone has a heart for something, they can start it.) things don't start by the pastor deciding what would be "best" for the church.
i saw at evergreen that they don't pressure their community to volunteer for things..."if people volunteer, then we have a children's ministry, if they don't, then we won't." it seems to allow the community to take ownership.
going to imago last night was really good for me.
my soul needed it. it was good to hear the violin as i sang a hymn that always brings tears to my eyes. it was good to hear from an artist. it was good to hear about being filled with God's love. it was good hearing the music unique to this community.
i think that imago dei is a good fit for us...but we'll see. i think i'll go to a few things and see what i think.
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8 comments:
"...i'm of the conviction that you need to find a church you feel comfortable with and stop trying to find something that will meet your every need...because that is not what the church is there for."
Well said Kobie. Those are words we all need to hear. Man I love hymns. I feel like I was robbed of them in my "modern" church upbringing. Hymns seem to touch something that all this contemporary P&W just can't touch. In the matter I fact, I've been really "worship music-d out" recently. It just sounds like noise to me for some reason.
It's funny, I've got 3 GB (~650 songs) of worship music on my iPod, and I never listen to any of it. The only stuff that I listen to again & again is hymns and Robbie Seay Band. Whenever you get a chance Kobie check out www.igracemusic.com. Their a group of musicians in Nashville that are taking lyrics to hymns and putting them to new music. The next time you've got $15 for a CD, get their 3rd release "For All The Saints." It sounds like it would really connect with you like it did with me. Take care.
I am so jealous of both churches to have you and travis considering being part of the community.
before i even read duke's comment i was feeling "jealous" too. i miss you so much kobie! why do i feel like i've been dumped? tee hee. but seriously, i hope all is well and that you don't totally move on from us. but that's just me being selfish too. and our selfish pastor. just joshin'. hope to hear from you soon.
and oh i'm adding you as the "portland pixie" under my blog links, what do you think? i'm open to suggestions.
rachel lyles
Kobie Kobie Kobie. Soooo glad that you are blogging...I love to read your writing. How wonderful to have this medium to share life....one of these days I will publish one mysef :O)
Doug moved your red couch and put this enormous and hideous bright green sectional in it's place....I think the vicodin is having a negative impact on his church/couch asthetic :O) Anhoo..some would say that you and Travis's is now more prominently placed up on the stage. Wherever it is, I will think of you both when I sit there!
Wishing you well today!
Laura Smith
i miss all of you at the porch so much. i feel like i have taken part of you with me...and am so glad that i can still feel connected through blogging. (i could never totally move on from you guys!)
that's so cool! we're blog surging at the same time. have a beautiful beautiful day.
hey kobie- thanks for visiting with evergreen on sunday... I hope you'll hang around with the community for a little bit and see if it might be home. Imago is a great place, don't get me wrong... but we want you more :) trust me when I say that!
Anyway- sorry we didn't get to chat on Sunday! If you come again, hang around for lunch after if you can.
(PS- I found your blog because Doug told me about it... he and shelly put me up for the night last night at this convention we're at)
thanks, bob! i hope travis and i can meet you soon. have a great time at the conference!
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