First Sunday as a Visitor

I am reactivating my blog as a travelogue/journal during this Sabbath Year. Today was my first day in fourteen years that I have not been the pastor of a church. Since we only have one Sunday at home before leaving on this trek, I decided to visit a church whose pastor had spoken at the Alive! service at my church. This is a lay led service for which I only attended over the three years I was connected to this church. This church also has one of the worship leaders from the Alive! service as a worship leader for their Sunday am service. Please note, these are my observations and feelings and in no way are a criticism of anyone mentioned or of the denomination of the church I attended. My first impression upon arriving was that I was way over dressed. Mind you, I was wearing a casual dress, but a real dress. Most in attendance were dressed in pants and shorts and a lot of denim was noted. The pastor was wearing a polo shirt and well worn jeans. The woman (in my church would be called a lay leader) was wearing a cotton sun dress. As the prelude played, twice we were exhorted to stand and sing a patriotic song in commemoration of the July 4th weekend. Announcements were made, including a followup to the VBS that had occurred previously. There was much excitement about the 36 children who attended the three day event and the obstacles that were overcome (ie, there was not water two of the three days and no stove one day for the hot lunches that were served), but Satan did not overcome. Being used to a "Basic Order of Worship" an not having an outline (there was a bulletin and three inserts, but these were all informational and not about the morning service), I didn't know where the service was headed. After the prelude, there was a scripture reading from Psalm followed by the announcements. Then there was the offering, followed by a time of singing with the praise band. After this, it was time for communion. There was no communion liturgy or naming of the elements. We were reminded that Jesus died for us, that all are welcome who accept that Jesus died for them. At this time, everyone received the bread so that we could receive together after a prayer of thanksgiving. Then we all received (grape kool-aid to my taste buds) to consume after another prayer. I remember one of the churches I belonged to also served communion in the pews in this way. My daughter was about seven at the time and she would always laugh at the way I partook of the bread. Well, she would have died today! Even though I half expected it, I did nothing to stop the bread from becoming glued to the roof of my mouth. I spend the intervening time between the bread and the juice trying to muster up enough saliva to loosen the bread and to chew and swallow it without choking. After an announcement regarding a church member and a time of greeting (which I thought might have been the end!), the pastor noted that it was time for the message and he only had ten minutes left in his hour and it was not long enough! We then turned to 1 Peter 5 for the word. I should mention, the pastor grew up in this church and had only been in the pulpit about a year or just over. His message was filled with familial references. The lay leader was his aunt. His secretary was his mom. The ppt operator today was not his dad, who normally did it. His grandmother was in attendance. As he unfolded his sermon from 1 Peter, he made reference to "elders" not being the "old people", but those who are mature in their faith. He noted he was third youngest (the other two being contemporaries who were only months apart) person in attendance, yet he had been called to "shepherd" the flock in the way of the "great shepherd". The pastor did a wonderful job tying his life to the scripture unlike some independent pastors who tell story after story and never really get to the scripture. Today we heard what Peter was teaching and what that looked like in the life of this church and their pastor. The people were exhorted to humility in claiming that they were doing God's will and the work God had laid out for them. Without an actual altar call, you felt that you had been called out to begin to do the work God had laid out for you, to claim the title of elder in some aspect of your life. The prayer following the message became the benediction and the service was over. I have many Sundays to explore a wide variety of worship styles and denominations (this one was 1st Baptist) over the next year, but I won't rule out a return visit to this particular church. Blessings all.