Church searching...

As many of you know, after being an active member for 10 years, I stopped attending Church of the Highlands early last Fall for many reasons which I might address later. Or not. We'll see how this blog goes and whether or not I feel spirit-led to share. Few people already know. But upfront, let me state this:  It is not my intention to discourage or dishearten any of my current friends who currently attend. Nor do I want to encourage anyone who may happen to be reading not to attend. Pray and let the Lord lead you.  I will always treasure how much I was able to learn and grow at Church of the Highlands. But now the Lord has apparently closed that door and is trying to steer me elsewhere.

At first I needed a little time to decompress. I needed it to be just me and the Lord for awhile. To get out of the habits and formats that were COTH and be ready to receive something new and not be constantly comparing the two.

I've been having dreams lately, however, that tell me it's time to get back in--to not forsake the gathering as the Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:24-25. I often hear many people, including some that claim to be Christians, state a church is not needed to pray and/or worship. No, it's not. In fact, Christians are told repeatedly and in great detail to let our lives be worship and to pray without ceasing. Obviously, we can't stay inside a church building 24/7. But the Bible also lays out specific reasons we need church and what church is supposed to be:

1) Evangelism--reaching out to non-Christians with the truth of Christ. Now, obviously this can be done without the building and is through outreach and missions. But we need to also refill ourselves with the word brought by one whom God has called to pastor us so that we can effectively bring that word to others.

2) Edification--we need to build each other up by equipping, improving, encouraging and supporting each other. Yes, we could meet in homes as the early Christians did and many small groups still do. But as we grow and reach others and our church family grows, the logistics of doing this gets more difficult. And we cannot overlook that the enemy tries to sneak corruption in and that humans are fallible. I believe that for this reason, we need a neutral place to meet.

3) Worship--we need to gather together and worship God. Again, the building isn't the only place where we can worship but it is something we are to do regularly and together.

4) Social concern--just as Jesus performed miracles that had nothing to do with spreading the gospel such as turning water into wine or healing, we should come together to do something positive to help others.

Of course, why the Lord brought these dreams to me at a time when the world is experiencing a pandemic and church services are canceled or carried out online only proves to me that God has an incredible sense of humor! Nonetheless, I know it's time to find a new church home and I just wanted to share and ask for your prayers.