Why I chose my church and other musings

I have a friend who asked me why I go to church where I do? Well, that's a good question. For the past 8 years or so we have darkened the door of Fellowship Community Church, an E-free church. I come from a Southern Baptist and Catholic background which is a story in and of itself. Needless to say it has colored me a bit. So how did I end up at an E-free church and what the heck is an E-free church? For the latter part of the question you can find that answer here.

Let me get this out of the way, I am not into denominations. To me it is the biggest problem with the American Church. We've become splintered and many denominations have chosen to embrace the world instead of The Word. 

To be honest with you, it was not the 'beliefs' of the EFCA or the denomination that made me choose FCC as my church, it was how artists were treated. I felt valued and needed and for the first time in my life my gift was being used for God. I felt grace from the people in the Worship Arts Ministry. I was accepted. They didn't shove things down my throat and live legalistically. I was not judged. They were about experience and authenticity and acted more as a non-denominational church even though they were rooted in the EFCA. That's why I chose this church.

However, we are at a crossroads right now and my wife and I are visiting a new church called South Link. Though I am still heavily involved at FCC, I believe we will start moving towards South Link. Why? It's a younger church with a youthful appeal. I believe to make an impact you need to stay fresh and change with the times to reach people. Things that have tweaked me about FCC seem to be a non-issue. 

More importantly, SL seems to be about reaching out into the community and taking Jesus out there to the masses. It was something that used to happen at FCC but is sadly not happening anymore. Right now we hear a ton about being missional but everyone at FCC has a differing opinion about what  that is. To me it seems like we are more concerned about being an oasis from the world instead of being an oasis to the world.

NO CHURCH IS PERFECT. Only Christ is perfect. I understand this and grasp it knowing that someday I may find myself in the same situation with what ever church I am at.

My wife and I are seeking relevance, authenticity, and transparency in our church, its leadership, and the people that attend there. I am no longer seeing this at FCC.

I do not pretend to understand what God is doing at FCC and I do not presume to know His intent. All I can tell you is that for now we believe we need to find a home where we are fed and yoked with people closer to our age and younger. We are going to continue at FCC as we are needed but will continue to check out South Link. I am pretty happy so far with what I see at SL and feel led by the Lord to be there, and hopefully I can plug in with their music program at some point as long as that is the will of God. 

The long and short answer to the question I was asked is simple. I want to be fed and see relevance of The Word, knowing the The Word is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. I also want transparency from the pulpit. I don't want to hear Christianese from the pulpit and see fake, pretentiousness, and hypocrisy. I want to know that my pastor is human, that he farts, has bad breath, struggles with shortcomings including sin, and that he is not afraid to admit that he does not have all the answers. With that transparency comes authenticity and that is all I want. That and to be used.

And so now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Creatively, T