Church Shopping

While my spiritual status is an affair exclusively between myself and my Savior, I did feel that some update upon it for those who care was due, when I made a faith decision to seek membership in the Seventh-day Adventist church.  I elsewhere did write about that, and posted it to my facebook profile page, but this slightly expanded form is for continuing to elaborate on my faith journey.

As most know, when I was barred from attending the LDS church, I was not going to let that have me forever denied the solace of a church.  (Being barred is too long a story for here, great people, insufferably "infallible" Bishop, enough said.)

I looked at a variety of other Mormon churches, it's surprising how many there are.  But the largest one was very, very far left, with homosexuality no longer a sin and such.  I attended long enough to have been invited to give a sermon.  And long enough to know that this was not for me, nor where I felt Christ wanted me to be.

On the other extreme were the far right Mormon churches, much smaller, openly racist and proudly polygamous.  Not my cup of tea. To say the least.  Oddly, even yet there, one could find one or two good people.  But gravely misinformed as to the truth.

I tried the Methodists, since I'd been raised Methodist.  But either I didn't pay much attention as a kid, or they've sure changed a lot since I was a kid, because they're all liberal now.  Way liberal.  Like Unitarian level liberal.

I don't mean "politically liberal", though I guess that's in there, too.  I mean "theologically liberal", like homosexuality is not really a sin (that seems a popular error nowadays), Jesus was more just a good man with some great ideas who didn't necessarily do miracles, and "God" is really more an idea of "love" that we each carry inside of us.

Hmm.  Glad that works for them...kind of, sort of, well, okay, I'm not glad that works for them, that seemed pretty far off the beaten track, not only for what Christ had said, but what their own founder John Wesley had said.

Nice people, but I needed a church, not a social club!

Next up, the Catholics.  Given that my wife Katie is Catholic, or well, at least raised Catholic.  You know Catholics, they're Catholic whether they attend or not, so for a bit we attended church there, and I even took a few RCIA classes which is like how you get to join eventually if you want to.

Some of it - like with Methodism - was cool enough.  I mean, almost all churches have some truth.  Certainly the History and Majesty and Traditions were somewhat impressive.  How often do you come in contact with a millennia old institution?

I could see it's appeal for some.

But I was raised Protestant, and having just had a bad experience with some group of infallible divinely called men who could do no wrong was understandably a bit reticent about Popes and Papal Bulls and Ex Cathedra and such.

And the whole "intercessor" thing, where instead of "Me - Savior - God" it was to be "Me - Priest - Pope - Mother Mary - Savior - God" seemed like adding some needless bureaucratic layers to my salvation!

Another odd thing about the Catholics was that they didn't care whether you joined or not.  I guess that comes from having over a billion members.  Not once in a couple of months did anyone care to introduce themselves, nor were there any invites to any church activities.

I tried the Baptists for a bit.  Protestant, more Bible believing, etc.  But goodness, while filled with good people like the others, a bit shallow in theological depth.  Hearts in the right place, yes, they knew that sin was sin, and that Jesus was the Son of a real existing God, but it felt like I was trying to high dive in a kiddie pool.

And I need a bit more than just "Ahh buh-leeve", I like learning of Heavenly Father's plan and why this and how that.  I hold that acceptance of Christ's atonement is the first step, not the last step, to salvation.

Services were little more than singing a lot of songs with many in the congregation waving their hands above their heads and a message that was a lot more about some recent schism they had had than anything on point.  Ahh, the joy of charisma based Non-Denominationalism, what can one say?

Well, nothing good as far as I'm concerned.

Next up, and I now know last up, the Seventh Day Adventists.  I had met some of these people in my youth, when I was travelling around the nation by hitchhiking and freight training.  I had always remembered them as good and sincere people.  Stories of my meets with them are in First Impressions, Second Impressions and Third Impressions on this very blog!

Three different times in my youthful travels I had been helped greatly by a Christian, and each time they were Adventist.

So why not try them?

I did, and finally, after too much church shopping for my taste - and you know what C.S. Lewis said about church shopping* - it clicked.  I honestly am amazed that I did not think to come to them sooner, but perhaps the adversary had a hand in that, for I'm sure he does not wish me to feel that I'm "home".

And in Adventism, I know I'm home.

Theologically conservative, in that they believe in the Bible and that God's will does not change.  More than a social club, they're there to learn and learn more.  And then learn some more!  And they have the truth.  Oh, not all of it, I've come to realize that no church led by fallible sinning men has that, but a darn lot of it all the same.

(And in my heart of hearts, I always wondered, even as a kid, why services weren't on a Saturday like it said in the commandments!)

As a denomination, they number around 20 million worldwide, and have extensive charity and outreach programs.  More so than many churches, including those who like to brag on it.  Their services have real sermons, and are filled with spiritual points to ponder.

And the people are good people.  Welcoming, knowledgeable, and fun.  I'm truly happy to have found - or "re-found" - this church.

So.  A long time coming, and after an awful lot of church shopping on and offline.  Feels like - and is - almost a year now since I had what I could think of as a “church home”.  But I think my persistent trying has paid off!

I am home!

*As to church shopping, C.S. Lewis said NOT to!  See "The Screwtape Letters, #16, "Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.... the search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil." This advice was demonic, and meant to have the man spoke of lose salvation.  I take this to heart, but fortunately C.S. Lewis more meant this for when a person is “shopping” among churches of the same denomination.