Stories

How God Brought Me To Church

It all started over Christmas break when I was beginning to read Shane Claiborne’s book “Irresistible Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical.” By the time the break had come around, I had decided that I was dissatisfied with the campus ministry that I had been going to during first semester, and I knew that I was going to be looking for a new place to belong when I returned to school- either a campus ministry, a church, or both. And then I started reading “Irresistible Revolution”, and it prompted a revelation of sorts that clearly defined what I was looking for in a prospective church: a group of people whose sole focus was loving God and people, and doing what Jesus taught.

So I went back to campus knowing what I was looking for, but I didn’t find it right away. I visited one campus ministry that I got all excited about at first - which is my way - but when I stepped back to consider it from all angles, I realized that it would really be a problem to sit during the speaker’s message, while disagreeing with just about every other word, like I did that first meeting.

I visited two other campus ministries after that, but they were both the same as the one I attended first semester and the one I visited: same format [1. what the Western church calls "worship", which is a tragically narrow definition of a word that is supposed to express the whole of a Christ-follower's life; 2. a pretty mediocre message that I often found inapplicable because I had heard the same simple teaching so many times before; and 3. announcements for Bible studies and fellowship gatherings for group members]…same people (cliquish)…same activities (weekly meetings, Bible studies, and scheduled hang-out times for people who already knew each other)…all-in-all, ministries very much focused on meeting the needs of people already involved in the ministry, and evangelism that centered on sharing your testimony to bring people in so that they could conform to the standards of Western Christianity (something that I’m starting to think bears little resemblance to the life Jesus lived). In short, after attending one campus ministry and visiting three more that were very well-meaning but didn’t resemble Jesus as I was beginning to see Him, I was beginning to get frustrated.

[NOTE: Please do not misconstrue this short pseudo-tirade on the condition of this small part of the church as judgmental or bitter...as a part of learning more about who Jesus is, I have come to realize that, in the command to love everyone, "everyone" includes my brothers and sisters in Christ who frustrate me sometimes. I have been able to sense my love for all, both followers and those who do not yet follow, growing stronger. I'm slowly overcoming my frustration as the grace of God works in me, and I want to confess my shortcomings to which I am too often blind, and openly acknowledge the role that all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, from whatever background, have in showing me my weaknesses, and ask for love and patience and grace from them as I learn and grow.]

Enter a sign on a….trash can….(think about that one for a minute) outside the Student Rec Center, reading “Harmony Church: no judgment, no hypocrisy, church as Jesus intended it, Dr. Unk’s Oasis”….and I think “well now! I think I might go just to see if they can back up these claims…especially since it’s in a bar…should be interesting.” But I was also thinking that if Harmony could back up the claims with actions, God had just shown me the place I was supposed to be.

But that divine appointment with a trash can wasn’t enough for God…no, He took me on a joy-ride on the Minges bus to find a place that wasn’t where I thought it was, just so He could put a postcard that Miranda had left in the little bus stop shelter in my hands. The postcard had more info on Harmony, like where Dr. Unk’s was (because I had forgotten the intersection by this point) and just more stuff that completely made up my mind that I was going. This was the end of January, right before Harmony’s first Sunday morning meeting at Dr. Unk’s. So I went, found what I was looking for, and it’s been awesome ever since.

I’ve grown so much from the conversations that we have had about theology, and I have found brothers and sisters in Christ that are very special to me. Truth be told, during this summer, for the first time in my life, there are times when I have wanted to NOT be at home…and those are on Sunday mornings when I’m wishing I could be at Harmony with my family there.

So that’s my story…what’s yours?

Tags: church family, finding Harmony, story