Church Hopping

One of the benefits for a pastor who's taking a few weeks off is that he can visit some other churches and worship with them. I did that yesterday and really enjoyed seeing how God is at work in other places --- even though I really missed being at Capstone!

The funniest part of the experience was walking into the two churches and seeing the facial reaction from the pastors. Both saw me as soon as I walked in and the look on their faces said, "What is he doing here?" Pastors RARELY visit other churches because of the whole working-on-Sunday-morning thing. Their shock was priceless. One even asked if I had gotten myself fired!

My first stop was Hope Fellowship. Mark Gasque is pastor and Jeff Brannon is worship pastor. Mark and I are connected because we bought his house when we moved to Anderson eight years ago. I know Jeff better. We have mutual friends and have hung out at lunch. Both are great guys.

Hope meets at 9:30 am in a former retail space between Books-A-Million and Circuit City. They've done a great job converting an old store into "church space." Everything looks top notch. The sound was great. Jeff is an excellent vocalist and leader and the band was tight. A young man on guitar shared vocals with Jeff and he had an excellent voice as well. They had a guest preacher. I slipped out before the service was over so I could get to my next destination.

The crowd was small but friendly. I was reminded of something us churches do that I had forgotten about. Those times when we "turn and welcome someone to the church" can be really uncomfortable for visitors if it lasts too long. I found myself standing alone with only a few people reaching out to me. Everyone else spent time greeting those they knew. This is understandable (it happens at Capstone) but awkward for the guest who really wants to just be a part of the service and not become too obvious. A good reminder.

My second stop was at Redeemer Church whose service begins at 10:30 am. Redeemer is a new Presbyterian church that meets in the old Ramada Inn. Patrick Miller is the pastor. Patrick and I met at Panera a few years ago and have talked a few times since then. I like what I've seen of Patrick and felt the Lord leading me to worship there.

The service Patrick and his team put together was for me (and others, I'm sure). Their service included a lot of Scripture, a time of personal confession and repentance, reflection, and prayer. Patrick did a great job teaching the Word. And the service concluded with Communion.

What touched me the most was how the service began. Patrick read (as it was projected on the walls) some Scripture about repentance and confession. Then, he invited us (if we were willing and physically able) to kneel before the Lord in humility and reverence as we allowed God to search our hearts. This simple act of personal reflection and honoring God by kneeling and praying helped me to prepare my heart for worship. Just a few moments of confessing all my struggles and anxieties and asking God to speak to me during the service had a HUGE impact on my personal worship. I felt more open and in tune with God and ready to hear from Him. And God really spoke to me through the songs, the Scripture and the sermon.

From the moment the service began, there was a sense of honor and reverence towards our amazing God. The set-up was simple. (Reminded me of Capstone's beginning days at the LaQuinta Inn.) The songs were a mix of current and traditional. There were kids in the room squirming and people going in and out. But throughout everything that was said and sung, God was exalted. It was all about Him. We even sang, "How Great Is Our God" along with "A Mighty Fortress." What a great combo!

I left there feeling personally stronger and more ready to handle the challenges of my life because our focus had been on the greatness of God. Understand: I knew God was great going in. But spending 90 minutes truly focused there had a great impact on me. And it all began with that time of confession and reflection.

That's something I don't do enough personally and it's something we do not do enough corporately as well. I'm looking forward to adding that in our Capstone services in the future.

One of my goals during this time off from Capstone is my personal spiritual nourishment. I got fed yesterday at two different churches and I thank God for them both. It's great to see God at work through new churches in our community.

Thanks for continuing to pray for me and my family. Those prayers continue to be greatly needed.