Anyway, it felt kind of strange to have to tell him that I was still attending the same church that I'd written about in that post. I've been biding time there, that's all. But there's this couple that we bring to church often, and they've been as baffled by the changes going on there as we have. This week they asked if we could go to Missio Dei instead.
I'm really glad they did.
Oh, we'd been there a few times, and I liked it (I'll tell you why in a moment) but my wife wasn't so sure.
At the end of yesterday's service, all four of us felt pretty darn sure.
Speaking for myself, it felt good to sing worship songs that were not about a mythic me loving God with all my heart forever and ever because I've totally surrendered, etc. Instead, the lyrics described the human condition realistically, and therefore emphasized our need for God, because our hearts are an undependable wreckage; God is the one of whom to use terms like "forever" and "totally." Ourselves, definitely not. And it's no small point. From faulty premises are derived faulty conclusions.
The message (on Genesis 13) started from the same understanding of the human situation. The preacher preached the Gospel, hard. I'm telling you, it was clear that he was tracking toward Jesus right from the start. The human predicament, self-will leading us to mess things up again and again, but the grace of God in Christ being bigger than all my sin. The Gospel!
After church we took a walk, the four of us, and talked about it all. We had all, each one of us, been shaken. It was good.
So I dunno, maybe this is going to be our church now.
The adventure continues.
8 comments:
Sounds promising Bob! I hope this works out for all of you.
I have to admit to fighting a little jealousy though. We took the big step and left our church of 17 years about 2 months ago. Right now we are just doing our own thing but have hopes of finding a Jesus-centered community like you describe.
Man, it's not easy. I don't really like the idea of bopping around from church to church until I find something, so for me it's just been a kind of unhappy waiting. I think there are an awful lot of people out there in the same boat, and I wonder that the churches seem to not want to learn anything from them at all. They just make the assumption that the unhappy ones are flesh-indulging entertainment seekers, etc. I pray that you and your family find a Gospel-centered community to settle down in for a long stay.
whatev
just keep listening
I checked out the website.
I'm curious about this statement-
"Well, I am a little biased here, but yea, I think so." an answer given on whether the Bible is trustworthy and relevant. 'I think so'????? I"m just sayin.....
Lois
Yeah, that was silly, I agree. I also think Angel's being a little ironic there (not something you commonly find on church website Q&As). Nevertheless, I can assure you after attending 4 or 5 times over the past couple of months that Angel's preaching indicates he believes the bible is VERY trustworthy and relevant.
BTW, Lois, Missio Dei is the church that Bob Frederich regularly attends. That ought to tell you something!
Wow. Cool.
I looked at the website for the first time. How bout that lighthouse analogy? http://www.mdchurch.org/faq/missio-dei/
Yeah, they get some things there that a lot of folks don't.
Nate
Ok Bob but if they start lighting candles and pointing the 'road back to Rome' I suggest you beat feet.
Yeah I saw Bob's name. Cool. He's a great guy. Is his wife still living?
Lois
She passed away about a year ago I guess. Bob preaches at Missio Dei every fifth week.
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