Church Observations

Please let me preface this blog by saying that I hope to not offend by the following thoughts, but I felt compelled to capture this and hopefully let my readers see things from a different perspective than they may be used to.

Girls and boys, I want to talk about church in today's blog. I've recently returned to attending church after a long hiatus. I was raised in church, and stayed in church until I moved out of my parents’ home as a teenager. I left church for many reasons, and don't so much feel like getting into that stuff today, but I do want to review a few of the observations since I've returned.

People love to talk about the good stuff. I often hear testimonies about miracles that God has done through healing, returning good medical test results, and making bad situations better. I think we should all realize that God isn't a genie granting wishes. You should still testify and believe even when that sickness lingers and when the test results that come back are discouraging. When that kid of yours is still out living the wild life and isn't listening to your direction as a parent, you should still be willing to testify that even though things are rough, you still believe there is hope. If we all focus of the good stuff, when bad stuff comes along (and it definitely will), we won't know what to do. Life sucks sometimes. That's the reality. To me, the true test of a Christian is how they handle the bad stuff.

Everyone's not happy. I cringe when people want to voice how great their life is in church. I think we should all realize that we have people in our church going through some really hard times. We should all be sensitive to the trials that our members and visitors are facing. Of course, everyone will clap when you want to praise your life and the blissfulness that you feel, because we're genuinely happy for you, but it's also easy to get down on your own situation when it looks like everyone around you is living a perfect life and having such an easy time with things. For example...I'm happy that your son was accepted to Yale. However, the lady next to me has a kid that just dropped out of high school. I am happy that your marriage is fantastic and your husband is your hero. However, me and the guy in the pew in front of me are both going through nasty divorces. I'm happy to hear that you got the biggest promotion of your career, but the gentleman 3 rows over is struggling to find a job to feed his kids and provide medical insurance for his family. I'm not saying that we should never speak of good things, but we should all be cognizant that people around us are hurting.

Sometimes the best presenters aren't professionals. I love nothing more than to see a person who doesn't claim to be a "singer" get up and belt out a tune that is coming from their heart, even though they may hit a sour note from time to time. Some of my best memories of singers at church include Bill Nichols and Peg Burden getting up and singing the Lighthouse song a cappella. I can see clearly the vision of Peg with that gorgeous, beaming smile (even as she sang) with Bill looking up as if to sing directly to God. They meant every word that came out of their mouths, and everyone in the building could feel it. Whew, I get goose bumps just recalling that memory. I love when Leigh Ann King testifies. She isn't boastful, and is very nervous, but every word that she says comes from her heart, and you can tell that if she didn't get up and speak, she would just explode. I can remember testimonies that my own grandfather, Lawrence Haymaker, would deliver. Even as a kid, I recognized that he wasn't a man of many words, so when he stood in church to say something, a hush would fall over the crowd to hear what this quiet man had to say. His words were impactful and again, heartfelt. These are the memories that made an impression on me.

I miss those days. Our church had a very humble beginning in a machine shop. We would get there early to roll out the carpet that covered the oil stained, concrete floor and setup folding chairs in rows. And likewise, at the end of each service we would all fold up the chairs and roll up the carpet so that the next morning, the machine shop could resume business as usual. What happened between those two events can never be recreated. The few members in the early days are still considered as the prayer warriors of the new church. As the church grows and the fancy buildings are constructed, we shouldn't ever lose sight of the original vision. Truth, Sincerity, Belief, Values, Honesty, Caring, Encouragement, Strength...these are the key words that I learned which served as my life lessons during the early days of the church. I am very blessed to have been raised up in that environment and having made the lasting relationships with church folk that feel more like family to me. I miss those days.