Today's worship experience was, again, not a true "hopping," in that the congregation is not an option for regular worship. I call five hours a bit out of bounds for a commute. Still, worshipping with people I knew brought a few things to mind.
1. The people around you are the evidence of God at work. The challenging with being in group you've never met is you don't have their history -- you wouldn't have known Jessica two-and-a-half kids earlier. You wouldn't remember back to the all the lousy boyfriends she had before she finally agreed to a date with her husband. You wouldn't remember how no one paid any attention to the man who became her husband until the new youth pastor invited him out golfing. You wouldn't know that a third of the people in the congregation thought this church championed abortion and were crazy heathen liberals unless you were the one who, in a way, started the migration over back five years ago.
It made a difference for me in worship to see this history, and to watch as I sang "He Leadeth Me" all the testimonies of that before me. In a hopping status, it will be a disadvantage. How can I have these stories of these congregations related to me?
2. Knowing the pastor makes a difference, too. Knowing the respect the congregation had for this man, and having a personal relationship with him (and his beautiful daughter) gave him ethos in his message. It is possible to meet the pastors at these churches I'm attending.
3. Going to church with people makes a difference, too. Just thinking back, in the service, to all the grace you needed to deal with your co-worshippers even in the past hour makes you feel weaker, and more in awe. It draws you out of your bubble and gives grace hands. To hear the voices around you singing P&W be the same ones that laughed through a movie or complained at supper makes a difference.
Conclusion: Awkward as it is, a successful "hop" will take more commitment, more bravery, more boldness.
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