When I moved a few years back, I looked for a new church home. As anyone who has been through this can tell you, it is not an easy thing to do. It is very important to find that place that feels like home and that lines up spiritually with your faith and where you feel God is leading you. I asked several of my friends to tell me about their home churches. It was during this time I learned an even greater lesson in my search.
A friend began to tell me about her church. She was excited to tell me about all of the trips they took, and the numbers of teens who came on Wednesday night. She told me about the racing car that the pastor raced and how men in the church helped work as his pit crew. She said they had activities going on every day it seemed. As she excitedly spoke about her church, my mind was taken back to another church ten years earlier.
I remember sitting my usual third pew from the back at the First Baptist Church in Green Forest, Arkansas on one particular Sunday night. It was one of Pastor Marvin Emmons first night’s preaching there. As the congregation finished singing, Pastor Emmons stepped up to the pulpit. He opened with a prayer and said, “Turn with me to the Book of Hezekiah.”
The Book of Hezekiah? Even with my bouts of religious doubt and times when I questioned why God let things happen the way He did, I have known one thing to hold true. There is no book of Hezekiah in the Bible! I couldn’t help but sit in amazement though. While I just sat there with my closed Bible in my lap, many people across the church were frantically rifling through the pages of their Bibles trying to find the Book of Hezekiah. People who were long time members of the church sat puzzled, because they couldn’t find the elusive book. As the page turning slowed to an occasional thumbing of the pages, Pastor Emmons pointed out what everyone had finally concluded; there was no Book of Hezekiah. “How familiar are you with your Bible?” he asked. To read the Bible is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Someone once put it like this, going to church makes you no more a Christian than going to MacDonalds makes you a BigMac. It isn’t just about being there.
The memory of ten years ago held true as my friend shared about her church. I couldn’t help but notice that she was so excited to share about all of her church’s activities, but she never really mentioned anything about the spiritual nature of the church. How many people had come to Christ this year? What did they believe? What missionaries did they support? Don’t get me wrong, activities are great, but they won’t be the reason someone has a deep relationship with Christ. To develop a deep relationship takes reading His love letter to us and talking about Him with others. To know Him is to KNOW Him.
A friend began to tell me about her church. She was excited to tell me about all of the trips they took, and the numbers of teens who came on Wednesday night. She told me about the racing car that the pastor raced and how men in the church helped work as his pit crew. She said they had activities going on every day it seemed. As she excitedly spoke about her church, my mind was taken back to another church ten years earlier.
I remember sitting my usual third pew from the back at the First Baptist Church in Green Forest, Arkansas on one particular Sunday night. It was one of Pastor Marvin Emmons first night’s preaching there. As the congregation finished singing, Pastor Emmons stepped up to the pulpit. He opened with a prayer and said, “Turn with me to the Book of Hezekiah.”
The Book of Hezekiah? Even with my bouts of religious doubt and times when I questioned why God let things happen the way He did, I have known one thing to hold true. There is no book of Hezekiah in the Bible! I couldn’t help but sit in amazement though. While I just sat there with my closed Bible in my lap, many people across the church were frantically rifling through the pages of their Bibles trying to find the Book of Hezekiah. People who were long time members of the church sat puzzled, because they couldn’t find the elusive book. As the page turning slowed to an occasional thumbing of the pages, Pastor Emmons pointed out what everyone had finally concluded; there was no Book of Hezekiah. “How familiar are you with your Bible?” he asked. To read the Bible is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Someone once put it like this, going to church makes you no more a Christian than going to MacDonalds makes you a BigMac. It isn’t just about being there.
The memory of ten years ago held true as my friend shared about her church. I couldn’t help but notice that she was so excited to share about all of her church’s activities, but she never really mentioned anything about the spiritual nature of the church. How many people had come to Christ this year? What did they believe? What missionaries did they support? Don’t get me wrong, activities are great, but they won’t be the reason someone has a deep relationship with Christ. To develop a deep relationship takes reading His love letter to us and talking about Him with others. To know Him is to KNOW Him.