Churchin It Up

Another of the many blessings the hubaloo and I experienced since moving to Oregon was a church.

This was something we had been praying about for a very long time, even before we moved.  But once we got here, the search was on because neither of us wanted to go too long without church, plus… we need friends baaaad.  So we tried a couple in the first few weeks, and failed miserably.

The first one we left without ever entering because we sat in the parking lot for 10 minutes watching everyone enter, and they were all older than our parents (don’t judge us).  Neither of us have a problem with the “mature” generation; I actually strongly desire a church with a good older presence because they are the wisest of the bunch.  That being said, we didn’t feel the church would be especially “relevant” to us, or however that is said in a politically correct way. 

At the next church we went to, they not only sang happy birthday to someone in the middle of the service, they also spent a full 30 minutes airing their (and all their friends, family, and distant relative’s) dirty laundry.  Alas, we are no good at church shopping.

So finally, we found a hipster church that still had a good foundation of those older and wiser than us young’uns.  But it was far away and too large for my better half’s tastes.  

We began investigating two church plants- one being planted by the hipster church much closer to where we live, and one even farther away but being planted by someone who attended the seminary at my dear alma mater.

Now let me give some context.  For several weeks prior to this stage of the process, I had been struggling with some pretty big things.  I was reading Shane Claiborne’s book TheIrresistible Revolution (highly recommend it) and feeling incredibly discontented about my life.  I was really unhappy with the church as a whole, as well as my own goals and the direction I felt my life was headed in.  I wanted to get my hands dirty and really live the gospel.

Well, we emailed and facebooked (not a real verb yet) and dined with people to discover more about both churches.  One of the pastors explained what his church was all about, and it literally spoke directly to the frustrations I had been feeling. 

The church is in a not-so-great area of Portland, and it exists mainly to serve the community.  There are very few preconceived notions about what “church” should look like, they just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  And though the mr. wasn’t sharing my hesitancy about church finances and politics, he found this church provided him with a much-needed sense of belonging, as they were looking for people with his specific talents.

We feel so lucky to finally be involved, and in the spirit of camaraderie and non-horror movie longings, I WILL befriend these people!