When I was growing up most of our family would go to church. This is a great way to start a story about the Walton’s however we were not the Walton’s. My mother would take us to a Lutheran church about 15 miles from our house. We went here because the church allowed kids to be in attendance without their parents. By accident I learned much about the bible and God in this church. I also learned about tradition and doing things because they had survived the test of time.
Years later as I was walking my own walk down faith road I would make mistakes. Given the chance I would redo some of those choices. For example you cannot question a Pentecostal pastor. They are on a direct feed from God. To question that is to question God. I have never been to a Pentecostal church since. Although I must admit I have wondered how the pastor turned out. Hummm.
During our walk of faith these many hear I have never “dropped” my kids off to a church and gone off to whatever was more important than my kids and their faith. Because I believe there is nothing more important than my kids and “their” faith in the promises of God. I have tried to lead by example. Staying the course. Doing the hard things. Ensuring that my family knew that faith in God was more than just a weekly trip to a building.
The past four years we have been attending “our” church. We started there because we had some connection with the pastor from years gone by. It was never as good as the “other” church. However it was a start and we could adjust, or so I thought.
I heard from ALL members of the family during the past four years about the shortfalls of that body of gathering people. So two weeks ago in what had become a routine event one of the members of my family and I had it out. The issue got so bad I insisted on being let out of the vehicle at the next stop and I was going to walk home. It was only about 16 miles I would be fine. For years I pushed on, moved ahead, tried to encourage and effect change from the inside. I know in my heart of hearts change can only come from within. It didn’t work. One of my children had left the church almost two years ago, another would have liked to. I pressed on..
So the last two weeks we have been “church hopping ”. It is not fun. It would be much easier if my parents were just dropping me at the front door of a building again and coming back in an hour or two. Not the case. The hardest part is that for all the reasons we left no one is willing to adjust or change in new churches. They keep comparing the “new” church to the one we recently left. The members of my family have gotten accustomed to being “uncomfortable” in a gathering of people waving the “Christian” flag, and have become very “comfortable” about complaining about that church. I am there with them.
So what am I to do. In my heart of hearts I know that the path of following Jesus us the right path. That core faith has held me together in times of great stress. That core faith has held this family together. That core faith has made my life much different than many in my family. To not be in a weekly gathering does not set well with me. Maybe I was dropped off one too many times to the Lutheran church. Maybe attending became more of a “tradition” rather than an act of faith. Who knows?
I do know this. Next Sunday I will be camping. I will find peace in the woods. I will leave the campsite to just enjoy the opportunity to be close to the hand of God. I will not stay around those who complain but have no solutions. I will not stay around those who complain but will not try something different. I will not scrap my faith because of those around me. It is what has made my life what it is. To dump my faith would be an admission of a lifelong error.
I know that no matter where I go on a weekly basis that faith in the promises of God start with me. I know that I have got to be open. I know that to start in a new church that looks like the “old” church will likely get me the same results in a year or sooner. So off I go.
I will not drop my children off and go do other “important” things. There is nothing more important than ensuring they are grounded in faith the promises of God. They too will have hard times in life, in their families, in their jobs. They too will reach a point where they press on only because their faith is carrying them.
