Skip to main content

Let's talk church...

 If I were to ask if you believe in God, many say yes.

If I were to ask if you are a Christian, again, many say yes.

If I were to ask if you go to church regularly, many say no.

That last answer makes me sad. BUT, I don't fault you entirely. I have attended countless churches over my lifetime. I grew up in the church as a daughter of a pastor/chaplain and a granddaughter of a pastor. If church doors were open, Escalante's were usually there. I also attended Christian schools from K-12, all an assortment of religious backgrounds. To say I've seen and heard a lot is an understatement.

Many have chosen that church isn't for them and that is a personal choice I can't fault them for. It saddens me because I truly believe everyone needs church and benefits from it, but I will never chase someone down and make them f



eel bad about their choices.

What saddens me the most, though. are those that don't feel comfortable in a church because of how they were treated. I hear that time and time again. From being gossiped about to made to feel less because of their clothing to being ignored, the reasons run the gamut for why people don't feel comfortable in churches anymore.

Well, guess what? I don't have a church home anymore, either. Nope. I left my church.

Before you think I've lost my mind and you send someone to check on me, let me explain.

I left my church last year during quarantine. Church was closed, yes, but things were happening in my church that I personally didn't agree with. (Because many of you know what church I attended, please understand that my decision was a personal one. I fault no one for staying and will not and have not publicly made a statement.) I then watched another local church online that was similar to my previous one and strongly considered going to that church once I felt comfortable doing so with Covid. But about two months ago, I felt an "urging" or "nudging" to not attend that church either.

It was a decision I wrestled with and didn't even tell my family right away because the nudge I felt was one so "out there" that I thought they'd think I was crazy. (By the way, they already think I'm crazy for a variety of reasons, so this just added fuel to the fire. 😂)

Guys, I feel the Lord telling me to start a church in my home.

I know! That sounds crazy, huh? I'm not even a pastor, though I was a Chaplain for 8 years and spoke almost every Sunday. I've led Bible study and various ministries throughout the many years in church, but leading a home church was NOT one I've done nor ever thought I'd do.

But, here I am. Funny. That's what several people in the Bible said before the Lord sent them out on crazy journeys. 

I can't do "rock star churches" anymore. I am tired of the smoke and noise. I'm tired of not being fully seen and known. I'm tired of fancy coffee bars and dry donuts. I'm tired of hearing people tell me the same things drove them from a church. And I am so tired of hearing people leave a church because they never felt loved, valued or seen. 

Yes, the Lord moves in any church that He is the center of and I am NOT saying that the churches I've attended over the years are not Christ-centered. I'm saying that I need more..

Church will be on Saturdays at 5. We will sing the best we can. We will praise the Lord with whatever we happen to have. We will share the Bible. And we will share in fellowship with other believers AND non-believers. I've been re-reading in Acts about the first churches and it literally took someone who believed and who gathered others together.

I believe. And I will open up my home to share it with others. Maybe it will be 5 or maybe it will be 25. Who knows? Maybe it will only last the summer. Maybe it will start other home churches. Who knows?

What I do know is that I have to follow when I feel the Lord nudge.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beauty in Changing

This time of year is beautiful in the Midwest. The weather is cooling, drawing us to our hoodies, cozy sweaters and long forgotten jeans. Yards are decorated with cornstalks, pumpkins and fancy scarecrows. On trash days, curbs are lined with bags and bags of dead leaves and other yard waste as home owners ready their home for the coming cold months. And then there are the trees. I've taken a walk the last few nights with Lucas around our neighborhood and enjoyed the changing foliage much more than my twelve year old nephew. I'm a picture person. He's a get it done kind of kid. I stop a LOT to admire scenery. His mind has already completed the walk and is on to his next video game. He is often a block ahead of me before he realizes I stopped to admire a pinecone on the ground or a beautiful leaf on the road. I saw this quote and it resonated with me again:    Isn't that great? Humans resist change. We have readily displayed that ever since Covid-19 disrupted our lives an...
What are you dreaming about?  Wishing for?  Waiting for? Just those questions alone can bring more to mind than your heart was ready to process.  I know it's true for me.  I haven't blogged for three years.  Want to know what one of my dreams is?  Writing!  Ironic, huh? In this past month I've switched some things up with positive results.  I used to wait to spend time with God at the very end of my day and that came with varying results.  Either I'd be so exhausted that I'd only muster enough to open up the Bible app on my phone and settle for just a nugget of God's truths that day.  Sometimes I'd get my Bible opened then be sidetracked by a nephew getting ready for bed or a whiny dog.  Sometimes, I'd forget altogether.  None of this made for a strong me. When the kids started back to school this year, I decided to make a change for myself. Instead of getting up at the same time as always, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. al...

Trust your Author

As a child, I loved reading.  Little House on the Prairie and the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke were my favorites.  I also loved Beverly Cleary books as a younger girl and the Sweet Valley High books in middle school. In high school, I didn't find a lot of time to read and didn't pick up many book recreationally until my twenties.  I would always look for Christian fiction, but quickly grew tired of the same old story.  Woman had a job, but is unfulfilled.  She meets a man, often one that is not interested in her or that she doesn't like.  Fast-forward after several chance encounters and several missteps and VOILA!, they fall in love.  Bleck.  That works for a Hallmark movie for me that I'm only required to invest less than 2 hours in.  But not for a book. Hours of time go into reading a book.  Sometimes just finding a book that looks interesting takes a lot of time.  That is, until I found the author Karen Kingsbury....