"Welcome"

“God loves us as we are...not as we ought to be. because we are never going to be as we ought to be."
--Brennan Manning

     Yesterday was one of those days.  I pray everyone has one of "those days" often.  The Lord was with me from beginning to end.  I know He is every day, but when I have one of "those days" I am aware of Him every second of that day.
     I began my day sitting on the deck, drinking coffee, with my earphones blaring good worship music.  Then it hit me, I can go to  any church I want today.  Two of my very good friends were going to check out a church none of us had ever been to.  They saw the churches float in a parade.  Funny way to hear about a church.  I jumped in the shower and headed out to meet them.  I knew this was the Lord's will and he had something to show me.  
     The church was awesome.  When we walked in the door we were met by several people who introduced themselves and some even hugged us.  I wouldn't normally think this was a greeting I wanted, but it actually felt like a family who was welcoming us into eat at their table.  Sometimes when we step into a church and it feels like a family lives there, it also feels like you have to pass a test to be invited to stay.  This was not that way at all.  They even tried very hard to remember our names.  It caused some laughter.
     Then, as though we were truly visiting a home, one woman led us to the sanctuary while pointing out the restrooms, the coffee, etc.   She also introduced us to others.  We almost felt like royalty.  As we sat waiting for the service to begin, I looked over at one of my friends who already had tears in her eyes, and she said, "Oh, I feel His presence here."  We all felt it.  We were right where God wanted us and it felt safe and warm and welcoming.  For a second we all battled feeling under dressed, because unlike most of the churches we have visited, several of the people here wore suits and nice dresses.  But, the more we looked around there were people in jeans and flip flops too, and we shut the mouth of the enemy who desperately wanted us to feel like we did not belong.  
     At the beginning of the service they played a short video explaining their goals in representing God in their church.   It was everything we wanted.  The church belonged to God, to do with whatever He wanted.  There were no goals for numbers filling the seats, for changing the world, for impressing the visitors.  Their main goal was to follow the Holy Spirit.  Their goals were to be like Jesus in love, healing, casting out demons and leading unbelievers to Christ.  There was a freedom in the church that I had never felt before.  The pastor did not sit behind a pulpit, but instead walked around making eye contact with individuals.  He spoke truth.  He spoke from his heart and from his experience.  I felt like I was listening to a friend, a brother, a man with Jesus in his heart and the light was beaming out over all of us.  I wanted to stay there.  I didn't want it to end.  I didn't care about what the clock said, I wanted to hear more. 
     I never dreamed I would like the idea, but toward the end of the service, after the pastor and his family left the sanctuary together, they called out the first time visitors to follow a woman to a room.  Scary?  Nope!  We were being taken to a room to meet the pastor and his wife.  Why?  He told us that he learned through experience that his regulars always approached him after services and that left him no time to meet the visitors.  He really wanted to talk with us, so they led us to a room where we all sat around a table and waited for the pastor and his wife.  While we waited, we were asked to fill out a survey, not on our beliefs, but on our favorite and least favorite parts of our visit.  They wanted to improve.  Who better to ask?
     The pastor had two questions for the nine of us visitors.  One, how did we hear about them?  Two, did we have a church we called home?  They were great, the conversation was great.  One thing I noticed is a bonding with the other visitors.  We didn't feel alone in a new place.  The pastor and his wife were real.  They wanted to help us grow in our relationship with God.  They were transparent.  They shared everything.  This church was serving.  Every person there was a servant of Christ, brothers and sisters of Jesus, friends to Him and anyone who walked through the door needing one. 
     Yes, I know, you have to go to a church for awhile to find out what they are really about.  Eventually you will see their faults and shortcomings.  I know that because they told us that.  They didn't claim to be perfect, to have everything we needed.  They did promise to love us the best way they knew how.  One thing he talked about that blew me away, was they discipline.  For instance, if they have someone ministering who is not living according to God's will, as he put, "I tell them to sit down."  Until they correct their behavior, they are not allowed to lead.  You can't live with your girlfriend and lead worship.  You can't be getting drunk and leading the prayer team.  They expect a maturity in their leadership and I respect that.  As a teenager in the family of God, I personally need grownups leading.  I need people I can look up to.  I don't need perfect people who never make mistakes, but the more mature, the more like Jesus, the more I want to follow the leader.  Take it from someone who had a child at 15 years old, if we have kids raising kids, we end up with a bunch of children.  Even Jesus was not allowed to teach until He reached adulthood. 

“I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion... I want all that God has or I don't want any.”
― A.W. Tozer