Church searching

Every couple of months I decide to try and find a church that is a better fit with my beliefs. I usually try one church every 6 months and then go back to my old church. why? because I don't believe that I should be "shopping" for a church. It's not a product or pill, it's a lifestyle. And yet I feel so undernourished where I am. Both in what I hear and in opportunites I have to serve. I feel downright stifled, unknown and unappreciated. In turn I feel like I know very few people, and so I am not being an encouragement.

Anyways, on Sunday I decided to check out the church which meets on a college campus in my neighborhood. I didn't really pay attention to the name. I figured, oh every church gets a fair chance. Well as soon I stepped into the service, I knew that threre was something seriously wrong. I can't tell you why I suddenly felt like turning around and running. Although, my unease was growing I decided to sit, and try to listen with an open mind despite my apprehension. The music was atrocious. I knew for that reason alone I could never come back. Second, their style of worship involved reading preprinted words in response to every comment and activity. I hate this stuff. It makes me feel like a rat in an experiment. I can formulate my own response to God's word, thank you very much. Third it took them a very long time to mention and read the bible. They did read a passage in James. Then the lead man, gave a meditation on peace. In this meditation he did not directly reference a single verse in the bible. He alluded very briefly to the passage we read in James. But he also mentioned that we don't know who wrote James.

These past few weeks I've wanted pastors to actually talk about the immigration issue. This was the first church where it was discussed. But of course it was overdone. I don't think it's the best idea to devote your sermon to immigration issues, and vaguely discuss the Bible.

But this church really made me take a look at myself. I get so dissatisfied with the church for not being more involved in community service and social justice. But on Sunday, I realized that is possible for a group to be 100% committed to social issues and totally miss the big church. See this group didn't really care about the Truth but they cared about the community, and had a billion service programs. They accept everyone but challenge noone with the truth of God's word and message to humanity.