Sunday, October 5, 2008

I was impressed...

So, I did my normal Sunday routine today, for the most part. Woke up, took a shower, said my goodbyes to the hub who works every Sunday, and got ready for church. Then I did the normal fretting over going to church alone, got through the anxiety, and headed over. I used to always attend church alone, but since everything happened (church drama...ugh!!), I suffer from crazy panic-like attacks at the thought of being there, and sitting alone. Every week though, I seem to manage it okay (not without wiping tears away, but okay), and I figure it's worth the good preaching, even if I'm not involved there.

Today though, felt different. Though I was there alone, I was pretty engrossed in both the preaching and worship. If I were totally honest, and usually I am, I would say that even attending church has been really half-hearted lately.... OK more like for the last year or two. It's like the same mundane thing every week. I know when to sit, I know when to stand, I know that the closing prayer always starts with "and now may the God of" and I know which door gets me out the quickest.

Today, they switched it up a bit, and I liked it! Glen preached, and he just has such a way with words that whatever he's taking about, you feel like you're right there experiencing it. I've heard about 72 billion preachers, and I must say, very very few can preach the way he does! He's so engaging! I also think that the worship team must have had a pre-church meeting at Starbucks (or they are on crack), because everyone was so into worship today and had loads of energy. They actually PLAYED the drums, instead of just tapping them for background effect, they had an energy I've never really witnessed from them, it was really good. Not that worship is happening any less the other way, but this way got people excited about praising God! Communion is every 1st Sunday of the month, and the same way every time, passed by the deacons, but today we walked to the front to get it. It was a nice change of pace, and really helped me focus less on my anxiety, and more on Jesus.

So what can I say besides how impressed I was that they're stepping out of the line up, and more into what is going to engage people more. Maybe if things keep getting better, I could fall in love with my church all over again. Of course it would take more then a change in the worship service, but today was a step in the right direction!

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