Church Tour: Recap

Well, the "tour" part of this journey has come to an end. Now we are in the process of choosing a home. And we are sooooo close! Probably by this time next week we'll know, and we'll let you know.



And here's the tour by numbers:
1 Messianic Jewish
1 Greek Orthodox
3 Episcopal
3 Methodist
1 Mennonite
1 Evangelical Presbyterian
1 Lutheran CMS
1 Vineyard

It seems like I missed one, but it was a great experience overall. We are really glad we did it, and really glad to be at the point where we're ready to commit to a local body once again.

The point of it all was to explore our spiritual identity as a couple, and to experience God in many different modes of worship. We also vowed to be very positive and focus on how God was moving in those churches, rather than focus on the negative and critique each one.

Having spent my spiritual upbringing in mostly non-denominational and Baptist churches, whereas Eric spent his childhood in Catholic and Lutheran churches, and meeting in an "emergent" church, we thought we might have to look hard for something to suit both of us. In a way we did, but we both opened up along the way to new styles and connections to God that we didn't necessarily anticipate.

And what became the number one priority for us (apart, of course, from the centrality of the Gospel) was a multi-racial congregation. For many reasons this is so important in our lives, and in God's racial reconciliation work in general. There are so many breathtakingly beautiful people in the world, and we want to expand our Christian circle beyond the white, middle-class ones we have now. We recognize the cultural needs that more racially homogeneous congregations provide, and don't want to appear judgmental of people who choose those churches. It's simply about where we happen to be called right now.

So stay tuned, the decision is coming soon! Please pray for us and we seek confirmation on this final choice.