I Love my church. I'll call it Variety even though it's proper name is The Vineyard.
Growing up in a western states Southern Baptist church is nothing like a So.Bap East of the Bible Belt. That said, it was far from a pentecostal and far from fundamentalist church. It's safe to say that where I attend now isn't easily categorized either.
I know speaking about religion on one's blog is a lot like doing so around the possible future inlaws or talking about politics around the dinner table or asking a woman's age, or, well you get the point. But honestly, I'm not ashamed of my beliefs and I promise to never make you uncomfortable about yours.
But let me tell you why I love my church and allow these photos to illustrate why it's really a special place.
My perspective of God, church and the least of these, "religion", has evolved over the past decade of being out of the house, out of college and as I've come into my "own" as a believer.
One thing that I hunger for is amazing worship, and another is divine leadership. At my Vineyard, I get those and within the leadership is my Pastor, Rick Francis, who has a baby dedication, which is a pretty common occurrence at church, but then encourages the church to come up and pray for the little one's.
So, the thing I love about MY church is that it's a highly participatory church. Not a sit in the pew and push play and when the show's over put away the remote and leave. It's kind of like comedy sports, not comedy central, just not that funny....
Some are shy, but they're encouraged to be involved as much as they're comfortable w/o being made uncomfortable. There is much freedom to express one's self there and serving families, people, and our God are all the basis of my Pastor's plan for making this church a Home.
So here's some photos of my "church" in action. We had a few little one's come to be dedicated and then our other Pastor, Mike Robertson preached a message using members of the church. I'm not sure if any of my readers learn by doing more than just reading or listening. This technique is a good way to reinforce an idea. Granted this doesn't happen 100% of the time. Variety could be my church's other name... Variety @t Mt.Comfort starts this Sunday at 10:45.
God Bless!
