Are you diverse in your Church experience?

You don’t have to be. If your church is working for you, then that’s great! If it has always worked for you, then that’s great! 

In our case, we moved away from the area of our home church and we needed to find a new church. It turned out to be a great experience and an eye opener. And for me? A total Jesus moment.

Before we get to that, I need to admit that I lost track of what day it was when I started this 2 day series about giving you my church story. I have been trying to keep a pattern of posting my Read the Bible Summary series on Thursdays. Tomorrow is Fun Friday! And you know what happens then, so I am not sure at the moment if I will get my Bible Summary posted this week. We will see what I decide to do. 

When we arrived in North Carolina, my wife and I started our church search pretty quickly. We attended several of the Lutheran churches and nothing really drew us in. That’s when my wife went to the internet. (Click here for a 12 Step Guide to choosing a healthy church just by using the internet.) One of the primary goals in our search for a church was to find a church that would support our daughter in her desire for singing. My wife seemed to find a church with a youth choir as listed on their website. The Church denomination was unrecognizable to me. 

Wesleyan. What the heck is a Wesleyan? Our search took us on an educational tour. As it turns out, John and Charles Wesley founded the Methodist Church (we knew all about that faith tradition as it holds similar doctrine and Sunday service design). The long story short, is the Methodist split was primarily over separation of Methodists from the Church of England (Anglican). Charles wanted to stay connected to the Anglican church and John wanted separations. Charles founded the Wesleyan Church in 1843. 

Off we went for our first visit to the Wesleyan church, and we never did make it that day. We left the house late, missed our turn and arrived about 15 minutes after the service had started. I hate being late and refusing to go in late. We made it to the church the next week and we never left.  

The vibe in our church is less liturgy and more preaching. While we are a relative of the Methodist Church, our church has a bit more of a Baptist vibe in the Sunday service format. Forty minute sermons are typical in our church atmosphere. The message is always HEAVY on JESUS. You will hear the word Jesus at least 50 times on a Sunday morning in our church. And that’s why we stayed! Our preacher at the time, would blow me out of the pews each week with: 

Jesus this, Jesus that! 

The focus in my church is JESUS. Now I do have to admit that the season of my life at that time complimented our new journey in our new Wesleyan Church. I was looking for more and I got it at our new church. The more? JESUS! – You can’t ask for anything more!  

The direction of the sermon is the choice of our Pastor, rather than following a book of liturgy. While the Wesleyan Church believes in many similar doctrines found in Evangelical churches, there is no format to follow church seasons, and many of the rituals found in liturgical churches. This new “WAY” that we observed provided us with an alternative view of worship. For me, it filled my cup. It gave me the path I needed to truly find JESUS. 

However, we rarely say the Lord’s Prayer. The Apostles Creed was once a sermon series in our church, but we haven’t heard it or said it since. Scripture is always present, but it is presented in the sermon. Usually the scripture quoted is much shorter in reference than how it is presented in the liturgical churches. The idea of rituals is not focused upon in the Wesleyan faith. Communion is less often. Once per quarter is typical. Formality is out the window. Our church is laid back and relaxed. Jeans and sneakers are typical, I even wear nice shorts from late spring to early fall. There are no vestments. There are no paraments, there are no stoles. There are no choir robes. There are no processionals. There is no lectern, there is no pulpit. We have a preachers podium. We haven’t done a formal offering and passing of the offering plate since covid. Our Pastor doesn’t even wear a tie. You will often hear congregants exclaim “Amen” during the sermon. It is common to see someone raise their hand in praise during our time for music. Occasionally people will stand and give testimony. On more than one occasion in the past 10 years, We have even had our Pastor “cancel’ the sermon for the day due to that time being replaced with parishioner testimony and prayer.  I would qualify our church community equivalent to other church experiences that I have. I believe that Community is related more to personal involvement and participation rather than church doctrine, liturgy and Sunday service format. I also believe that Community has to do with your personality and personal choice. 

Is it different? You bet. Did it get my/our attention? Absolutely. It is often said that people don’t like change. I often tell people I am ok with change. Yet, I sit in the same pew every Sunday. As Sunday school teachers, my wife and I have now gotten to see the root of the liturgy and why it matters. It comes straight out of the bible. I believe liturgy is important. I got to experience both the ritual routine of liturgy that includes the WORD repeated from JESUS. I also have been afforded the opportunity to experience the approach of JESUS is the WORD repeated for JESUS. It’s approach. It’s Flavor. It’s personal preference. It might even be what you grew up with. While we have given our kids both experiences, I am not completely sure they have grasped the differences of the more liturgical settings, since our primary home church setting is where they have spent most of their time. Our more recent flavor has been our occasional attendance at a Moravian church in our area. 

Our experiences have left us with the belief that all Christians should at least go on an adveture with other church flavors. If for nothing more than the experience, but hopefully an education. This is an opinion piece and is not facts. However, facts do prove that diversification provides opportunities for new paths for growth and development. 

[Diversification] may just help you find a renewed journey with Jesus…

Experiencing different church traditions can deepen your understanding of faith and help you see Jesus from perspectives you may have never encountered before. Sometimes stepping outside what is familiar allows God to meet you in new ways and renew your personal journey with Christ.

And that’s Why It Matters!