Post #13 - Church

Church is very important. For my family and myself, our time at church is about as close to observing Sabbath as we can come in today's 24-7 world.

Church is also the only place in modern society where you can sit in a large building with bunches of other people for an hour or so and just reflect upon, contemplate, and ponder God and be fairly certain that everybody else is doing the same. Belonging is kind of nice.

Church is also a place where you're nigh but certain to run into other people struggling to live the life the Lord asks us to live - and are comfortable enough with the inherent fumbles and foibles to discuss them with you. Fellowship is a nice thing, too.

I recommend a non-denominational church, primarily because Jesus was non-denominational. Also, some denominations tend to have rituals and rites that kind of make you feel left out of the club if you can't pick up on them - and that can be hard to get past in order to get to the message. Non-denominationals tend to have less of a learning curve on that front, so you can get to knowing Jesus faster.

Non-denominationals also tend to have parishoners with more varied points of view regarding Scripture and how Jesus affects their lives. I for one am very willing to hear from all parties willing to talk. God is huge -trying to put Him into a narrow set of parameters says more about you than it does Him.

Besides, have you ever tried to put a 20-pound animal in an 8-pound box? It doesn't work well, and all you'll do is honk off the animal. (Well, maybe not cats. Cats love boxes. But it's just an illustration - hopefully you get what I'm saying here...)