Have You Found a Church?

19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”
21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”
John 4:19-24 (The Message) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

"Have you found a church?"  Usually the second question I hear when I visit my previous church family... (the first is "How is life down South?")

The answer is no... the truth is I gave up searching...

I'm not against church buildings and singing and listening to someone speak from the pulpit...I'm not against missions trips and potlucks and bible studies... I'm not even against tithing!

This is a season our family is in... and just as we are open and welcoming of the snow melting and the Spring renewing the world around us... We are open to but not working toward being part of a church...

But in the mean time...Not going to church does not mean that I don't love Jesus... That I am not meeting with believers... Or that I am on a slippery slope to Hell in a handbasket.

I think these caring words from a friend sum it up well...
"You know you are loved by God without the denominational walls around you, right?"