What I Want :: Part 2

When thinking about what I want in a church it occurred to me that I was really contemplating another question, easier to answer: “What do I not want.”

Kind of like, when it comes time to choose a restaurant, someone asks, “Where do you want to eat?” The answer sounds easy, but not even close.

“Anywhere.” comes the answer.
“How about burgers?” you say.
“I’m not thinking burgers.” is the reply.
“How about Subway?” you say.
“Had that Thursday.” comes the answer.
Someone starts naming places, and your realize all you really know is what you don’t want.

When it comes to church, I know what I am not looking for.

I have no passion to sit with people lined up in pews, sing three hymns and listen to a sermon with three points and a poem. I have no yearning to hear someone’s idea of a religious pep talk, with a few movie clips thrown in to prove they are culturally relevant. I have no desire to listen to a Christian concert put on by a hand-full of rock band wannabes. It’s not that I mind hymns, poems or relevant movie clips, and I certainly enjoy a good band. But, unlike finding a place to eat, I do know exactly what I want in a church gathering.

Sometimes we need to look at what we don’t want in order to understand what we really do want…