WWJDWTC Week 2

In which we are really only at week ONE.

In my What would Jesus do with the Church post, I said I was going to try going back to church. Miracle of all miracles. However, my husband and I saw fit to contract pertussis and I spent most of the last two weeks in bed. Believe me, you don't want to get it. This article about the outbreak, while not the county we live in, is in Oregon. Oh, and adults CAN be vaccinated against it, you just have to ask. Typically it comes in a tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis combo.

So I'm starting my 30 days over and I have just completed week one. As a sidenote, I realized in my initial WWJWTC post, I never really explained why I thought my going to church had anything to do with what Jesus would DO with the church...when I wrote that post I was in the initial throes of my illness, and had trouble writing coherently...my point was simple, Jesus would want us to be a real live community of some sort, and the only way I could participate in that was to just DO it. That's not to say I haven't been in community for the last 3 years, but that's another post entirely.

So, yesterday, I went to church. [Gasp!] If I remember correctly, it was my first time in "church proper" in 2.5 years. However, there was nothing "proper" about The Bridge yesterday. And I loved it!

First, a bit of background. About a year and a half ago, I happened across Pam, commenting on some post on Emerging Grace. Something in Pam's comment referenced that she lived in Portland. So I looked up her blog, and e-mailed her. We hit it off almost immediately...we e-mailed back and forth for a few weeks and then met in person. Our friendship has grown ever since. At the time, Pam and her family were between churches, and The Bridge was one they were considering. Not long after I met Pam, she introduced me to Donna. Donna also was becoming involved at The Bridge. My friendship with Donna has been awesome, as well.

I have been telling Pam and Donna that I don't have a church, but if I had one, The Bridge would be it. It is my church by proxy via these two women, or I have been churching vicariously through them...and I have followed the goings-on there over the last year or so with growing interest.

So it was only natural for me to want to go there for this WWJDWTC "experiment".

The Bridge is actually meeting in a church again these days, after meeting in a pub and in a ballroom in past years. Someone said to me recently (was it Pam?) that The Bridge was meeting in pub before it was fashionable to do so, and now that everyone else is meeting in pubs, they have gone back to meeting in a church, trend-setters that they are. Real post-postmodern stuff. It's a small church in a normal neighborhood. While the sanctuary itself is quite conventional, the chairs in the sanctuary were arranged in a circular fashion (cool) with the instruments and mics in the center.

It was an unusual week, even for The Bridge (MySpace)...it was BridgeKids Sunday, so the kids were the center of attention for this service. And were they ever. The children were gathered around, many sitting on pillows on the floor. These kids ranged in age from wee to teen. During worship, the kids played bells, tambourines, wood blocks and maracas. I can't tell you the cacophony of sounds. The smaller ones also ran around, chased each other, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the music.

Oh and did I say unconventional yet? Yesterday everyone was invited to come in their Halloween costumes. Most (all?) of the kids were in costume, and many adults.

Of course, worship at The Bridge is always unconventional. To the best of my knowledge their music is heavy on the original, much (most? all?) of it written by their house worship band, Agents of Future, (MySpace) who I have mentioned here before. Sidenote: if you will be at Off the Map Live this weekend, you will have the tremendous privilege of hearing AoF play.

Yesterday, I don't think AoF were in house, per se. The worship was led (I hate to say led, but you know what I mean) by several adults, and those on the mic's knew how to belt it out. The kids were raising the roof; they let loose and worshiped...and it was cool! There is no holding back in Bridge worship, there is no stuffy pseudo-semi-hand-raising...you are either in it our you're not. I definitely saw some full-body worship going on there, and it was refreshing. It wasn't a hyper-charismatic free-for-all, it was heartfelt and genuine.

Oh and did I mention they are loud?

It's funny, but at least four people apologized to me, saying "This isn't a typical Bridge service". My (albeit silent) response to that? It damned well better be, because I loved it! Oh and they don't meet until 11:30AM...I KNEW there was a reason I like these people.

I didn't know the words to the songs, so I simply listened. The words were on an overhead, but there were several people standing in front of me that I couldn't see beyond. In just about any other church I would have been irritated that I couldn't see the words; yesterday, it was honestly nice to have an excuse to sit and soak. The worship was beautiful (loud and raucous, but beautiful) and it drew something out of me like you might draw venom out of a person who has been bit by a rattler. I felt this loss of something I have been holding onto, my identity of being "unchurched".

The message was a recap for the adults of what the kids have been learning in the last month or two, based on the 5 love languages. Periodically during the message, we had a "dance party". This is something they typically do with the kids -- every so often they stop the message and put on some good dancin' music and the kids dance for a couple of minutes. So yesterday, the entire church had the chance to experience this. Imagine, if you will, your Pastor giving his (her) sermon...but stopping every 10 minutes or so, turning on, oh I don't know, Celebrate by Kool and the Gang...and everyone stands up and dances for 2 minutes.

After the message, we all did an activity. We were passed identical large white paper puzzle pieces and crayons. We were to draw on them, write our names and love language. Then we hooked them all together on the floor. It was a great visual for how we are all connected, but there is always room for more. This is a place welcoming to the homeless community, and there are often (always?) some homeless people attending the service, if only because they give out donated groceries after service. I think this is fantastic...it's who Jesus would be. So the puzzle was especially meaningful.

Incidentally, while the church is about 15 minutes away for me, it's literally just down the street from my parents house...and my mom said she might be interested in checking it out with me next time I go. My parents are also somewhat "between" churches at the moment, so it makes sense.

So I suppose you want me to recount some really life changing thoughts? Actually, yesterday was not a normal day for me either...I had three family birthdays to attend to in the afternoon and so I had to rush out the minute the service was over...I felt rude for not socializing, but that was just the way it worked out this time.

In the end, I came away changed...there is so much in my perceptions that I cannot tell you. The feelings were deep and I'm sure I'll have more to write about it after I digest awhile.

While I no longer have illusions about any church being "perfect", there is definitely something different going on there. Different in many good ways.