/kwεst/ n. a search or hunt. SYN: pursuit.
Welcome to my revamped blog ... It’s been a long time since the last posting.
I apologise for the melodramatic title of this particular entry. It’s been more than a year since I got back from Fiji. In that time, I’ve been working at my old job, but with a new cohort of staff. It has been a struggle for me, in lots of different ways. I also went in an amateur production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, which was a lot of hard work, but fun, too. In the middle of the year, I moved out from mum and dad’s house into a rented granny flat. Perhaps the biggest thing that’s taken up my spare time this year was my enrolment in the Diploma of Auslan/English Interpreting. Auslan is the official name of Australian Sign Language, used by the deaf community of Australia. I was going to TAFE two nights a week for most of the year. In the end, the time flew by, and we had our final exam in November. A mark of 70% or more qualifies me as an accredited Auslan/English interpreter; we’re still waiting on our final results to be posted to us.
The other day, I realised (much to my dismay) that it has been about eighteen months since I attended Church regularly. This is not a good thing. For various reasons, I have not wanted to go back to my regular Church — the Church of the Nazarene close by my parents’ house. But, I do need to “plug myself in” somewhere.
So, I present this updated website, to hopefully chronicle my search for a church.
There are almost too many churches to choose from in Sydney, and the range and diversity is enormous. So, I thought it would be a good idea to work out some “essential criteria” ... the basics of what I’m looking for.
- Solid, biblical preaching/teaching and sound theology. This is an absolute must-have.
- A passion for, and action on social justice issues. If the church is full of people who just wanna rock up once a week and warm the seats while they wait for the cup of tea and a chat after the service, then trot off home again, it’s not for me.
- Something which is friendly and approachable.
- Music ... Hmm. I’ve been thinking about this one. I’m not quite sure what I want. I am a very musical person, but I feel like I don’t want to place too much emphasis on the music itself. I think I’d be disappointed if they didn’t sing any hymns, though.
I’d really like this blog to be very interactive. I’m interested in your thoughts, comments, opinions, chastisements, and so on. So please add your own two cents whenever you feel like it ... I think it’ll help me in the process.
Anyway. That’ll do for now, I think. It being the end of 2007, my first outing to a Church will be in early January 2008, I suppose. I’ll keep you up to date!
Cheers,
Andy
"I’d really like this blog to be very interactive. I’m interested in your thoughts, comments, opinions, chastisements, and so on. So please add your own two cents whenever you feel like it..."
ReplyDeleteWell, you asked for it!
OK, so I am so excited about the idea of "The Search for a Church", possibly even more than you, Andy.
I think you (we) need to come up with a series of questions by which to 'judge' the church you attend each week. Otherwise your attitude to a particular church will depend on how you are feeling that week, and what's going on for YOU as you attend the church.
So, with that in mind, some questions I think you need to ask are:
1. Was the preaching/teaching relevant to me/my spiritual journey?
2. Was the worship engaging?
3. Are there any single hot chicks in the congregation?
4. Is there a potential place for me to serve in this church?
I think we can all come up with some questions to help you find the church that is the right fit for you.
Remember Andy, finding a church can be like finding a pair of swimmers...its always going to be a little uncomfortable a first, but after a while, everything ends up where it should.