What better month to be a practicing Christian than Easter season? I'm sure if you're a practicing christian you would argue every month is a good month to be practicing. So how do you go about being a "good practicing christian"? That's a tough question, and a loaded one at that. So this month I set up a few rules.
1. Going to church. I plan on attending church each week.
Growing up and baptized methodist, I am looking to check out other styles of churches, ones that offer a different flavor of christianity. I went to the Vineyard Church a few weeks ago with a couple of friends. It was a really nice church, (disclaimer: Any place that has free earl grey tea is hard to talk bad about) and the first I have attended that had a band, which was nice. I was curious about the message, but I found it to be pretty inspiring. A lot of talk about being better people, helping community, and nothing about fire/brimstone/hell.
Today I attended church with my family and grandparents at the methodist church I was baptized in. It was nice being back, and I was grateful to be there with my grandparents, but I wasn't as inspired by today's service as much as the one I attended in Lexington. To be fair, I had my children there, so a good part of the time was spent keeping paper out of Em's mouth and wondering if Ro would say the word "butt" outloud. What didn't really "do it" for me was the structured agenda of it all. Sit, read, stand, sing, call and response, THEN a sermon, then more reading. I didn't really feel like I had time to think for myself and soak it all in. I don't want this to be a negative thing, but it didn't give me what I liked about The Vineyard. The Vineyard was like listening to someone in your family. Christian ideals were definitely preached, but in a way that connected it to the community, and allowed me to reflect on how to be a better person.
2. Attend a weekly bible study group.
I feel so fortunate and grateful for the group of guys I get to hang out with this month. Randomly, I was hooked up with a pseudo bible study group consisting of 7-8 retired preachers. Thinking about a bible study was a daunting task. I wasn't really interested in my idea of a traditional bible study (I probably have the most untraditional view of a traditional bible study). I thought my time constraint would not allow me to get a whole lot out of it. Would there be open discussion? Would we be going through one book of the bible? Would I be preached at? Would they even let me in if they found out I subscribe to the buddhist tradition?
What I wanted was an open forum. A place where we could shoot the shit, talk some Jesus, and debate the christian ideals that seem to drive wedges between community members. And that is EXACTLY what I got myself into. These guys are great. Granted, they are still trying to save me, but they sincerely treat me like one of their own. We have pretty lengthy discussions, I feel completely comfortable explaining my true thoughts on christian teachings, and the guys answer my questions without any detectable traces of judgement. It's nice to know guys like this were building ministries throughout the country. We obviously have some major philosophical differences, but we all want the same thing. For those of you who have a really negative view of christians, I have to tell you there are some really great christians out there. A year ago I don't know if I would have believed how great my conversations with a self-proclaimed conservative christian could have gone. But here I am hoping you get the opportunity that I have had so far this month.
3. Pray.
This is the one thing I was sure would be easier than it has turned out. Obviously, praying is not a difficult thing. I have been somewhat serious with meditation up until now, and praying seemed an easy alternative. Well....it wasn't. Praying in the morning to start the day...no problem. Praying at night before I go to bed...should be easy, but I seem to forget most nights before lying down to sleep. Saying a little prayer before a meal has proven to be the most difficult for me. The big issue is my forgetfullness. But when I do think about it at lunch, I get self concious about it. I sometimes think to myself "this is going to be a good one" or "hot damn! I'm feeling the love and Im going to include everyone that made this meal possible". Then reality sets in. I start to think to myself...is anyone going to stare at me when I do this? I wonder if they were like my former self and think what I'm doing is silly. Then what happens is my extravagant grace turns into a few second of thanks. (the ministers assure me any grace is better than none...maybe its more of a self dissapointment I let unsubstantiated thoughts get in the way)
4. Read/listen to expand my understanding
I have been hitting the podcasts pretty hard on my drive to/from work.
CS Lewis is my new free time favorite.
Any other suggestions? I have a book by Ravi Zacharias that was loaned to me, but I'm just not sure its in the cards. I'm sure he's a great man, but I listened to a few of his talks on podcast and he didn't do it for me.
So that's what I have been up to this month. Looking forward to continuing, and improving, my understanding on the subject over the next week and a half. I hope everyone who practices had a great easter. I hope all of you who don't did as well.
Stay Blessed.
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