As of last week, Dave and I are officially members of Grace Harbor Community Church of Providence, RI. The whole church-hunting process was new to both Dave and I--he being a pastor's kid and me being a do-whatever-your-parents-do kid. =) But it had been decided long before Dave ever stepped onto Rhode Island soil that we thought it was important to find a church of our own.
I'll confess I went into the search rather directionless. I knew the basics...good Bible preaching, good music, good people, nice programs, etc, etc, etc, but as the search went on each Sunday I found myself rather lost in it all and faced with the shallowness of my Christianity. Each church we visited I found myself asking, "What can this church do for me?" "What programs can you plug me into?" As Americans, many us have been raised in a consumer-friendly world. Everything is about us-- the consumer. What do you have to offer me? What service will you be performing for me today? When, in reality, church-- the worship of my Savior should be anything but that mindset. Should I not be asking, "What can I do to serve the Lord here?" I, of course, did not come to these conclusions on my on, though I wish I could say I had. It was Pastor Kevin McKay of Grace Harbor.
Grace Harbor was the first church we visited during our "Church Search." And right away Dave and I sensed there was something different about this church family. No the preaching wasn't crazy entertaining and dripping with jokes, the music wasn't performed by a top notch worship leader, and there wasn't a college and career class for Dave and I to get plugged into. There was, however, a Pastor who loved his flock and was concerned solely with making their lives God centered. Countless couples invited us over for dinner, the guys included Dave in golf excursions, and we were frequently included in any other outside activity the church might have had going on-- all this and we had visited just once! I sensed myself pulling away, however, because of the accountability I knew this small church body would provide. Wouldn't it be easier to slip into the pew on Sunday of some well-established, program-oriented church, chit chat a bit, and stroll away? I knew that the congregation at Grace Harbor was a relationship-oriented, growing community of believers that challenged each other not only on Sunday, but in every day life by being a part of each others' lives. And honestly, that concept scared me. I have known most of my life how to walk the walk and talk the talk of a good Christian girl. But I finally came to a point in my life where I realized that I am tired of going to church so other people see me and assume I'm a strong Christian because I show up for my "program." So we took the plunge! Grace Harbor here we come even I feel a bit out of my comfort zone, but ya' know what? That is exactly the place when the Lord can do His work in our lives.
We have now been at Grace Harbor for about 6 weeks, and I can say for the first time in a long time that I am growing deeper in my walk with my Jesus and my understanding of him because I am finally grasping that it is nothing I can do. There is nothing I can do to make myself more holy in God's eyes...reading my Bible longer, praying harder....nothing, it is only by the blood of Jesus that I am made whole. My sins, past, present, and future are already forgiven. "Man of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God, who came ruined sinners to reclaim.Hallelujah! What a Savior!"
Jesus is using this church to renew me as a Christian and reset me in my spiritual walk with Him and I'm oh so grateful!
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