Metamorphosis

You know, I (Sylvia) have been going through somewhat of a spiritual metamorphosis over the past ten years or so. I grew up in my dad's church - Community Christian Fellowship (aka The Fellowship). Those of you from that era of my life know the simplicity and genuineness of that wonderful body of believers. We loved the Lord, and we loved each other. We got rid of meaningless extras and focused simply on what we believed the Bible called us to and sought a genuine encounter with God.

In 2001 I moved down to West Chester and started going to Covenant Fellowship Church, which is part of Sovereign Grace Ministries. I learned more about Reformed theology and was saturated by their focus on the cross.

In 2004 I began my year-long China adventure. Surrounded by believers from all over the world at the international church in Shanghai, I grew in appreciation for the ways other Christians lived out their lives of faith. Although the services were all in English, from time to time we sang songs in other languages ~ and how neat it was to all sing to the same God, embracing our cultural differences! I remember looking around in my cell group one time and noticing that gathered there were believers from the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Africa, France, New Zealand, the Philippines ~ and I might even be missing a few! It was a rich time of learning and growing with people I never would have had the opportunity to fellowship with had I not gone to China.

When I came back to the States in late 2005, I went to live with Mom & Dad. By that time they were running the B&B in Lexington, VA, and were attending the VMI Chapel, so I went with them. What a fabulous, genuine fellowship of believers! Some VMI cadets came, of course, but also a faithful contingent from the community to support what God was doing on post. I eventually grew into the role of song leader which was a wonderful opportunity for me to grow in my musical gifts under the warm, encouraging, joyful leadership of the Chaplain.

When I left Lexington in 2008, I went to live with Mary & Rob and began attending a small charismatic church nearby. During this time is when I began dating Jeff, who comes from more of a conservative background. Growing together with him involved finding a church we both liked in his area. So, some Sundays I was at the church near where I was living, and some I was with Jeff, exploring different churches in northern Virginia. (Neither of us really liked the church he had been attending, although he had had legitimate reasons for going there. It was time to move on, though, once I was in the picture.) Throughout our "church shopping" process, I was faced with working through the issues of what make a particular type of church worthwhile attending, which church environments were healthiest for me, which lined up with biblical truth, etc. While I loved the people at the charismatic church in Maryland, I became very frustrated with the way charismatic churches in general do things. I started to question their approach. One Sunday I just sort of hit a wall. I had had enough and left thinking how much I'd like to visit a liturgical service somewhere, just to get a taste of what's on the other end of the spectrum. I longed for awe and reverence ~ qualities lacking in many churches today, in my opinion.

Jeff and I did visit an Orthodox Presbyterian church... which was exceedingly boring. (Surprise, surprise.) So I more or less gave up on the liturgical idea, and Jeff and I eventually settled on Blue Ridge Bible Church here in Purcellville. Its forte is the people; we walked in and immediately felt like part of the family. There is real love, real fellowship, real body life. But unfortunately, there are some things about the church which we can't align with. We're seeking to put those issues aside as much as we can in the interest of maintaining fellowship with them... but the issues are sort of getting bigger. So, on the Sundays that I don't serve on the worship team, we sometimes visit other churches.

Today was one of those Sundays. This past week we were researching churches online, and I said that for a while now I've wanted to visit an Episcopalian church - I wanted to see what a liturgical service was like. Because of known issues within the Episcopal denomination, we were both skeptical. But we found our local Episcopal church's website and were pleasantly surprised! Not only did they seem to embrace an evangelical and a real we-want-to-encounter-God approach and a desire to grow, but the rector has a video right on the website's homepage addressing one critical issue we had been on guard about. He boldly, yet graciously, distanced himself from the denomination in order to stand fully on what the Bible so clearly declares.

So we went there this morning... and wow! What a refreshing new experience! There was too much starch in the rector's collar, but other than that...... :) There was an attitude of reverence throughout the worship service; but at the same time it was a relaxed atmosphere, surprisingly. We saw genuine, joyful love among the people. And we were warmly welcomed and engaged in meaningful conversation afterward. And the best part was - the message was really short! Hee hee...

Jeff and I haven't suddenly decided to become Episcopalians or anything (although Jeff may still be one from childhood... lol), but our wheels are turning. We've witnessed a totally different way of having "church", and I must say, it was a pretty neat experience! I've got more to say, but I'll save that for another post.

Thanks for reading!!

:)