Monday, December 29, 2008

All dressed up and nowhere to go?

So here is our quandary. We are going to be living where we are currently until April at the latest. So we still have about three months of living in one place while I commute 75 miles each way to my new job. That means that we sort of have one foot in one community and one foot in another. That leaves us with the question of what to do for fellowship in the interim. It is kind of a hassle to go to different churches with a family our size, it takes a long time just for us to figure out where the kids should go. So we have been bouncing around a couple of options.

There is a church, albeit an institutional one, in the area we will be moving to that I liked a lot. Very conservative theologically, solidly Reformed at least among the (plural) elders, a number of other families that homeschool (including one with 13 kids!). It is a very traditional, program driven institutional church but there seem to be a lot of great people, they were very friendly the one Sunday we visited. The problem is that it is kind of far to get to on Sunday, because it is off the beaten path it is a good 1 ½ hours away and in winter that can be kind of sketchy.

On the other hand, it is kind of tough to find a non-institutional alternative when you are moving to a new place. Although it is not that far from where we are now, finding other folks who are like-minded in a brand new area is not easy. I have been sort of trying to look around when I can. There is a Plymouth Brethren church in the area, not really close to where we will probably live but a doable drive, so that is one option but the jury is still very much out on the PB at this point. I am not sure how to find others who are involved in a house-church situation in a new area, especially since we are hoping to live somewhere pretty rural.

So here is what we are maybe thinking for the next three months. Home worship a couple of times a month, with our home open to anyone who would like to break bread, pray and teach/be taught and then a couple of times a month drive the hour and a half to the church near our new home. I may take the time to visit some other churches of a different flavor in the current area just to check them out and then have fellowship at home in the afternoon. For example I have never been to services at a Lutheran church, so I may go to one with a friend this Sunday. His wife is singing so to cause a stir we might show up with the whole family, headcoverings and all, just for fun.

Longer term, I probably see us initially attending the aforementioned church in the new area but still seeking to have people over in our home for fellowship on a regular basis. Until we can establish relationships with other believers, that may be our best bet and as we make those relationships and they evolve, who knows? My big challenge will be to not be overly critical while we are attending. My intent is not to go somewhere, make friends and then lure them away but to go where the sheep are gathered, be fed and be part of feeding them and be a witness to the lost in the sheepfold.

The other option is to start my own cult and move to a mountain retreat in Idaho.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I was teasing Bethany last week, that they, and your family, should move up here. We could start a little meeting....

It is hard to find fellowship with those of like mind and like will at the same time.
Paula

Arthur Sido said...

We would move to Alaska in a second if I could find a job! It is pretty far from family, but the natural beauty would override that. I was talking with my friend James last night about just this issue, it is hard even living near a huge metropolitan area like Detroit to find likeminded people to worship with. Everyone seems content with the status quo.

That cult is sounding better by the minute!

Unknown said...

Cult away!

We actually know a large family/friend group up here, that live as a group. Seperate homes for all, one church in the center.
If it were not for two things, we would be a part of them.
They do not believe in Eternal security, and they allow some rather strange, very unbiblial Prophesy stuff.
They are also mid tribs, but that is not something to split hairs over.
Females only wear skirts and have full length mostly uncut hair.
Headcoverings are worn for prayer only.
Children are as perfect as they come.
Service to the Lord and community is a priority.
Paula

Arthur Sido said...

The rejection of eternal security would worry me, you can start to stray down the separation path and end up in (real) cult paths pretty easily.

On the other hand, there is some appeal to that model. There is a group I was reading about, the Hutterites, that seemed pretty interesting. Kind of amish like. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutterites) My wife is a farm girl, we could probably pull something like that off. We could pick up Paul and Bethany in our fifteen passenger van. We would only have room for them and three of their kids, so we would have to sell on of our kids for medical research or something.