back in church

Hubby and I finally returned to church today after 3 long weeks. Yeah, after what seems like a really long period of absence, we finally managed to overcome my crazy hormones, tiredness and lack of sleep to drag ourselves to morning service. Believe me, sleep is difficult to come by at 8 months of pregnancy.

Back in the church, everything suddenly seemed a little foreign, even the worship songs seemed a little new. But we enjoyed learning new songs nevertheless.  There were also new faces in the church, too (Praise the Lord for that).  What I missed the most was probably the people in the church. Sorry pastors, I know I should have mentioned that I missed your brilliant sermons here, but it's the people that actually made the difference in any church. I was looking forward to be back in touch with friends.  It was invigorating to meet our friends again and catch up on what's going on in their life and feel the warmth of genuine fellowship. 

Having said that, I can't help but feel that there are some who have suddenly become indifferent towards us.  These people just walked by and did not bother to say a simple hello. Hah! Not even a smile was offered. Surely, it's not because you haven't been to church for some time, they tend to forget about you and would not bother to extend simple courtesies? I'm not being overly sensitive here - you know when you are being treated differently.  What's worse, they seemed to create cliques now and move comfortably only in cliques. They are oblivious to anyone else outside their clique.  Now, if I, an old member of the church could feel it, imagine what the new comers to the church will feel?  How can churches be able to draw more people to it when this is the kind of attitude they condone? Don't we need to change our mindset and be more outward looking? It is afterall about building God's church and see it transform the community we are in.  Don't we need to ask ourselves, is something missing in the life of our church? 

I remembered having read Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges' "The Most  Loving Place In Town".  It addresses the very problem a church will suffer if we lost our first love and passion, which is God.  After having read this book, I have gained an honest insight into myself, my church and the loving relationship I enjoy with Jesus and with one another. Of course, it will be ideal to have the entire church read it too, but  perhaps we can start with baby steps by first finding our love for God again and let His unconditional love flow to people around us.  So, I am going to start with ME. Yes, me. Since i read the book, and surely cannot claim ignorance on this matter, I shall take this step to start something good.