Sunday, January 18, 2009

Church #3: Union Baptist Church

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new world record: Two hours and 35 minutes.

I hadn’t been to many churches before I began this experiment, but is this normal? 130 minutes last week and 155 minutes this week. That’s a lot of church.

I had a lot of apprehension going into this week. One, I decided to attend a “black church” (that is how the church describes itself on their website). I had no idea what that meant. Did white people attend? Would it be weird if a white person showed up?

Two, after the pastor from Christian Life Center posted a negative comment on my blog, I was nervous he would “tip off” my next church, and they would have a bouncer waiting for me at the front door. [Did I really think that back then? I don’t believe myself.]

Three, I really wanted to like this church. I didn’t want any negative comments to be seen as racist. And after two somewhat negative weeks, I didn’t want this whole experiment to turn into a super-negative, hyper-critical exposé on the Christian Church. That was never my intention. I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and experience God. So far, I was 0-2.

But Union Baptist Church (www.union-baptist.net) was exactly what I needed. Despite the service being way too long, I finally found myself in a church I enjoyed.

To finish reading about this experience or any of the reflections from my 52 visits, please purchase the full book here.

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