Iowa V - Church

Yes! The day finally arrived. The day! THE day I had been waiting for since I was first invited to Tina's wedding! NO, NOT the wedding day...CHURCH DAY! The first time I would return to FBC since my last Sunday there which was January 2, 2000. It's been over five years and I was so looking forward to seeing Pastor Sipe again and a few of the women I had grown close to in the little time I had there years ago.

Katie and I planned to go at 8:30am (which was VERY early considering the clocks "sprung ahead" and we "lost" an hour) to sit in and visit Connie's study which was to be day one of Beth Moore's "Believing God". That was just another thing that affirmed that Katie and I should seriously consider doing that study because it keeps showing up time and again. We were excited to be able to be around for the introduction to the study and just be in with all the women.

I was so excited to be visiting FBC. When Katie and I left and were driving to church, I was so anxious...in a good way. I was very excited and I think my knee bouncing tripled in intensity as I was driving. We made our way from the pig farm, to Marshalltown and then I turned onto Olive Street where the church is. Then, I panicked! I became confused and disoriented! I was lost! I forgot how to get to church! I didn't remember it being down the road as far as it was, and when I didn't see it right away, I started to really think I was losing it! I said to Katie "I don't remember how to get there!". (It is amazing how much I did forget about how to get around Marshalltown after five years. It is not like riding a bike at all!)

Well, I kept going then breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the FBC sign. Whew. I pulled in and was smiling ear to ear just to be "home" and back where my walk with Christ all began! We parked and made our way to the doors and walked in. The first thing I noticed was the lobby area and how different it was. Tables and chairs all set up like a cafe with people enjoying morning coffee, doughnuts and conversation while the early service was already underway. We were welcomed by some friendly faces and then Katie and I, running a little behind schedule, turned left to go down the hall to the room where Connie and "the girls" would be meeting. Well, there was no one in the rooms we found! LOL We backtracked to the lobby again and found a helpful FBC member at the information desk and then inquired where to find Connie. We were pointed toward a door just off the lobby. Again, it had been five years and I had even forgotten how to get around in the church building!

Katie and I entered the room and tried to walk in quietly and unassuming, however, Connie announced "there they are!" and invited us to sit in the chairs she had ready for us next to her. So much for joining class unnoticed!

Connie had already told the women there we were coming and as soon as we got there, the introductions began. One of the women remembered me from five years ago, and I vaguely remembered her. I did remember one woman fairly well, (because she for some reason always reminded me of my mom), but she didn't have a clue who I was. Weird how we can remember some people who don't remember us, and visa versa.

One woman asked Katie and I to share a bit about our church so we obliged. I was really blessed that simply by sharing some of the core values of Northbrook Church that one woman, Little Drum, deduced that we are an Acts based church! AND WE ARE! I guess, when you are "doing church" right, it will be noticed! It really was encouraging to know that when we shared about Northbrook's committment to deep community, building relationships, dynamic teaching, and our strong belief in relational evangelism and excellent worship, that someone could see how closely we try to follow the plans of the original church founders, that we are all part of the Body of Christ! Woohooo!

So after Katie and I shared about our church, we started going around the circle and allowing everyone to share about what God is doing in our lives. This was a time of getting to know each other and for worshipping God who was working in each of our lives molding us all into his likeness. Katie will probably delve deeper into the more spiritual aspects of these experiences so I won't go into great detail here, but just know that it was a time of great, emotionally charged worship and Spirit-led prayer. It was rather intense at times and during these times, people somehow become spiritually "bonded" to their sisters (and/or brothers) in Christ. We took so much time in prayer when it was needed for a couple of sisters, that we only made it halfway around the room before it was time to go to the 9:30 service. I was bummed that we didn't get to hear from the others, but then Connie announced that we should "continue" this tonight at her place! I was elated!

Class was dismissed and already I was remembering why I was so in love with FBC and the people there! It was now time for church and time to start hunting down the people I had been impatiently waiting to see!

Katie flourishes in these environments; new faces everywhere, energy level that is rising, when worship about to start, and she is in "extreme-extrovert mode"! I wasn't worried about her, so I went about my thing...finding all those women I wanted to see again. When we walked out of class back into the lobby, I saw Deleana almost first off. She was standing with Irma and had been looking for us. We went over to her and Irma and said hello. Almost immediately "Scripture Brain" came over and gave me a HUGE hug! "Scripture Brain" is a nickname I gave to a woman in my Experiencing God class. We carpooled some and talked during those times to and from class those years ago. I was such a new Christian then and so amazed by Carol's knowledge of Scripture, that I nicknamed her "Scripture Brain" and vowed to become "Scripture Brain Jr." (I still have a loooooooooong way to go to catch up to Carol! As a matter of fact, during the message on this Sunday, pastor asked the question "Who here knows 1000 verses of scripture by memory?" and most people said "Carol does!" and pastor acknowledged that this was probably true!) What is interesting about Carol is that this woman is very mentally ill, a diagnosed schizophrenic. She is very eccentric and one of those people that could be so easily "cast aside" by the world, but FBC recognizes Carol's uniqueness and usefullness in God's Kingdom. It is a testimony to me of God's greatness that He can take this severly, mentally ill person and use her for His Glory. It blows my mind that while her brain is seriously malfunctioning, it is a warehouse that stores up much of God's Word. She is one of those people who can quote scriptures off the top of her head and know exactly where to find them. She is an amazing person and she has been a treasure in my life. I'm glad we have kept in touch over the years through letters, although I must admit I have been bad about that lately. I should do better.

Then Deleana grabbed pastor and brought him over. He remembered me! I wasn't sure if he would, but he did and gave me a huge bear hug! I was ecstatic just to see him again because he had such a profound impact on me at the very beginning. His influence was great in my life, and he will probably never really understand that. He also remembered some emails I sent to him, so he probably does have at least a hint of the impact he had on my life. I enjoy pastor Sipe so much because he is so passionate about Jesus Christ. He wants everyone to have a relationship with the Lord and all of his messages point people to that end. Pastor Sipe is a wonderful communicator and God uses him in mighty ways. His messages are from the heart of a man in love with his Savior and he can present things in such creative, humorous and tender ways. I just love listening to the messages Pastor gives because of the passion within him. I'm so thankful that FBC makes his messages available as Mp3 downloads! I've listened to quite a few over the years!

After saying hello to some other people I remembered from the past, Deleana, Katie and I made our way into the sanctuary. We sat near where I used to, near the front, but on the right, rather than left side. The music started and worship began. Katie will most likely share about her experience with standing next to Deleana during worship, so I won't do so here. I can tell you that I was grinning ear to ear because I was back! Woohooo! When it was "greet" time, I went over and said hello to Jan, pastor's wife, and gave her a hug. She was another one that had an impact in my early walk because we shared so much during the Bible study at her home. I'm really missing those special people. I guess there will always be a little hole in my heart for the people I've met in life who are no longer in it.

Pastor then gave a message about living life in abundance as God intended and how we are often times reaching for the "prize", or the blessings that we see on top shelf, when in fact, God is saying "stoop down, down to the bottom shelf. I have some wonderful things awaiting you there." He shared that in the world's eyes, if it doesn't "know you" or recognize you, that you haven't "made it" to the bigtime, but we ARE God's "bigtime". (My paraphrase of his message) It was a powerful message and something I really needed to hear.

After the message the praise team came back up and there was some time for prayer and an invitation. During the invitation I was rather choked up, as I was throughout most of the service because the presence of God was so overwhelming and I felt so undeserving of the blessings He was showering on me that day. A few people responded to pray for whatever reasons they had on their heart and minds. One woman was particularly broken and remained on the alter for an extended period of time. The praise team improvised some additional invitation music because it was obvious that the Spirit was at work and that no one was going to stifle Him. I was thinking to myself that in some ways I miss having the invitation time.

At my church we don't have an invitation as routine. I understand the reason for this, and that is because we don't want to ever leave church beleiving that it was a "failure" because of how many did or didn't respond to the invitation. People are always invited to come talk to one of the pastors or other members of the church, but as a rule, there is no "formal" invitation.

As Pastor was making the invitation at FBC, he explained that one reason "we do this because when someone responds, it is an act of humility. It creates a situation where someone does have to humble themselves and put themselves 'out there' and submit to the authority of another, the authority of God." Katie says that it also allows us to strip away our pride as humble ourselves enough to say we need help and prayer, so that our brothers and sisters in Christ can help carry our burdens.

The woman who was at the altar stood and walked to Pastor. They had a quick communication and then he handed her the microphone and explained that she had something she wished to tell us. I was curious to hear because she was obviously very distraught and broken about something. She took the microphone and through a voice that kept cracking and sorrowful tears, she said "My aunt died last week." She continued, trying to maintain composure, "Because she didn't know Jesus and accept Him, and she had ample opportunity to do so, today... she... is in Hell."

After this, Pastor again invited people to come to the front if they are seeking prayer, direction or with any need that they might have. It was a very solemn moment and yet joyous at the same time. What an awesome experience that day.

We shared communion together after that and it was special, as it always is to me. Reflective. "Do this in remembrance of me". Always against the backdrop of the cross.

Then, church let out and we scattered. I still tried to catch some people I hadn't yet seen and did manage to say hello to one or two. It was so fun to be back and God blessed me with such an awesome experience through the presence of His Holy Spirit. I enjoyed the service so much and it was like a spiritual revival! I don't think I will wait another five years to return!