By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger
Many people say, “You should go to my church.”
My parents come from different religious backgrounds. My dad was raised Assembly of God, and my mom was raised Catholic. Although our home church is Calvary Chapel, my family and I still like to visit other churches. We have met many very nice people, and we usually experience good teaching no matter where we go. Our church is a non-denominational church in Kaiser. And we have been going there for several years now.
My dad and I really enjoy worship. It’s our favorite part. Both of us like singing and praising God. The problem is we struggle to get to church in time for it. We usually show up towards the end of it, which is very sad for my dad.
Our church usually dims the lights during worship. And they have the words up on a big screen for everyone to see. This is not uncommon, and it seems that a lot of churches do this. My dad says that they are trying to create an atmosphere of worship where the focus is on God and free from distractions. I guess he is right, because I usually can’t see a thing during worship.
One Sunday when the sun was shining bright, we were rushing to get to church. When we stepped into the sanctuary, it was as if someone had turned off a flashlight in a cave. It was pitch black. We couldn’t see anything, but then suddenly a face appeared out of nowhere. The face seemed to be floating in mid air, because his body had blended into the surroundings. It was one of our ushers offering to help us find a seat. Blindly, we followed his floating head down an aisle. He stops and gestures to the left. In complete darkness, we began to move towards the left. Unable to see a thing, we searched with our hands for anything that felt familiar. My dad stopped and told me to sit. It was like that silly trust game at a party where you fall backwards believing someone will catch you. As I carefully sat down, I was thankful that there was actually a seat. I was afraid that I was going to end up in someone’s lap. Next my mom felt around me and she, too, sat down. My dad wasn’t as lucky. When he tried to sit down, there was no chair. After almost falling to the ground, he jumped back up quickly hoping that no one saw him. The usher just stood there as we all moved down one seat so dad could sit. I wondered if God was up there giggling at my dad. As our eyes adjusted to the dark, we tried not to laugh thinking about who may have seen us struggling to get seated. How funny we must have looked!
I think an explorer hat with a light on it would be very helpful. Or how about aisle lights like they have in movie theaters? Better yet, maybe a “pre-sanctuary room” like an air lock on a space ship where the lights slowly dim, then once your eyes adjust to the darkness, a door will open into the sanctuary.
My mom being the sensible one says we should just try to be on time for church. Then we won’t have to grope around in the dark for a seat. But what’s the fun in that. My dad flailing around on the floor between aisles in the dark just gives me more material to write about.
By the way, if you are ever looking for somewhere to go for church, you are always welcome to visit our church. The worship is awesome, and our pastor is a wonderful teacher. But if you come late, you might want to bring a flashlight.
This is Life with Kyle, and I will talk to you next week.
I think you should go to my church.
Life with Kyle