Baba Goes To Church

Business…here’s a look at the WWE’s pending campaign to compete with Monday Night Football. Thanks to the WMD for sparking this idea.
I mentioned last post that I went to church. Judging from the astonished phone calls and e-mails I got yesterday and this morning, I don’t think I have to remind you of that.
Anyway, I’m sure most of you could surmise why I went–my girlfriend’s a churchgoer. One of the interesting things about my dating history is that I tend to wind up with churchgoers, even though I’m pretty well-known for my aversion to organized religion.
But here’s the way I see it–if church is important to her, then it’s not much for me to try to make it every few Sundays. Plus, preachers ain’t dumb. They know to wrap things up in time for people to make it home for 1pm kickoff. They ain’t trying to mess up the turnout. As Bill Withers once sang, “it dont’ do too much good to be talkin’ when ain’t nobody listenin’.”
The other thing is that my girlfriend felt that my views on church were uninformed. My analyses are very critical on the people who are quick to tell me I’m going to hell because I’ve had a drink or two and focused most of my biblical studies on gettin’ biblical. Basically, I don’t want to be chastised for doing things that don’t hurt anyone else. I think God understands where I’m coming from on those things.
But I went. And I was better for it. It’s funny…it’s a lot easier to appreciate something when you go in with an open mind rather than looking for something for something to pick at and criticize. Who woulda thunk it?
Anyhoo, even a cynic like me can appreciate any place where people come together and look out for each other. When I walked in the door, I was immediately struck by the positive vibe. I’m not big on talking about vibes beyond what kind of music a DJ plays at a club, but it all felt welcoming. Relaxed, even. And I have never felt relaxed in church.
From what I could tell, it was your basic service. No need to detail it.
But I really dug the sermon. I forget what verse he was talking about, but dude really hit home with it. He asked listeners to appreciate the verse’s context (I would have liked him to ask them to embrace the historical context a little more, but I can’t be greedy) and then began to explain it. Basically, he was letting folks know that, no matter how bad things get, God’s always got their back.
It’s a lesson that all of us need to hear, even if not in those terms. At that point, I had a bit of an epiphany about Christianity and me–I am much more like Christians than I realized. That’s why I wind up with churchgoers. The basic ideas of right and wrong that they have are the same as mine. That’s probably because I was raised by a preacher’s son and and deacon’s daughter. What messages like that sermon provides those folks is reaffirmation that, no matter what happens, everything will be okay in the end.
I have no beef with that. Further, I enjoyed hearing that without hearing condemnation of things I consider petty and inconsequential.
I walked out the door feeling better off for going. In the end, you can’t ask for much more.
So my girlfriend–who I will always refer to as such because the world doesn’t need to know much more than that–was right. I had been a bit quick to condemn all of this. I can’t knock anything that’s trying to help people get through daily trials and tribulations, and I surely can’t knock anything that helps get people through bigger things.
I always said that I wished I had religion when Jon died because all I had was an abstract belief that I’d get better. I wish I had a God or savior to look to in trying to cope. Instead, I have the understanding and awareness that nothing is so big that it will conquer me.
As we all know, understanding isn’t always enough.
So I listened to that sermon with the understanding that the preacher and I see the world in the same way. We just explain it through different terms. As time has gone on, I’ve even come to believe that there is a higher power looking out for most of us. I won’t pretend like that belief doesn’t get shaken (usually when I watch the news), but it’s there. Too much random stuff has worked out well for me, dig?
But my realization that I feel the same way as most of the people in that room further frustrated me about my previous dealings with people. I’ve been fortunate enough to find someone with a bit of understanding of where I come from. I told her my views once and she asked me, “so what makes you not a Christian?” ‘Twas a comforting thing to hear after years of ostracism from people who found me trustworthy and fun, but not quite a good enough person to share themselves with.
If going to church makes me feel better about the world by the time I leave, I’ll make a few trips. Not on the verge of converting or anything like that, but I really can see the good in church.
The church? That’s a long post for another day.
But for today’s post, I got another bit of proof that I don’t always know what I’m talking about. Not every Christian is on something good, but they’re not all hypocrites, a generalization I’ve intimated a few times.
With that in mind, I probably won’t spend time trying to intellectually point out the problems with the Bible and all of that. Such things really don’t matter. So long as people can take the positive messages from the book without chastising others–which I think Christians refer to as not judging–then I’m okay with it.
I don’t agree with everything that goes on in church. But those folks go there to get something I’m also looking for–a little peace. That’s far more valuable than a piece of anything.
It doesn’t even really matter who’s right in the end. Just as long as we find a way to get where we need to go.
(And close friends, I know what you’re thinking. The answer–yes, she must be dope if she got me to go to church. Especially dope considering she didn’t even ask me to do it. So yeah, I am done for.)