Excited about Church!

Since January I have been attending a great church- The Summit Church in Briar Creek. The pastor there, JD, is young and a great speaker and even though the service is long, it doesn’t feel that way at all. I can relate to almost everything that comes out of his mouth and sometimes find myself wanting him to continue even though we have been there for 2 hours! The worship music is outstanding (I’ve even downloaded some songs I’ve heard there from I-tunes to motivate me on my runs)! The people I have met there are great. They even have great multi-media presentations sometimes that are very well designed (which appeals to the marketer in me!). Even though Southern Baptist is a big departure from Episcopalian, I really like it.

They are starting a new series next Sunday that I am really excited about:
Pastor JD says on his blog:

Over the course of the next 2 months we will be looking at the 7 most common objections people give against Christianity. Whether you are a Christian or not, this series will be for you, as we will probe into the foundational relationship between faith and doubt.

8/31: “How can there be only one true religion or way to God?”
9/7: “How could a good God allow suffering?”
9/14: “Christianity is too restrictive”
9/21: “The Church been responsible for so much injustice”
9/28: “How can a loving God send people to Hell?”
10/5: “But science has disproved Christianity!”
10/12: “Everyone knows the Bible can’t be taken literally”

I am so excited about these topics because I feel like not only will it help with answering questions from non-Christians (I always find myself fumbling and changing the subject when things start to get uncomfortable and I don’t have the answers they are looking for) but it will also help answer any lingering questions I have. Like:

What about dinosaurs? Did they just not make it on the ark?

So all Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Scientologists, and people of every other religious faith are going to Hell? Really?

A lot of churches are so hypocritical and corrupt. Why does this happen and do I want to be associated with that?

Have you read some of the rules in Bible? “You should not lie on a bed where a menstruating woman has lain, and you can't sit on a chair where she has sat” (Leviticus 15:20). What’s up with that? (Check out the book “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs- he tries to take all the rules literally for a whole year.)

So yeah, it should be interesting. And it just might inspire me to start #27 on my list- “Read the Bible all the way through”. If anyone is interested in coming with me to church over the next few weeks, just let me know!