Good Vs. Evil

The Church on the Street, presented by the Jesus Fire Dept.

Last night my friend asked me if I would attend a church service with her in downtown Phoenix. She met a man in the Wal-Mart who I believe was a pastor at this church and they prayed together in the store, as my friend's mom recently passed away. Touched by his ministry, she invited all of us to the service on a Saturday night, 7 pm.

At first I had no idea what to expect. The church is located in the Garfield Historical District. That means the neighborhood is gorgeous, but very sketchy. Not a place where my friend should be attending any kind of service alone. The church was gorgeous - brick and, well, historical.

Entering the church was my first taste of a truly urban churchy experience. It was awesome. The people were diverse, the church was cooled by fans and a swamp cooler, the pews were ancient wood and the energy was mesmerizing!

We were welcomed by many and had front row seats saved for us by the pastor. A few came and introduced themselves to us, while others kneeled around the front in deep correspondence with Jesus. This is a Christian church.

I was touched by the passion and the love that surrounded these folks. Men hugging, leaning on each other, praying. To me, this is what life should be about ALL the time. It saddened me that this love between "brothers and sisters" only occurred in a church.

I feel great. I've been welcomed to this family. The air is warm from the fans. Everybody is either singing, cheering or kneeling. Life is good.

Ok, now it is turning evil. We are singing Jesus songs for an hour. There is a guy dressed in all-black with cowboy boots on pacing back and forth yelling things to Jesus that I can't quite hear. The guy behind me with the tambourine can't keep a beat. Did I mention the Jesus songs for an hour? I just realized this service is not going to end for awhile. Anxiety sets in. The church is getting smaller. The singing is getting louder. The man who just stepped up to the podium is going to want to talk for another hour about Jesus! S-T-O-P!!!

I got a ride home, about 8 blocks away, from my friend's friend, who is also a Christian. She is great...beautiful and helpful, she offers to take me back to the loft and pray that my anxiety subsides. We get down the front steps and there is the pastor, running after us. He wanted to make sure that I got my name in the book of life before I left, so I repeated after him and professed my belief in Jesus. I felt slightly out of integrity doing this, but he felt such compassion in helping me, and being a free spirit as I am, who was I to say that his beliefs were wrong or inadequate?

After I got home I realized how much the Christian faith did nothing to settle my soul and that I'm just floating in a spritual mystery. The entire experience was amazing, though, but I just don't think that I'll be attending again.

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