musings from the road: Be Not Afraid

Nashville, TN: One of the challenges to going to any church on any Sunday is that sometimes... you're just not in the mood. Today, I woke up at 5am, flew from Providence to Charlotte to Nashville, went to the office, went for a power walk, rushed home to shower and change, picked up Peanut, then drove to the 6pm service at The Village Chapel. From 5am - 5:59pm, I did not want to do anything but put on sweats, turn on SATC and zone out. Instead, I showed up, I listened, I discussed, I ate and now, I blog. And though I'm still tired, I am much better for it.

Aesthetics: The Village Chapel holds 4 identical services each week in the the 100 year old chapel of the St. Bernard building, in Hillsboro Village. Feeling much like entering a school building (since that what it was), we walked down the hallway and entered a large room with rows of stacking chairs. People gathered in the back to get a cup of coffee or tea before the service began and it felt like a mixture of prayer service meets AA meeting.

Greeting: Since I overloaded my day a bit, we were running a few minutes behind and I didn't pay much attention to the greeting at the door (after snatching the bulletin from the nice man's hands.... thank you, sir!). But once seated, after the initial prayer, we were instructed to welcome those around us. The interesting thing I noticed is that it wasn't a quick, "hi, how are ya" kind of interaction, trying to say hello to as many people as you can in 12 seconds, but rather, people around really wanted to know who you were. I was asked my name, if I had been there before or was a visitor and was told their name as well. It was like they actually wanted to know a bit of my story. Granted, that only came from the 3 people in front of me, but it was nice to feel that they were actually wanting to connect.

Community: Because the church is based in Hillsboro Village, there was definitely more younger folk - around 20s-40s - with a few older couples and a sleeping baby sprinkled in. A mix of hippies and hipsters, I felt like I blended in fairly well (though I think of myself as a different kind of hip). Diversity... not so much. In the sea of approximately 175 people, it was all white from my vantage point. Then again, there are three other services, so maybe the diversity is spread out in the morning.

Music: The music was mellow and folk-y, lead with an acoustic guitar and a bongo. Words were shown on a large screen for easy crowd participation. Though engaging, it was a pretty dramatic contrast from the super speedy speaking pastor.

Service: The service began in what I've seen from the past two churches as very typical -- music, announcements, greeting each other, prayers for individual community members, mores songs. The rest of the service was a full-fledged bible study. I'm used to hearing a couple of readings, then taking the message and seeing how it weaves into our lives. But this was more specific into the history of what was going on in the time, what the people must have felt when this was occurring, how Jesus was delivering the message as a man as well as God. It was very educational and intriguing, just not exactly what I thought this church was going to be like.

Message: Once again, I tried the ol' ask-God-to-specifically-talk-directly-to-me-through-the-pastor trick and it seemed to work. (He obviously knew exactly what I needed to hear when he mentioned the coffee station in the back of the room!) But the main guts of the message was: do not be afraid. "When you hear of wars & disturbances.... do not be afraid. When everything crumbles around you... do not be afraid. When you are betrayed by those who love you... do not be afraid." It reminded me of a song I heard growing up in church and at pretty much every funeral I've ever attended: Be Not Afraid. Easier said than done when, at times, you've got a heart wrestling anxiety and a mind tangled with doubt. But somehow these weekly outings are facing me in the right direction of letting the fear go.

2021 21st Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37212
Website: www.thevillagechapel.com
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Reflections on the Journey Thus Far: The more churches I go to (ok, it's only been three during the Great Church Search, but still), the more I realize it's not actually about the church itself. It's about the conversation and the reflection and the message. Today, it was about something even more. In the bulletin, they listed a seminar being held Monday night called "Surviving the Road: How Your Relationships Can Navigate the Spring Tour." I know I'm picking these churches at random, but there's got to be something more to it if something like THAT - so specific to me - can just happen to be organized the next day. Come onnnnn -- coincidence? I don't think so....