Oh, not at all. I love old church buildings more than any other, and apart from the uncomfortable-ness of non-padded pews, I adore sitting in seats that have been used for worshipping the same God for years and years. I like picturing who sat there before me. =o) And I love the smell of hymn books. I would rather have books than poorly-done PowerPoint, which is a distraction. Plus, when you have books, the people in the congregation who can read music often sing the harmonies. I miss that.
Also, I grew up in a church planting family. I know all about not knowing who's going to play (although usually it was my mom) - all that matters to me is that they're on key and on rhythm. Although, in small church plants, that was not always the case (though it was if it was my mom). Hehe. We still joke about one pianist in our church in IL who was not so great, so she would always really slow songs down. THe hymn "Glad Day" is supposed to be peppy, and we always sung it like a funeral durge. LOL.
The lack of A/C is common in northern churches; that's how I grew up. Although, I think we did have a window A/C unit in IL, which is good since it gets as hot there in the summer as it does here in FL. Why would you need hot water in the bathroom? I love mismatching plates and silverware. Everyone who eats at my house asks why we don't have matching silverware. I tell them I like it that way and did it on purpose. (Salvation Army silverware, baby!) If I could get all different dining chairs I would do that too, but no one will sell you just one cool chair.
I can worship anywhere. My family's church plants met in City Hall, a hotel conference room, a storefront, our basement, and the local middle school. My church now meets in a shopping center. I don't care what the building looks like, or even if there is one (there isn't at one of the churches we work with in El Salvador). I wasn't saying I care what the place looks like, I was saying I like on-key music and accurate preaching, and preferably no typos in the bulletin or PowerPoint, because they distract me. And last week I was wondering if the caps lock button was stuck on the church secretary's computer because everything in the bulletin was all caps, as was the PowerPoint. (I've noticed that mixing a grammar nazi and graphic artist together is not a good thing. I am both. LOL.) I usually find myself at other churches where the pastor's message is totally shallow and/or all the passages are taken way out of context - which means that although what he's saying might be morally correct, it isn't what God is saying to us through that passage. That's my biggest thing - the preaching has to be accurate to the author's intent. I think there is only one other church besides mine in all of Jacksonville that actually does expository, contextual preaching. My family church-hunted here for 9 months before finding the one we attend now.
In fact, before Isaac and I moved back to Jax in 2005, we had been attending a church with a tiny building that hadn't been redecorated since the '70s. The music was awful, and we were the only couple under 40. But we went there because the pastor was very good.
And BTW, you can come to my church in your swimsuit if you want, and while people might be amused, they would still welcome you and try to get to know you. A lot of people wear shorts, and I often wear jeans. My brother always wears jeans or jean shorts and a plain white t-shirt. We always pick on him for mixing it up when he wears one with a pocket. LOL.
So I guess I said all that to say that I think you misunderstood me. I guess when you boil it down, I just want accurate preaching, and the rest are preferences. The thing is, I haven't been to any other churches recently that have accurate preaching. So I would be completely happy in your church if the preaching is Biblical. =o)
no subject
Also, I grew up in a church planting family. I know all about not knowing who's going to play (although usually it was my mom) - all that matters to me is that they're on key and on rhythm. Although, in small church plants, that was not always the case (though it was if it was my mom). Hehe. We still joke about one pianist in our church in IL who was not so great, so she would always really slow songs down. THe hymn "Glad Day" is supposed to be peppy, and we always sung it like a funeral durge. LOL.
The lack of A/C is common in northern churches; that's how I grew up. Although, I think we did have a window A/C unit in IL, which is good since it gets as hot there in the summer as it does here in FL. Why would you need hot water in the bathroom? I love mismatching plates and silverware. Everyone who eats at my house asks why we don't have matching silverware. I tell them I like it that way and did it on purpose. (Salvation Army silverware, baby!) If I could get all different dining chairs I would do that too, but no one will sell you just one cool chair.
I can worship anywhere. My family's church plants met in City Hall, a hotel conference room, a storefront, our basement, and the local middle school. My church now meets in a shopping center. I don't care what the building looks like, or even if there is one (there isn't at one of the churches we work with in El Salvador). I wasn't saying I care what the place looks like, I was saying I like on-key music and accurate preaching, and preferably no typos in the bulletin or PowerPoint, because they distract me. And last week I was wondering if the caps lock button was stuck on the church secretary's computer because everything in the bulletin was all caps, as was the PowerPoint. (I've noticed that mixing a grammar nazi and graphic artist together is not a good thing. I am both. LOL.) I usually find myself at other churches where the pastor's message is totally shallow and/or all the passages are taken way out of context - which means that although what he's saying might be morally correct, it isn't what God is saying to us through that passage. That's my biggest thing - the preaching has to be accurate to the author's intent. I think there is only one other church besides mine in all of Jacksonville that actually does expository, contextual preaching. My family church-hunted here for 9 months before finding the one we attend now.
In fact, before Isaac and I moved back to Jax in 2005, we had been attending a church with a tiny building that hadn't been redecorated since the '70s. The music was awful, and we were the only couple under 40. But we went there because the pastor was very good.
And BTW, you can come to my church in your swimsuit if you want, and while people might be amused, they would still welcome you and try to get to know you. A lot of people wear shorts, and I often wear jeans. My brother always wears jeans or jean shorts and a plain white t-shirt. We always pick on him for mixing it up when he wears one with a pocket. LOL.
So I guess I said all that to say that I think you misunderstood me. I guess when you boil it down, I just want accurate preaching, and the rest are preferences. The thing is, I haven't been to any other churches recently that have accurate preaching. So I would be completely happy in your church if the preaching is Biblical. =o)