A pastor serving in another denomination wrote the following:

“When I was a college student, I participated in a program where I spent my junior year abroad in Europe. I remember the experience of exploring for the first time the city where I would spend a year. At first, everything appeared to be different: the voices on the street, the food in the markets and restaurants, the classes at the university, the transportation system, and even the interactions among the people. I felt as if I had entered a strange new world. Gradually the strange became familiar, and I began to understand, appreciate, and delight in the differences.”

That is what it was like for me the first time I ever went to church. That may seem strange to someone who has been in church all their life, but for me it was as different as being in a foreign country. Eventually I became comfortable.

I felt that sensation again when Monieca and I moved from our home in Kentucky to Sumter, SC where we served a large rural church whose members were mostly natives of the area. The landscape was not the only thing that was different. The culture was. But eventually we became comfortable.

We both felt that sensation once more when we moved to Rock Hill. An aging congregation and a low baptism rate were new territory for a 29 year old pastor who had been saved as a high school student in a growing church that was strongly evangelistic. But we eventually became comfortable.

I’ve learned that being uncomfortable, even in the spiritual world, is not always a bad thing. In fact, fear of being uncomfortable often keeps us from experiencing the exciting adventures God has in store for us. I pray I never long for the comfort of what is more than I long for the future God has planned.

Pastor Steve Hogg