Church

My writings of late have been less than fascinating, and for that I apologize. I am nothing, if not inconsistent. Sometimes.
How are you Internet people?
I did something today that was different and exciting. I got all dressed up, and abandoned my children at home, so that I could run off and enjoy a rare experience, for me.
I went to church.
House church is as different from institutional church as can be. Now, I don't miss house church, ever. I'd meet several times a week if the group would consent. Mostly that would start to look like communal living, and that's a bit cultish, even for our group. Come to think of it, they may like the idea of a commune, after all. But I digress....
Church is a place where everyone faces the backs of others, and they dress up. An alarming number of these people neglect to style the back of their hair, and this is a shame. No one looks at your front through the service. At house church, you can come in your PJs if you like, and everyone looks at your front. We sit in a circle and see one another's faces. It's not a good place to be if you have much to hide.
Everyone stands up when they're told to, in regular church, and they shake hands on command. I was thinking about this. I don't know these people whose hand I was shaking, and I hope they washed their hands this morning. That's like a whole germ-sharing thing. In house church, I already have these people's germs. Their kids throw up in my house, I breath their same air 'cause we get in each other's business every day, and we cook for one another. It's like we're related. I could hug 'em or share a bed, or get the Holy Kiss thing going on, and it doesn't make much difference. I so have these people's germs already.
In regular church you say, "How was your week? How are you?" And the person says, "Fine, fine. You?" In house church, friends say, "Dang, this week nearly kicked your butt, huh?" And they pour you a glass of wine.
We don't sing in house church, and maybe that's best. I love to sing, though. That is a good reason to go to a regular church from time to time. God loves singing, and so do I. We ought to figure out how to get more of that in our little group.
Teaching is different in regular church. It's like a classroom. The Guy Who Knows Stuff gives a lecture, and it's good stuff. He incorporates history, and language, and cross-references. I took notes. In house church, it's more like group therapy. Someone will talk about how a passage from the bible is making them do things in a new way, and someone else will add what they've learned. The whole thing kind of ebbs and flows like a living organism. It's not as intellectual, but it's really very applicable.
I like house church. But there's stuff I like about real church, too. It's a bit of a trade-off, either way. Just like anything.