No More Back-Seating!!

I consider myself blessed to have been given the opportunity this year to join the staff at Bay Life Church in Brandon Florida. Our family has attended this church for some time now and have grown to love the people and the message Bay Life is sending out to our community. I didn't always look at Bay Life as I do now, more so because of who I was when I first started to attend their church.

I use to be a "back seater" kind of person. You know the type.....get in quick, find a back seat, making sure that I went unnoticed and could make a quick exit at the end of the service (or before that if at all possible so that I could avoid the mess of cars leaving the parking lot). I had a rule that during the "meet and greet" time, I could shake no more than a few hands, after all, shaking hands meant meeting people and I didn't want to become "comfortable" around these Christian folk! If at anytime I became uncomfortable, I could always use the popular “I have to use the restroom” line…..but I had to be careful not to develop a pattern for this (although looking back, I have to wonder, was anyone really counting how many times I did this?) I was the church critique…..seeking out the weaknesses of the church, looking for people who I saw outside of church in less than Christian places, making mention of how loud the music was, how boring the speaker was and how all they wanted was to collect some money to keep their world looking all sparkly to the outsiders looking in. I had them pegged…..or did I?

 
Fast forward to the present and the church critique has been replaced by another kind of person. I have been transformed, through God’s mercy and the example made by the people at Bay Life church. Gone are the days of sitting in the back row……I sit as close to the front as possible for several reasons now. I want to be able to see the Pastor as he speaks, I want to be able to greet as many people as possible (to be honest, I still wonder if everyone washed their hands…) and I want to feel the worship music, desiring to enter into a time of oneness between myself and my God.

What made the big change? All credit for my salvation goes to God, he forgave me and provided a new life for me, free for the taking if I would accept him into my heart and let him be the center of my life.  But there is another part to the story which needs to be told.

My view on church and what it stands for was changed by the example its people showed. I got beyond seeing hypocrites and realized that many of the people I met genuinely cared about people like me. They took time to speak to me, to shake my hand, to give me a hug (I don’t care what anyone says…Christian woman are some of the most fantastic huggers in the world!!!) They loved on me even though I wasn’t worthy of the love and concern they offered. Why would they be this way? Why did they care to give me an ounce of their time? I was the messed up one, you’d think it would serve them best to remain as far away from me as possible, some of my sin could be contagious.... or so I thought. They didn’t stay away, they didn’t walk by me with ignoring eyes, they opened their arms and their hearts and showed me a love I was afraid of yet deeply craved. Their consistency week after week slowly knocked down the wall I had spent years building up. When a piece of the wall was removed, I had no desire to see it again.

I am still a bit anxious at times, an old habit I guess, but I recognize that I need to be accepting of the love being shown me and I too need to show love to others who come to our church. I seek out the back-seaters often, just looking for a hand to shake, an opportunity to talk with them, a chance to show them someone cares. After all, I sat in the seat they now occupy, my prayer is that one day those seats are empty because everyone who would typically fill them are sitting up front with myself and others like me…..we’re front-seaters now….and there’s a way better view from the front seat than from the back!

So to all who serve at Baylife......thank you for caring.....I was one who noticed.....

Until next time…..

Theresa