Tyler and I grew up at different churches. I'm Lutheran (and still wholeheartedly accept the teachings) and Tyler grew up Episcopalian, but his family is Lutheran, he was baptized Lutheran and when we got married, he converted. So I suppose we are both Lutheran. Before we got married, we were attending the church I grew up in, but... Tyler was falling asleep in church. For real, asleep. I love that church so much and love everyone in it. They are wonderful people and really helped me grow to be the woman I am today. But, something I've learned along the way is compromise... if your husband is falling asleep during services, you should probably look elsewhere. So, we've been going to a "mega-church" since right before we got married. And honestly we do really love it. But I have been having some issues with the church. The biggest issue is that its a 20 minute drive to church. It really takes a toll on us. Also, I think we are a little too "liberal" to attend an extremely conservative church. I have actually walked out of service on more than one occasion. I am not someone who gets easily offended. I am pretty straight forward with my opinions and am completely open to sharing what they are and why if someone asks. And welcome people to disagree (and people do tend to disagree, particularly at church) so for me to walk out... it was kind of a big deal. Now, I still do really like most of the sermons, the people and the music is great!!
But, we have decided to start looking at other churches. In the end, we may feel like where we are is the best fit, but we feel like we need to try. This Sunday we are going to try a super small church (like 25 people) on our side of the river. We have quite a few churches on our short list, but the first step is just to go!
One of our other "problems" is that Tyler works a lot on Sundays, so it can be difficult to actually get to go. I would love to find a church that I am comfortable going to on my own. Our current church is just SO big and I feel like I get lost in the crowd! It is really hard to get connected with other people, particularly when you live so far away. We tried a community group close to home, but didn't really click with the leaders or the other members, so we still never got to know anyone. We do have a few really good friends that attend, but they are around the corner from the church!
Long story short... if you know a great church in Central Arkansas... let us know! Preferably an open-minded church :)
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