“It was like sitting down and having a cup of coffee with a wise, good friend
who had all the words I needed to hear.”
If you know me personally or if you have been reading my blog for a while, you have no doubt heard me mention our church, North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. And if you have actually had a conversation with me about our church, you have probably found yourself 10, 20, or 30 minutes later wondering when I’m going to shut up about how wonderful it is. Yes, quite simply, I love our church.
Now, if you knew me 10 years ago, that last sentence would probably leave you completely shocked. Because 10 years ago, the last place you would have found me was church. Most of my life, I was very anti-church. I wasn’t always anti-God. I just didn’t care much for organized religion, and I believed that IF there was a God, he was probably more interested in world peace than my silly little daily life. Most of all, I was uncomfortable in church. I didn’t want to be pressured to be “saved.” I liked my Sunday mornings sleeping late. Church to me just seemed inconvenient and irrelevant. So I can honestly say that when my cousin Kim invited me to join her at North Point one Sunday morning in 2000, I have no idea what made me say yes. I wasn’t even at a point in my life where I had questions about God, the meaning of life, or any other spiritual topic. The only thing I really had at that point was some free time, and it seemed like it would be fun to spend a morning with Kim.
I think I braced myself as I walked in the door. I was ready for someone to get right in my face and ask me if I loved Jesus. (Because that had happened to me at other churches.) That question probably would have sent me right back out the front door, because I believed that my relationship with Jesus was deeply personal and none of their business. But I was only greeted with warm, smiling faces. I didn’t hear any whispers as I passed, wondering who the new gal was. And what I saw was not a church like my grandmother took me to as a child (nothing wrong with those churches, of course!), but rather a contemporary, inviting, and really non-churchy looking church. Kim lead me to the balcony, where I blended in anonymously with a crowd of a few thousand people. The size might have been a bit overwhelming, but it was also a bit comforting. No one would remember me here. No one would care if I sang or didn’t sing. No one would put a check mark on their list when they heard or didn’t hear me say Amen.
Then the music began …. loud, modern, bold, and fun. There were spotlights and electric guitars, drums and keyboards, and music as good as I’d heard at any concert. I was already tapping my feet and clapping my hands, genuinely enjoying the show, as the worship leader sang, “Open the eyes to my heart, Lord. Open the eyes to my heart. I want to see you.” Only 5 minutes into the service, and I was loving it. I still didn’t know if I believed it, but I was having a great time.
And then the pastor, Andy Stanley, began to speak. He was wearing jeans and a golf shirt. He was funny. He was easy-going. He was friendly. But more than anything, in a room of thousands of people, I felt like he was speaking directly to me. It was like sitting down and having a cup of coffee with a wise, good friend who had all the words I needed to hear.
And that was the beginning. I came back every Sunday after that, just to experience it all again. I didn’t buy into the God thing right away. I just wanted to hear the music and the practical advice again. Every Sunday, Andy delivered another personal, relevant message for me. After I got home, my husband would listen to me talk a mile a minute about the message and all the connections to my own life. Soon, he started attending with me, and though he grew up in church and his faith in God was strong, he found the same incredible relevance in what he experienced at North Point.
Here we are, almost 10 years later, profoundly thankful and genuinely excited to be a part of the North Point community. I can hardly think of a single message in 10 years that didn’t strike a chord in my heart. I was baptized in 2007, and we are now members of the church. Our children are in Small Groups on Sunday mornings, and they LOVE going to church. We love it just as much. My two favorite things each week are Sunday mornings at church, and Tuesday nights with our couples Small Group.
Through the words God sent me at North Point, I have come to trust that he is deeply, lovingly involved in every silly little detail of my life. All the emptiness I felt in my teens and twenties, which led me down some dangerous paths, is filled by his unconditional love. I still make mistakes and bad choices sometimes. But he forgives me and helps me learn from them. I still have questions, doubts and fears. But he sends me reassurance. I’m not perfect … far from it. But he loves me anyway. I wish everyone could experience that love. We are never the same once we have felt the love of God. Thank God, we are never the same.
Your Invitation …
I am so excited to share something new from our church. This Sunday, August 16, I would like to invite you to have a seat in front of your computer, in the privacy of your home or with a group of friends at a coffee shop, and experience what North Point is all about. You don’t even have to live in Atlanta – this is an invitation to everyone around the country and around the world! On August 16 at 6 p.m. EST, just log on at http://northpointonline.tv/ where you can experience the music, the message, and meaning of our church. This evening service will be broadcast weekly from Buckhead Church, one of the North Point campuses. A series called “Losing My Religion” will be the kick-off. Please don’t miss it. I know you will hear something that strikes a chord in your heart, just like I did.
