Go to Church and win a Harley!

I was first exposed to Set Free Church when I moved back to Colorado after spending two years in Indiana. I was driving down one of the main streets in Loveland and noticed a big white trailer sitting by the side of the road next to what used to be the bingo hall in town. On the side of the trailer in big black letters were the words SATAN SUCKS!
"The Biker Church" as it's known around here is in your face, and hardcore. The music is hard and loud, and the members are people who you wouldn't expect to see in church. The church targets people who have been burned by organized religion before. They reach out to people who are fighting addictions, and problems with life. The youth pastor at Set Free has a powerful testimony, telling how he first met God in prison. We invited him to speak to both our middle school and senior high youth groups tonight. He came, and brought his hard rock praise band and whole youth group with him. It's amazing sometimes to see the Holy Spirit move. On one side of the fellowship hall was the youth of Mountain View. This may be somewhat stereotypical but, most of our kids come from upper middle class homes. Many participate in athletics, or student counsel at school. Most have never needed for anything in their lives. On the other side of the room were the youth from Set Free. Most were wearing some form of black clothing, much of it with the set free logo. They had multiple piercings, and looked very out of place in a suburban upper middle class church. You could tell how uncomfortable our kids were with our visitors in the building. They pretty much hung around with each other, and let the other group hang out on the other side of the room. When the praise band started, the Set Free youth were front and center on their feet, while most of our youth were in the back row in their seats. Over time a few braver souls came forward and felt freer to participate. Brian, their youth pastor, then gave his moving testimony. At the end he invited kids who felt they needed prayer to come forward, not something done normally in our very intellectual Presbyterian Church. Many of their kids came forward, but then ours did too. It was amazing to see the youth of both churches praying over each other, and bridging the gap between two very different churches. It was so good to see that they realized that thought we have many differences; we are all part of the universal church, the body of Christ. Two groups of youth were willing to leave their comfort zone tonight, and experience growth in Christ. I love that there can be diversity in the Church. Most of the members at Set Free will never feel comfortable walking into a service at Mountain View. I will probably never choose to worship in a place like Set Free, not because it's bad, but because it's not me. It's important for people to find a place where they can feel free to worship in a style, and with people who can help them connect to God in a deeper way. Everybody is different; therefore the churches that we choose to attend are going to be different. We are all connected though by the bond Christ gave us in his death and resurrection. Tonight was a great lesson in don’t judge a book by its cover, Christ never did.

Well, it's now decision time. I got two phone calls this week telling me I've accepted into both the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Basically I've been accepted into all three schools I've applied to. I won't be able to visit all three campuses because of vacation time, and money restraints, so I'm planning on picking a school, and then just visiting that campus. If I hate it, I can then do choice two, but I can't imagine disliking any of the schools.