Comments on: A Small Church Moment in My New Very Big Church

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 01 May 2022 00:01:52 +0000

I love this post. I’m in the midst of my own transition from a small to larger church community, and can identify with most of what you wrote here. I’ve decided there are pros and cons to both sizes. Keep leaning in! ( I need to preach that to myself just now.)

By: Lucinda J

Lucinda J — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 11:42:05 +0000

In reply to Brendan Armitage. Thank you Brendan. I always appreciate your insights and perspective. And now I have a new Dutch phrase to add to my list. :)

By: Lucinda J

Lucinda J — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 11:36:15 +0000

In reply to Bethany. Yes! There is definitely a lot of security in that position I took for granted.

By: Lucinda J

Lucinda J — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 11:02:57 +0000

In reply to melodiemillerdavis. Yes, Mountain View has an interesting background and unique characteristics. Ask me next time I see you and I will tell you about it.

By: melodiemillerdavis

melodiemillerdavis — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 10:56:33 +0000

In reply to Lucinda J. Yes, so glad that worked out! On the topic of big church/little church, I'm quite amazed you have such a large conservative church 45 minutes away. And quite a drive for you.

By: Grace

Grace — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 01:37:09 +0000

In reply to melodiemillerdavis. This resonates with me. 10 1/2 yrs ago I left my smallish church and moved 13 hr to my husband's area and church. Big and full of strangers. But many of them I count friends today. As life goes, we're now part of a small city church but live rural. So there is a bit of disconnect there. Sometimes I still miss the deep roots of my growing up years and those relationships still matter to me.

By: Brendan Armitage

Brendan Armitage — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:18:41 +0000

My wife and I and our year-old son had moved from our small church in Alabama to where her parents lived in PA, so of course we attended their big church. We tried to join the choir, but we seemed to be the last to know that choir practice was 30 minutes early one week and we had missed half of it, or that it had been canceled that evening, and the only ones not to know were the two of us.

I remember that conversation of frustration, in which we discussed either leaning-in to that church or moving on to another. We decided to lean-in and eventually made that church our home.

If I were to offer counsel, it would be that it takes longer to understand a big church, how to feel comfortable moving through a group of 100 or more, deciding when to stop and talk and when to move on out the door. Eventually, Annalise will become a “child of the church” at Mountain View as you were at home in your church in Wisconsin. Let God work in His time. Have patience. It will happen.

As you wrote, “That is the familiar feeling I reached for, standing in the kitchen eating beans”.
What a great way to end a story! You are gifted as a writer, skilled as a writer, but also tenacious as a writer. For these qualities, as well as others not mentioned here, you have an appreciative readership. But, as my mom would say, “Iss dich net voll”. (Don’t fill yourself up.)

By: marlandphotos

marlandphotos — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:03:17 +0000

Fun!

By: Bethany

Bethany — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 19:16:27 +0000

“As a preacher’s daughter and part of one of the main families that made up the church of my birth…”

This is the part I connected with so much! Probably every preacher’s family/ main families in the church should have the experience of being a “nobody” for awhile. It definitely gives you a very different perspective!

By: Lucinda J

Lucinda J — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 18:36:39 +0000

In reply to LeAnn Weaver. I plan to be there! And absolutely, I'll look forward to it. :)