This one’s gonna be long. I appreciate your patience.

Some thoughts I had this morning while getting ready for church (I went to early service today) and waiting for service to start, now fleshed out a little bit…

You know, I’m a sad, sad creature. For five months now, I have been living in Birmingham, and I still don’t attend any church regularly here. Oh, I’ve gone to church a few times, but it’s been a half-hearted attempt at best. My excuses for not going have been many, and all of them not good. Let’s examine them one by one. I realize that the counter-arguments for all of these are trivial, but trust me, it does me good to write them down.

• I don’t have a job yet, so it’s embarrassing to go to church.

First, the country’s in a recession; lots of people don’t have jobs right now. Second, my spiritual need far outweighs my financial need right now. Third, people wouldn’t know that I didn’t have a job unless I explicitly said I didn’t, and even then they’d understand, given the current climate.

• I don’t want to get attached, since I might not stay in Birmingham.

This is a reason to not join a church here in town. It’s not a good reason to attend church at all. I don’t necessarily have to join a church right now, but it always does me good to attend church.

• I don’t know anyone.

Well, first off, this isn’t entirely true. At Dawson, where I’ve been going the times that I have gone, I know Ricky and Tammy (they just aren’t in the Sunday school class that I’d be in, and they can’t sit with me in church because they’re in choir). I also know my friend Sarah Frey (formerly Elmore) from the MBA Program (ditto on the Sunday school class).

But even in just the realm of a new Sunday school class, it isn’t a good argument. It isn’t anyone else’s fault that I don’t know anyone. The problem with this argument, as it pertains to a new church, Sunday school class, etc., is that it’s a vicious circle. I don’t know anyone, so I don’t go, so I don’t know anyone, and so on. If I had used this mentality concerning the BCM the part of the freshman year that I went (and trust me, I almost did), I’d never have met so many people who are so close to me now. Introversion is one thing; lack of effort on my part is quite another. No one can get to know me if I don’t make myself known.

• People will see my imperfections.

This is the weakest argument of all. It stems partly from the first argument, partly from introversion, and partly from good old-fashioned vanity. I even considered not going to church today because of a couple of shaving bumps on my face! This is when I had the mental ice-cold water thrown in my face, and when this whole line of thought began.

I’ve forgotten something very key: being a Christian (part of which is church attendance) is an acknowledgement and even an admission of imperfection. Simply coming to church shows that I realize I need a higher being to lift me from what I am without Him. (Side note: the first guy who greeted me today had a shaving bump just above his lip. I love the way God works.)

Anyone can see that these are all poor excuses. So I’m not going to make them anymore. I might not end up in Birmingham, but until I move off (if I do so), I will be attending church here on Sundays. No excuses. I hold myself accountable to all pressing on… readers from this day forth. I would appreciate any e-mails helping me to stay accountable in this area of my life.