Here we go again!

Almost all our married life of nearly forty three years and even before that, my beautiful bride and I have gone to small churches with godawful ugly pews, usually some shade of the color orange.

For the last couple of years, we’ve gone to a hip, cool, contemporary Christian church that started out in a renovated duplex movie theatre and last year moved into their brand new state-of the-art auditorium complete with a big stage for Christian Rock Music, as well as Biblically-sound preaching, several multi-media display monitors, lights, fog machine, AND stadium seating complete with cup holders for the movie theatre style bucket seats.

We LOVED EVERYTHING about our “walk on the wild side,” especially the people there . . . but we also missed our sense of “church!”

So today, I texted our now former pastor, but still friend, to tender our resignation because I explained that Karen and me are really “small church” people and that we feel most of service in a small and usually struggling church. I asked too if I could come by the church-a-torium to say goodbye and to get a hug and a handshake.

Our pastor said that he hated to read my text but that he understood and had “no hard feelings” and “Yes” I could come by his office for a so-long-for-now hug.

I then sent the following message to the church that we’ll be attending starting this Sunday,

Pastor,

My wife and I are looking for a church with bright or burnt orange pews.  

Does Morningside Baptist have bright or burnt orange pews?

Please advise.

Thank you.

Love, Mark & Karen

When I stopped by Morningside Baptist Church in Yuma, Arizona, this afternoon to meet our soon to be pastor, only the church secretary, Katie, was in the office.

Katie laughed when I introduced myself because she had just read my email to the pastor and was getting ready to answer it and to assure me and Karen that, in fact, Morningside Baptist Church DOES have orange pews!

She showed me the sanctuary . . . NOT auditorium, mind you . . . and let me take pictures to show Karen.

When I asked her, “WHAT is it with Baptist churches and their ugly orange pews?” Katie just laughed again and shrugged her shoulders!

“No hard feelings” our now former pastor had said.

None indeed.

In fact, it feels like . . . we’re now HOME!