Being reared in a megachurch (First Baptist Church Jackson) with the pedigree of a Huckleberry Finn, I simply stood back in awe of the spectacle, masses and outstanding preaching. As a teen, I was there during the late '80s when Dr. Frank Pollard (Senior Pastor) was in his prime (during his second appointment there). We attended both Sunday mornings and evenings, giving nary a second thought to driving all the way from humble (back then) Madison to downtown Jackson twice (+/25 minute car ride) on The Lord's Day.
Church provided teen Rob (only child) with so many good opportunities to be cared for by adults who weren't Bob and Darlene. Therein, I was lassoed in by the gospel at the tender age of 13. In many ways it was religiously idyllic. Especially considering the setting being Mississippi.
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Today, Samson Society provides the caring adults who support Rob, done so at a level (appropriately so) that's far more nuanced and intentional.
So where does that leave church?
Church, to me, is like going to the Y for a workout or down the Reservoir multi-purpose trail for a run. It's time well spent, but mostly, it's routine more than anything else.
Now, we tithe our 10% every month, and I sing in the Chancel Choir for both the Christmas and Easter cantatas, and I will keep doing that.
But, I don't work hard to make close Presbyterian friends, participate in either the domestic or overseas mission projects or aspire to become a deacon / elder at Lakeside Presbyterian Church.
Hence, some Sundays can be monotonous and thereby fatiguing.
But, there is one regularly scheduled church programming event (Fall / Spring) exception to this.
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One of the things I really like about our little community church is Wednesday nights. And not just due to the food line ("Family Night Supper").
When I was in late elementary school, Bob & Darlene would bring me to megachurch (First Baptist Church Jackson) for Wednesday evening service, and though the food was great, everything else about it sucked.
Primarily this had to do with the facilities, which were vast, but on Wednesday evenings, the attendance numbers were miniscule compared to Sunday mornings. Hence, the megachurch building felt daunting and frozen due to its emptiness.
As such, their formality was amplified that much more.
After that singular year (1985?), we discontinued attending Wednesday megachurch services because none of us liked it one bit.
Fast forward to today, and there's no doubt that Lakeside Pres' facilities are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They're not even, by definition, modest. Haphazard is the best descriptor I can think of. Yet, in so many ways, it's a perfect reflection of the community it serves, and this is due to the fact that the Reservoir area is such the Hodge Podge free-for-all / redneck resort paradise of the Jackson Metro.
Today, Wednesday nights at Lakeside Pres are typically jammed packed with middle to upper middle-class Presbyterians, easily stretching the seams of the '70ish facilities. It's borderline raucous. And I like that about it because it doesn't - in the slightest - reek of church. Plus, there are even a few occasions where Bible studies are enacted, following dinner, that are well worth the weekday evening invested.
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My wife, Angie, isn't involved in The Sarah Society (a women's equivalent to Samson Society), therefore her relationships at Lakeside Pres are (aspiringly) tantamount to the ones I enjoy via Samson. Therefore, on Sunday mornings, she lingers far longer than I do - after the service - to chat meaningfully with her friends. Angie's also far more likely to interject prayer requests during Sunday School, and she frequently attends a ladies' breakfast gathering amongst her middle-aged (& a few older) peers.
Angie loves Lakeside Pres. In fact, were she forced to choose between it and her husband, I'm pretty sure she'd choose Lakeside Pres.
And that makes me really happy because I believe church today is mostly geared towards women and meeting their spiritual needs. In conclusion, finding one where my wife feels communal makes me one quite content Samson guy.
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