My search for the right church for me seems to have ended on a positive note. For the past couple of months, I have been attending the same church. From the beginning, I was impressed with things that probably would have scared me off years ago.

For one thing, I liked the style of the contemporary service, and the congregation seemed to welcome everyone. The church building is a converted basketball gymnasium. The backdrops on the stage are abstract white fabric shapes backlit by gelled yellow and red lighting to give a dynamic look. The service begins with upbeat Christian music, played on piano/keyboard, drums, electric and acoustical guitars, and even a bass and violin on some pieces.

The congregation dresses anywhere from sports jacket to business casual to shorts and t-shirts. There are a few motorcycle enthusiasts who show up in leather vests and ‘do-rags. I suppose it’s hard for members of a congregation to be “holier than thou” when everyone dresses differently.

You might remember that one of my earliest religion-related posts was about the concept of “Casual Sundays.” I made the point that I wasn’t sure about this practice, because it seemed to be an excuse to be lazy in church. I was brought up to dress “appropriately” for church because you were visiting God’s House.

Over the years, I’ve thought a good bit about that and have come to a somewhat different conclusion. If you consider yourself a lowly employee and God as the “Chairman of the Board,” then you’d certainly want to dress formally. If you consider God as more your friend, as I do, then you might think twice about the need for such formality.

As I was exploring church websites, I found some pretty “out there” ideas. So when I had the chance to ask questions of this one, I took advantage and asked about certain controversial ideas that churches like to argue about.

The pastor gave an example of a member who complained about an outdoor smoking area. When asked, the member suggested that smoking is a sin because the body is supposed to be a temple. The pastor reminded her that they set up the outdoor smoking section to keep those who smoke from doing so inside the church. That didn’t seem to make a difference with her. But the pastor pointed out, kindly, of course, that if he was to shut down the smoking area because of the “sin” of smoking, he first wanted to follow the complaining member home, see what she ate, see how much she exercised, and what she was doing regularly to take care of her body.

The point of this was that as Christians, we tend to obsess about one simple concept and allow other problems, some just as big, others even bigger, to slip by the wayside while we wage war on this one little thing.

I can respect that kind of reasoning.