Tonight we attended a Combined Service at our local AOG church.It was a pleasant experience- good music, good singing, good dramas and a good message.

It was a good night with a pretty good attendance, and I am in no way critical of what was presented. It was good.

And yet…

I spent most of the evening thinking that it wasn't the same place that our congregation is at. Margaret said something similar on the way home.

The conclusion I came to is that God has moved us past presentations and image and looking good. Now we are at a place where we value community and relationships over a pleasing experience, authentic response to God rather than a polished performance.

Even over Easter, I didn't come up with any video clips or slick scripts. Instead we read lots of Scripture, celebrated Communion and I preached pretty much from the heart (that's not to say that there was no prior preparation.)

I'm not saying that one way is better than another. Each congregation needs to find its own way of encountering the risen Christ.

It's just a surprise when we discover that we have taken a divergent path.