Travels To Hawaii, Day 6
Sunday I was eager to worship with a group of fellow Christians in the area. Checking the web I found a nearby congregation, Pali View Baptist Church in Kaneohe, the town where I am staying. Why is attending worship important to me while on vacation? It is not a necessity. There have been times when I have not attending church while traveling. I am coming to the point, though, where I think I understand more the personal value gained from connecting with fellow followers of Christ. There is joy within the experience of corporate worship. The occasion has evolved for me from mostly being an exercise of obedience to God, and now it is more of a meeting with God. And at this point in life I am not nearly as suspect of church people. Now I seek more to join with them, than to sit back and consider them. It is all still a work in progress.
The people of Pali View were warm and inviting. As soon as I stepped into the parking lot, I was met by a man with a kind demeanor. He pointed me toward the front entrance. A greeting area was provided, offering snacks while they jotted down a bit of information about myself. I went on into the sanctuary and and found my favorite spot available, almost to the front and to the far left. Front seats are usually available! Several people came by to speak and offer sincere welcome. I spoke with a tall, gregarious fellow, whom I assumed for some reason to be the music director. Later I found out he was Steve, the pastor. Steve, I apologize for the slight. Oh, Pastor Steve writes a nice article for his church website.
The mechanics of the worship experience were a bit different from what I am accustomed. I rush to interject that different is not bad! There were no hymns of the faith, but only praise choruses. Personally I believe hymns to have great message and meaning, and would not want to abandon them on a regular basis. The praise songs were nice. The music director played a guitar, his wife the piano, and a chorus of about 6 persons helped lead the songs. Pastor Steve wore casual slacks and a traditional Hawaiian shirt. His sermon? I want to try to be careful, because I think preachers can too easily criticize one another. There is a reason why this man is their preacher. Apparently his style and substance are preferred by this congregation, and perhaps most appropriate to minister to the surrounding culture with the gospel? He read the sermon, verbatim I think. He gave me no cause to open my Bible and consider scripture. And the invitation to Christ was very brief, and I think weak. But, hey, I guess they all cannot be great preachers like PastorDave (written with heavy sarcasm and not an ounce of sincerity!).
The church is kicking off an evangelism focus, using material by Bill Hybels, called Just Walk Across The Room . I'd like to learn more about this tool of natural, friendship outreach.
For the afternoon, we went to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet . It is a huge flea market/bazaar, encircling the parking lot of the Aloha football stadium. I bought some t-shirts, and wish I could get one for all my blogging friends. Thy are 8 for $20, so I just may! I also got a silly Hawaiian hat. So now I can proudly walk around, wearing my souvenier shirt and hat, shorts, black socks and dress shoes and look fully the part of the tourist! I guess a beer-gut would complete the picture, and a few more huge buffets should take care of that matter.
I met a hippie-looking fellow at the flea market, and I think his name was Bill . He was selling some cheap items, laid out in the grass. What intrigued me was his old rusty van with JESUS nervously scrawled on the side. I learned he basically lives in his van. And he has Hepatitus C! I quickly scanned my memory banks and remembered this could not be passed on through conversation and handshakes, and calmed down. Bill committed his life to Christ about 7 years ago, and seemed quite sensible and personable. As I walked away, he said it was nice to meet, and that maybe we will meet again? Yep, I might see Bill's old rusty van pull into my driveway one day. Maybe he should preach a sermon at Pali View? I'll call pastor Steve and see if we can arrange it.
HONOLULU AT NIGHT. Spectacular sight from the mountains.
NEW FRIEND I MET IN CHINATOWN. She seemed a little stiff, a bit wooden.
