Second Home

Granted, the title of this blog might speak to a dream home at the beach or one in the mountains, somewhere where an individual or a family can escape the trials of life. And those certainly are nice for those who can afford them, but I'm thinking about a second home that many families and individuals can find right in their own communities. I'm speaking about church as a second home.

Last night while I was at LOGOS, after a busy day and trying to get a lot done, a feeling came over me of contentment that some might find in a second home which is an escape from daily life and gives them the energy to go on with the rest of the week. Yes, I had seen many of the same people on Sunday morning, but as pastor, and I suspect for most church goers, the Sunday morning event does not allow for the same depth of relationship that a meal or common task affords.

But mostly, for me, the sense of a second home came after dinner when I sat down with two senior high boys for Bible study. We are watching the "Lord of the Rings" and then talking about how ideas in the film connect with the Bible and life. While we were settling into a clip about Loving Relationships, a dad and his preschool daughter joined us for some movie watching and then consideration of how the Bible and a popular film talk to us about being in relationship with God and one another.

It struck me in that space: how different, how removed from regular life, and yet how valuable it was, what an opportunity for relationship building to have two senior high boys, two thirty-something dads and a preschool daughter listen in on a conversation that God started a long time ago, about what makes for loving and lasting relationships.

Having that time apart from the crush of deadlines and expectations and goals and concerns is vital for the life of both the individual and the family. And it is a joy to be part of forming a second home for the people of First Presbyterian Church in Twin Falls, Idaho. I hope you, too, will continue to join me in building this second home, as well.