Free coffee on Sunday? Yes please.

I officially dedicate this post of mine to my Sunday in Holland over fall break. Fall break was awhile ago, I know, but it's better late that never, right?

My Sunday in Holland was a good day. It was a good day for many reasons.

On Sunday we went to not one...not two...but three different churches.

Do you know what that means? Free coffee. Lots of free coffee. (I'm only kidding. Kinda. But I do love coffee.) Three different services means I had the opportunity to experience three very different styles of worship. And that's not something I get to do all the time.

There are only two words I can think of to describe the first church, Engedi: vibrant & upbeat. The sanctuary was set up in a way that I'd never really seen before. (Actually, when we arrived the worship team had already started playing and the main lights were off─so technically I couldn't really see it anyway.)

In the middle of the room was a large square stage with multiple sections of seating facing it. In the center of the stage was a hollowed out section where the drummer and his trap set were located. Around the stage stood different singers and guitar players, and hanging from the ceiling above the stage there were four different projectors displaying the words to the songs.

The music was loud, it was upbeat, and it was definitely full of energy. (Quite a bit different from some of the reserved services I've been to before.) But I can't possibly say that any one style of worship is better than any other. What's important is the One to whom the praises are being sung.

After the message, my friends and I had to sneak out early to make it to the other church in time. 

Right as we got up to leave, the pastor asked the deacons to come and receive the offering. It almost felt like we were dining and ditching, you know? Here we are, four poor college girls, and right as they're about to collect the offerings we shoot out of our seats and make a mad dash for the exit. (Okay, you have to understand the attempted humor behind my story here. The passing of the offering plates is a time for those committed to the church and those who feel called to give what they can. By no means did anyone assume that's why we were leaving. God can be quite humorous, that I've come to realize. I have to believe that in the perfect timing of that moment he was getting quite the laugh as well.)

The next church we visited, Pillar Church, was quite the contrast to Engendi. 

I recommend checking out Pillar Church's website to get a feel for the place. Think traditional. Big open windows, lots of natural light. And I can't forget to mention the pews.

I grew up with church pews, so you can understand why they're so near and dear to my heart. Many many MANY great games of Romans and Christians were played within the walls of my church. If you're familiar with the game, you know the importance of the church pews─REFUGE. Refuge in more ways than one. For a young middle school me, these pews provided safety from the "Romans" lurking in the darkness.

I got down and dirty under those pews, army crawling to keep myself hidden. I was not about to get captured, no sir. Man─some of the best memories of my life were spent in those church pews.

Even though we left Engedi early, we still got to Pillar late.

I'm telling you, the place─was─packed. However, we still had hope. There was just enough space left for the four of us to squeeze in. Way up front. In the front row, to be exact. Next to the pastor and his family.

Is the front row really that scary? Come on people. It's not that bad.

So we made our way to the front. And right as we were sitting down, the pastor, who was standing upfront, stopped talking mid-sentence, staring at us. (Okay, probably not for the reason I've lead you to believe. I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have lead you on like that.)

The reason we were visiting Pillar Church was because my friend Taylor knows the pastor. It was safe to assume by the look on his face that he didn't know Taylor would be visiting that morning.

After pausing for what was honestly only two or three seconds, the pastor (with a very surprised look on his face) said, "Well well well, we have a special treat today. I'd like to introduce you all to a good friend of mine, Taylor."

With our little interruption behind us, he continued on with what he was saying and then the worship team lead the congregation in worship. The pastor came down to his seat, still in shock, talked briefly with Taylor and then before going back to lead the congregation in prayer, said something that took me slightly aback. He said:

"I'll talk to you after the service. I've got to get back to work."

He said this with a smile on his face of course, and it was merely a lighthearted comment, but still. It surprised me. Why are you making such a big deal about this Jamie?

I suppose I've just never considered pastoring to be "work".

I've never actually considered the fact that people get paid to preach.

I've considered it, yes. But for some reason, this time it really stuck out to me. 

And he's absolutely correct. He went to seminary to become a pastor. The woman who they were ordaining that afternoon, she went to seminary to become a pastor. Women and men both attend seminary to become ordained. Pastoral care is something that people get paid to do, so yes, I suppose it is considered work. (Please be patient with me as I embrace these epiphany moments.)

I've heard before that it's a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together.

Disclaimer for those who don't know me: preaching is that passion of mine that can most certainly turn into a career.

And that's a really cool thing to think about. 


The rest of my time at Pillar was spent contemplating this profound realization of mine that to the rest of you, may really not be that mind-boggling. People get paid to preach. I don't know why this surprises me every time I think about it. The reality of this truth only hits me every three months or so, but when it does, it's like BOOM. HELLO. Yes, this is a real thing. You could do this the rest of your life. It's a very real possibility.

Did I mention that Western Seminary is in Holland? And did I mention that I fell in love with Holland over break? Just a fair warning to all that there is a very real possibility that I may be spending some time of my life in Holland. (Don't worry Mom and Dad─I'll be sure to come back and visit.)

We sang a few hymns at Pillar, but this time it was a little different.

Not only was there an organ, but there was a whole band AND an electric violin too. I appreciated those hymns at Pillar because they were upbeat and lively, and they brought back some great memories from back in the day.

Our last worship service for the day happened to be located in the chapel of Hope College. 

Just like Northwestern, Hope has a Sunday night praise and worship, and we were interested to see how the two compared. There are differences between the two, but those differences aren't so much what are important. What's important is that we were able to share in community with the students of Hope while worshiping the God we all know and love.

Oh, and the architecture at Dimnent Chapel is pretty darn beautiful. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Dimnet Chapel at Hope College.

See that girl up there? You might have to squint. That's me. Now I don't want any of you to get too excited. I wasn't actually preaching that day and the only other people there were my friends. I'm certainly not a professional, and I'm not yet ordained. BUT. I've got my whole life ahead of me. We shall wait and see.