I have just completed my fourth week in Davis, and my third week of classes. If you’re familiar with the quarter system, you’ll know that I’m in the middle of my first round of midterms. So far I’ve had my Calculus midterm, which I felt pretty good about, and I have my Macroeconomics midterm this Thursday, which I expect to be easier than Calc. My other class, War in American Memory, has no midterm. That’s about all there is to say as far as academics go. The classes are enjoyable—especially economics—but a summary of their content would hardly be interesting for the average person.
This blog is more about social life anyway.
I’ve been checking out churches on Sundays to supplement the array of on-campus fellowships I’ve attended. I’ve tried three so far. The first was a Pentecostal church, so things were quite lively. A little more lively than I was comfortable with. I tried it for the first two weeks, and it was quite a bit more over-the-top the second week. I may go back, ‘cause there are definitely some great people there, but I decided to look around a bit more.
This blog is more about social life anyway.
I’ve been checking out churches on Sundays to supplement the array of on-campus fellowships I’ve attended. I’ve tried three so far. The first was a Pentecostal church, so things were quite lively. A little more lively than I was comfortable with. I tried it for the first two weeks, and it was quite a bit more over-the-top the second week. I may go back, ‘cause there are definitely some great people there, but I decided to look around a bit more.
The next week I went to a Baptist church with my friend Steven. I don't know if there could have been a greater contrast with the Pentecostal church. After the last experience, it felt like I must have taken a dose of Ambien beforehand. It left me wondering if emotion was some part of their worship experience. I was pleasantly surprised by the sermon though. I’m guessing I’d run into some theological disagreements with them too, but I think that will be unavoidable in almost any setting.
This week I tried a non-denominational church that meets in the auditorium of the local high school called Discovery Christian Church. It was pretty cool overall, and there were a few people there who I’d met before, but the message was a bit hard to follow. I may go back.
I’ll be trying other churches in the coming weeks, so hopefully I’ll have a clear decision of what will be the best fit. I figure I’ve got plenty of time to search before I settle. Plus, just seeing the extremes of the spectrum has made me rather curious to see what all is out there.
Now I think I’ll introduce a few of the “characters” that may be popping up in future posts. I’ve met well over a hundred people so far, but these seem to be a few of the more important.
This week I tried a non-denominational church that meets in the auditorium of the local high school called Discovery Christian Church. It was pretty cool overall, and there were a few people there who I’d met before, but the message was a bit hard to follow. I may go back.
I’ll be trying other churches in the coming weeks, so hopefully I’ll have a clear decision of what will be the best fit. I figure I’ve got plenty of time to search before I settle. Plus, just seeing the extremes of the spectrum has made me rather curious to see what all is out there.
Now I think I’ll introduce a few of the “characters” that may be popping up in future posts. I’ve met well over a hundred people so far, but these seem to be a few of the more important.
Steven
I met Steven at the first Christian event I attended, and was surprised to learn that he lived on the floor below me. In the next few days, I spent a fair amount of time with Steven and Sam (see below) at Christian events and meals. Over the course of a few conversations, I came to find that he was quite theologically educated because of his small group leader in high school, who was evidently quite knowledgeable. He’s a super nice guy, characterized by loving to play just about every sport there is.
I met Steven at the first Christian event I attended, and was surprised to learn that he lived on the floor below me. In the next few days, I spent a fair amount of time with Steven and Sam (see below) at Christian events and meals. Over the course of a few conversations, I came to find that he was quite theologically educated because of his small group leader in high school, who was evidently quite knowledgeable. He’s a super nice guy, characterized by loving to play just about every sport there is.
Sam
I met Sam the same night that I met Steven. Like Steven, Sam also lives on the floor below me, a couple doors down from Steven. Also very nice, Sam comes from a Pentecostal background, so he’s very comfortable in that sort of setting. I think Sam takes the cake for having the worst roommate story I’ve heard so far. In the middle of the second night after move-in, Sam’s roommate came back super drunk. He threw up all over Sam’s bed. Naturally, Sam was quite disturbed, but he took it like a man. He basically had to put his roommate to bed and sleep on the floor. That’s rough right there. His roommate apologized the next morning, assuring Sam that he wouldn’t get that drunk again. We’ll see.
I met Sam the same night that I met Steven. Like Steven, Sam also lives on the floor below me, a couple doors down from Steven. Also very nice, Sam comes from a Pentecostal background, so he’s very comfortable in that sort of setting. I think Sam takes the cake for having the worst roommate story I’ve heard so far. In the middle of the second night after move-in, Sam’s roommate came back super drunk. He threw up all over Sam’s bed. Naturally, Sam was quite disturbed, but he took it like a man. He basically had to put his roommate to bed and sleep on the floor. That’s rough right there. His roommate apologized the next morning, assuring Sam that he wouldn’t get that drunk again. We’ll see.
James
I met James before I met Sam or Steven. James lives a few doors down from me. It wasn’t until the end of the first week, however, that I found out he was a Christian, when he came to one of the events I was attending. What makes this especially interesting is that during my first few days at Davis, I might have mentioned James as one of the people who made it hard to be a Christian. James was confident, and was not afraid to speak up—not afraid to criticize. Thinking back, he didn’t actually make fun of people or do anything that would speak against his character, but for some reason I picked up the idea that if the topic of religion came up, James would be one of the first to crack jokes about it and make everyone laugh at how stupid it was. I guess it was because he made everyone laugh by speaking sarcastically about other topics. James was the person who showed me that you can meet a person twice. I met him the first time as a neighbor. The second time, I met him as a Christian. It’s funny how a relationship can change with that simple realization. Another lesson in books and covers and all that.
I met James before I met Sam or Steven. James lives a few doors down from me. It wasn’t until the end of the first week, however, that I found out he was a Christian, when he came to one of the events I was attending. What makes this especially interesting is that during my first few days at Davis, I might have mentioned James as one of the people who made it hard to be a Christian. James was confident, and was not afraid to speak up—not afraid to criticize. Thinking back, he didn’t actually make fun of people or do anything that would speak against his character, but for some reason I picked up the idea that if the topic of religion came up, James would be one of the first to crack jokes about it and make everyone laugh at how stupid it was. I guess it was because he made everyone laugh by speaking sarcastically about other topics. James was the person who showed me that you can meet a person twice. I met him the first time as a neighbor. The second time, I met him as a Christian. It’s funny how a relationship can change with that simple realization. Another lesson in books and covers and all that.
Mark
Mark lives down the hall next door to James. I connected with Mark during my very first evening in Davis. We went to dinner in the same group of about six people, and we hit it off simply because our personality types are very similar. If you read the first post, you’ll remember the group that scoffed when we received flyers from a Christian club. Mark was part of that group. I was rather discouraged by that, because up until then, I was finding that I had much in common with Mark. We continued seeing each other and chatting once every couple of days, and I still liked hanging out with him. A great surprise came to me one night at the end of the first week (the same night that I met James for the second time) when I discovered that Mark considered himself a Christian. I was washing my hands in the restroom when Mark walked in and asked me what I’d been up to. I told him that I just returned from an event with DCF (that’s Davis Christian Fellowship).
Mark lives down the hall next door to James. I connected with Mark during my very first evening in Davis. We went to dinner in the same group of about six people, and we hit it off simply because our personality types are very similar. If you read the first post, you’ll remember the group that scoffed when we received flyers from a Christian club. Mark was part of that group. I was rather discouraged by that, because up until then, I was finding that I had much in common with Mark. We continued seeing each other and chatting once every couple of days, and I still liked hanging out with him. A great surprise came to me one night at the end of the first week (the same night that I met James for the second time) when I discovered that Mark considered himself a Christian. I was washing my hands in the restroom when Mark walked in and asked me what I’d been up to. I told him that I just returned from an event with DCF (that’s Davis Christian Fellowship).
“Is that pretty good?” he asked. “Worth joining?” I said that it was fun, and he proceeded to tell me that he felt like he needed to be a better Christian. That surprised me. “I like the Bible, and God and Jesus and all that, but I don’t really like church,” he told me. He didn’t like hearing ideas that he thought were wrong being expressed with authority from a pulpit; mainly ideas surrounding evolution, homosexuals, etc. Nonetheless, he had been part of a youth group at a Presbyterian church that he really liked during high school. I told him I would keep him updated on what I found fellowship-wise, since our ideas seemed to basically line up in areas that were important to him. So far nothing has come of it, but I know that God’s work in his life will be evident before the end of the year.
Hopefully all this will serve as something of a backdrop in future posts. I have a feeling that some action is on its way.
Hopefully all this will serve as something of a backdrop in future posts. I have a feeling that some action is on its way.