searching

I just now thought of a church in a different way: a place in which to belong, in which to learn and grow and serve. A sanctuary unto which an individual entrusts his current and future self - a place he can belong and can identify with, but also one in which he can grow as Christ intended him to.

Now the question I find myself asking - what if said individual doesn't know either what exactly he believes (and thus/or) what type of person he hopes to be? What does a church search look like then?

To be precise, said individual knows a few things he believes, but they tend to be very basic and fairly broad (and said individual is me, in case that wasn't clear). For example - the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, the existence of God, etc...things that tend to be taken for granted in most churches I've visited, though even these were big steps I had to take/retake.

More nuanced beliefs - conservative/liberal tendencies, specific doctrines, attitudes towards social issues, science and faith, controversial issues, etc. - I am less sure of myself on, and the same is true for other issues such as race. As I try to make a checklist of things that I believe a church should have, I'm finding it difficult to write down more than two things, and thus to really narrow down my choices.

I was going to write a post listing churches I've visited and reviewing each one, but I nixed that one - it seemed as if I was writing pros and cons of each one, but not drawing any closer to finding a church home. And so instead, I write this, and instead I feel wishy washy. Not plugged in. Still kind of wandering around Austin, even after having visited 7 churches so far, but fearful also of settling down somewhere because I'm unsure of whether or not I want to go down that path and not another one. I hope I can ask for your prayers on where to go from here.

"And I still
Haven't found (or figured out)
What I'm looking for."