#611. Going to church while on vacation.

Can we get a ruling on this one? Seriously, can we please come to some sort of consensus decision that we can all live with, because right now, when I don’t go to church when I’m out of town on vacation, I kind of feel like I’m taking a vacation from Jesus as well as from my job.

And that’s just not the case. I’m still doing quiet times in the morning, but when it’s Sunday and we’re at the beach for a few days, do I have to go to church? I feel like I have four different options when I find myself in this dilemma and each one offers it’s own risks and benefits.

4 Ways to Spend Your Sunday Morning While on Vacation

1. Go to a random church.
Benefits:
You’ll get to experience a completely different worship service than the one you’re used to back home. Maybe, even though you don’t raise your hands during worship at your church, you’re a hand raising worshipper and just needed the momentum of an entourage of other hand raisers to get you started. And when you visit a more charismatic church than you normally attend while on vacation, you’ll get swept up in the atmosphere and return home with a pound cake approach to hand raising.

Risks:
Depending on the church, you might have to perform any number of first time visitor activities including: raising your hand, standing up and telling people where you are from, shot blocking multiple invitations to the first time visitors’ lunch, refusing to volunteer to teach Sunday School, carrying a gospel gift bag around and many others. The only way to spare yourself is to make it insanely obvious that you’re on vacation. Wear a grass hat, hula skirt and gobs of Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil. On the downside, you’ll have a really difficult time staying in your seat if they have wooden pews because your body will be so slick that you’ll slide like a cloth in a lemon pledge commercial, but on the plus side everyone will know you’re just passing through.

2. Go to a vacation worship service.
Benefits:
A vacation worship service is a unique worship experience that locals put on to make tourists feel at home. When I was a kid we spent our vacations at Sunset Beach, North Carolina. Every Sunday morning a family there would host a puppet/worship service near the pier. Camp grounds are also a prime place to find these kinds of things as well. I regret that no one has stolen my puppet troupe name yet, Strings of Mercy, but on the plus side with this approach you’ll get to have a unique kind of worship moment.

Risks:
If you’re terrified of puppets, then the biggest risk, is well, the puppets. But if you’re not, the real fear is that you’re the only one that attends the service. Imagine sitting under a pier, by yourself, while a husband wife singing team serenades you directly with “Our God is an Awesome God.”

3. Do your own thing.
Benefits:
You get to practice having a home church. You get to say when it starts, what you’ll cover and get your family involved in putting on your very own church service.

Risks:
People have incredibly high expectations these days when it comes to church. Your brother, your cousin, maybe even your wife might think your message isn’t relevant enough. Or maybe it’s too relevant and they wanted to be fed more. If you have kids, they’re probably going to be expecting some gold fish and a captivating story about Noah or Jonah or Daniel. (This is the “animal triad.” When it comes to teaching kids Bible stories, the old adage is “when it doubt, bust animal stories out.” I think Billy Graham first said that but I could be wrong.) And unless you’ve got some sort of laser show or fog machine, don’t expect your Uncle to get up out of his seat when you try to lead everybody in a worship song. Worst of all you don’t really get to critique the sermon afterward because you preached it.

4. Go jogging instead.
Benefits:
There’s a myriad of benefits, depending on how you use your time instead of going to church. You could go for a long walk on the beach, go fishing with your son, hike a trail. Benefits would include fresh air, relaxation, fellowship with friends, quiet reflective moment with God, etc.

Risks:
My judgment. Actually, that’s not really a risk so much as it is a promise. If I am driving to church and I see you on a Sunday morning out jogging and you’re not wearing a shirt that says “I attend Saturday night church services,” I’m going to judge you. And then I’ll realize I’m doing it and feel guilty and now we’re both in trouble. So thanks for that.

I guess the fifth option is to not obsess about things like this, to instead trust in the Lord and worship Him in the way that makes the most sense according to His plan for your life wherever you find yourself on a Sunday morning during vacation. I can definitely see the benefits of that approach and the only real risk I see is that I won’t get to watch you slide across a wooden pew in a streak of Hawaiian Tropic oil like a glazed ham. But if you’re not going to consider my enjoyment of that moment and my needs, then go for it, pick the fifth option. Seems kind of selfish of you, but go right ahead.

Did you go to church while on vacation this summer?

What do you do on vacation when it comes to God?