We were nervous. I was attending church with my friend who was raised with fewer religious hangups. We both wondered if the church would fall down upon our entrance. I hadn’t been to church in a long time. Yes, for the occasional memorial service or wedding but I’m talking about willingly going. And when I say a long time, I’m thinking maybe over 35 years. And that wasn’t even willingly.

This church was the non-denominational type. Twelve years of parochial schooling will teach you a thing or two about the rhythm of the service. To say I could still do it in my sleep isn’t an exaggeration. But with my spiritual curiosity as my guide (and the fact that another friend was on the Board to find the new preacher), I went in with an open mind, with a beginner’s mind.

We sat in the last pew and fumbled through the hymnal and the bible, following along but certainly not singing. I wasn’t going to get that into it. But then Dan, the new minister, got up to speak (yes, we are on a first-name basis) and I thought here we go.

He opened his sermon with the reference to the 56 plus million viewed Ted Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek. OK, I thought, this guy is speaking my language. And then he taught me something, actually quite a few somethings. About Judaism, humility, the desire to keep learning, and the importance of those three words “Come follow me” that Jesus said, and how those words changed the world. The importance of knowing your Why and as a Christian your Why includes service and love for others. I sat in that last pew with my friend, taking it all in. I glanced outside at the people visiting our beautiful town, on their bikes, walking, conversing, enjoying a coffee and I was sad for them that they weren’t in this church at that moment hearing his words. Dan spoke of the universal language of love, of loving thy neighbor, of living a life devoted to caring for others, and Jesus’ exemplary life of living his Why. How fortunate his new disciples were to have such a profound teacher when their destiny changed with those words, “come follow me.” I felt how fortunate I am right now to be sitting here, hearing Dan’s words. I felt inspired.

Loving thy neighbor doesn’t need to be just a Christian concept. These are words for everyone to live by. Yes, Jesus said them, and Dan who is a Christian was teaching about them but isn’t this a universal concept? In Mark Labberton’s book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, he says “We are given time on earth, to do what with it?” Why do you think we are really here? Why were you chosen to live a life? Is it only about acquiring things, having a career, raising children, loving your family? Imagine a world where everyone simply loved their neighbor - all the time. I imagine that would be heaven on earth. Kind of the point, right? No matter what kind of life you are living, Christian, agnostic, atheist, fill-in-the-blank, love our neighbor is the answer. A Universal concept. Dare I say, a Godly concept.

I realized that for the past 35 plus years, my hangups have kept me from going to church. I have been missing out on an inspirational experience because of what I thought I needed to be to walk into church, including believing in the kind of God I thought those in attendance believed in. What I have learned since is we have no idea what people actually believe. We all come from different life experiences, experiences shaping our belief system. I have also learned I can get a lot of somethings out of listening in, what I would consider for me, the least likely of places. My list of learned somethings included just because I don’t believe ‘Jesus is my Savior’ or ‘Jesus died for my sins’ doesn’t mean I can’t go to a Christian church or to any other church, temple, place of worship, to listen and learn. Don’t throw the spiritual seeker out with the dogma. We can all learn from inspiration. If a place is calling you, heed the calling. Check your hangups at the door and show up. I think you’ll like it.