I want to tell you about my church.

I didn’t preach this week. It’s rare that I don’t preach on any given Sunday, but I was “off” this weekend from my usual preaching duties. I didn’t have to prep. I didn’t have to plan. I didn’t have to preach. My only responsibility was to be present, fully present, as my church gathered.

For full disclosure, the reason I didn’t have to preach is because it was a special Sunday in my church’s annual calendar. My church, The Hills, gathered with our friends from Hazelwood Christian Church, for a joint worship service and picnic. It was a fantastic time; a rejuvenating time. It was also a spiritually and ecclesiologically affirming time.

My primary takeaway from this unique Sunday was: I really, really want to tell you about my church!

My church, The Hills, is different. I know every enthusiastic Christian says that about their church but, in our case, it’s actually true. We’re so different in fact this post will likely serve as an introduction to a series of posts on the topic as there’s far too much to discuss in one sitting.

I love when people visit my church for the first time. I can see their proverbial minds blowing in real time as they question and process what they’re discovering.

“You mean you meet outside in a park pavilion every Sunday?!” Yup!

“What about when it rains?!” Then it rains. There’s a roof. And if it’s really bad, we cancel our planned gathering and pivot toward a day of rest. Over the past four years, that’s only happened a handful of times. Seriously, the numbers in the single digits!

“What about when it gets cold in the winter?! You don’t meet in the park in the winter do you?!” We do! But, we rent a small, refurbished barn for those services. The barn is far from what many churches would consider “optimal” for their gatherings. It’s one room but it has heat along with a small kitchen and restrooms in the basement (you have to go outside to get to them though - ha!).

“Is this just temporary until you can afford a building?” Nope. We have no intentions of buying or even renting a permanent place to gather. In fact, we’ve been down that road before. This works better for the vision we have for the sort of church we want to be. Plus, the cost is so minimal it enables us to leverage a majority of our finances for other, more pressing matters

I mentioned above that this past Sunday was affirming in a spiritual and ecclesiological way. Allow me to paint the scene. Sunday offered a particularly beautiful late summer day in Pittsburgh -- upper 70s, blue skies, slight breeze, you get the idea. The pavilion we gather in is surrounded by a gently sloping hill on one side (the kids love to run, or even roll, down this hill) and lush, green vegetation on the other. While surrounded by what I’ve come to call “God’s sanctuary,” the worship team led the congregation in the singing of “How Great Thou Art” among other songs. At the risk of sounding like I’m drafting a scene for a new Disney movie, I could almost hear the birds joining in the chorus as the veil between the temporal and the eternal peeled back ever so slightly.

Shortly thereafter, a friend of mine, Ed, offered a hearty message laced with more scripture and biblical insight than you’d find from the combined sermons of ten of the most “internet famous” preachers! To be clear, Ed’s not a formally trained preacher or pastor. He doesn’t have multiple degrees in biblical studies or theology. He doesn’t speak with the eloquence of those with a litany of pulpits on their resume. Professionally, he’s a Help Desk Supervisor for a major hospital network. Personally, however, he’s a deeply passionate disciple of Jesus who knows God’s Word to a degree I pray to one day reflect.

While this past Sunday was, in fact, a special day, the manner in which the service played out is entirely reflective of the sort of church we’ve strived to create. There’s no formal liturgy which must be adhered to religiously. There’s no hierarchy of staff and leadership monopolizing the decision making. There’s no library of programs and ministries demanding time and money to support. There’s no nursery or children’s church or other classes separating families from one another. There’s not even a building or property requiring maintenance. The only thing we have and the only thing we genuinely care about is a spiritual family gathered together in one place at one time every Sunday to worship, draw near and actively serve Jesus.

Those who’ve discovered us and stuck around have described The Hills with words like refreshingly simple, family-centric and real. There’s no ulterior motives. There’s no bait and switch. There’s no, “attend our new members class only to be assigned a donation tracker for the multi-million dollar capital campaign” (yes, that’s a real thing that happened in a real church).

We meet every Sunday to worship without the distractions of smoke machines and lasers. We pray together, not in generalities or with overly religious language, but over the real concerns of the real people around the table with us. We spend time in God’s word not burdened by over the top stage productions or complex, religious language no one understands. We openly partake in the Lord’s Supper every Sunday without the anxiety laden overtones of whether or not anyone is worthy.

For a long time, our literature has described us as “a fresh expression of God’s love for Pittsburgh” and this past weekend’s gathering only served to affirm that, after all these years, that description still sticks.

I’m so grateful for The Hills. It’s nothing like the sort of church I envisioned myself leading a couple decades ago as a blissfully ignorant, “looking for the next big thing” young pastor/church planter, but it’s precisely the sort of spiritual family God knew that I and many others needed. If you’re ever looking for something quite different than the typical church experience, consider joining us for a service (just be sure to check our website for the precise location, as it changes occasionally). If you have any questions, I’m an open book and always available.

I’ll have more to say about my church in the days/weeks to come. I really need to tell you more about it.