I've been all over the denominational map, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

>From the time I was little, our family always went to a United Methodist Church in whatever town we lived. I was confirmed in the Methodist church when I was 13, but like a lot of high school kids, I drifted.

When I first started dating Genia, I started going to church with her. She went to a place called Cornerstone Worship Center and it is affliliated with the Church of God. Needless to say it was quite a shock to see a full band on stage and watch people clap their hands and dance around. It was downright scary the first time I heard people speaking in tongues and saw them falling in the floor. Something about it drew me in, though. Maybe it was the emotionalism, considering the Methodist churches I'd attended were always so dry by comparison. Cornerstone was the place where I really gave myself over to Christ, and I'll always have that as a fond memory. The pastor and his wife are good people, and I respect and appreciate them despite the differences I now have with their theology and practice.

A year later when we moved to Gainesville, Georgia, we started attending Free Chapel Worship Center, another pentecostal/charismatic church, and we started attending a small ministry school affiliated with the church. We often joke about their "sparkling praise team" -- they looked like something straight off of TBN, all dressed in black with lots of sequins and jewelry. During our time there, I started reading a couple of books that critiqued charismatic theology and practice, and I started questioning what I was being taught for the first time. There were a couple of major breaking points before I finally decided that I just couldn't be a part of it anymore and we left.

Soon after leaving Free Chapel, we started attending North Point Community Church at the suggestion of some of my co-workers. We felt very much at home, and at peace, there. Unlike the pentecostal churches we'd attended, every service didn't end with a guilt-trip altar call and a reminder that you can lose your salvation (it seemed as easy as losing your keys). We were taught practical applications from the scriptures, and we were taught that God will never leave us nor forsake us. The songs were in a very contemporary style, but instead of "Praising the Power Down" and "Taking Back What [the devil] Stole From Me" we were singing about "the wonderful cross" and how "His love endures forever." We still love North Point, and it is one of the things we miss the most about Atlanta.

Since we've been in Chattanooga, we've been attending Rock Creek Fellowship on Lookout Mountain pretty regularly. It's a PCA church, which is different than North Point, which was non-denominational but close to Baptist beliefs. We enjoy the services and I've been reading a lot about Reformed beliefs. I'm attracted to the general Reformed worldview, though I admit I haven't fully accepted the idea of predestination. Honestly I'd never thought or read enough about it to make an informed decision, but I'm working on it. Yes I'm still running...