When Jade and I started dating it became apparent that we had some pretty big theological differences. Don't misunderstand me; we were both born-again Christians. It's just that I was raised in the Nazarene Church and she was Spirit-filled, which was something I did not understand at the time.

She spoke in tongues, believed in divine healing and that it was God's will for Christians to enjoy financial prosperity. She believed in the gifts of the Spirit, and that they should be on display in the modern day church. In a nutshell, I guess you could say I thought she was one of those "crazy, pentecostal charismatics." The first part — that whole speaking in tongues thing — that was what I really had a problem with. I was raised to believe that speaking in tongues was "not for today." I was taught it was something that only crazy people did, and that it was not a legitimate manifestation of the Holy Spirit's presence in a believer's life. Speaking in tongues really freaked me out, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

When we first hooked up Jade was attending Capital Christian Center (CCC), where she actively served in a number of ministries. She had been going to the church for eight years, and it was her "home away from home." She loved it there and had no intention of leaving. I attended one service with her at CCC, and that environment made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I decided that certainly was not the church for me.

She made it clear she was not going to just pick up and leave her church for the sake of our relationship, either. She, unlike myself, was taught that you should be planted in a church home that God had led you to attend instead of choosing it based on your personal preferences or comfort zone.

This left us in a quandary, because we cared deeply for each other, but we couldn't justify leaving either of our churches to be with each other. She said we would have to break up because she wasn't leaving. I asked her to pray about it, because I knew that if God intended for us to be together He would work out our differences and place us in a new church where our individual and collective needs would be met. She did agree to pray about the issue and the Lord began showing her that doors were closing at CCC, and that it was time to make a change.

Since I attended "her" church I thought it only fair that she should attend "mine," and I was certain God's plan was for her to start going to Eagle Church of the Nazarene with me.  During the middle of the service, much to my surprise, the Holy Spirit told me, "this is not it, either."

As Jade and I both began to pray for direction about the issue of where we should be making our church home it became clear that we both needed to make a change. We went to Eagle Christian Church for a while, but after a few months we felt called to make another change. We had gotten married by this point, and it was becoming increasingly crucial that we find the right church home as a couple.

We found Boise Valley Christian Communion (BVCC) shortly thereafter, and enjoyed several months of great worship and fellowship. BVCC flowed in some gifts of the Spirit, and was much more lively than I had been accustomed to, but they weren't "weird" about it and I learned to appreciate their style. BVCC was a stepping stone the Lord used to help me grow in greater understanding of how He operates through the Holy Spirit, and it served an important purpose for several more months. Eventually we became dissatisfied again and thought God might be calling us to make another change. 

Jade and I had seen Pastor Mark Boer from Life Church on TV Sunday mornings while getting ready for church, and we were intrigued by his teaching. One Sunday morning in early July 2007 Jade was watching his broadcast. I felt a nudge on the inside, so I said, "I think we should go check out that church." Jade agreed, and the next weekend we went.

As soon as I entered into worship I knew we were finally "home." It felt completely comfortable, and it was obvious that this was the church family we had been searching for. We joined as members right away and have been attending ever since.