WEEK 9: A First for Me

Who: Isaiah and Julianna

Church: Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Hixson)

Lunch: Frothy Monkey

Topics: Kingdom of God, Uncomfortable Conversations, True Christianity

Before you dive into this week’s post, there’s something you should know about my background—specifically, my religious upbringing and education. It was incredibly conservative. I was raised Southern Baptist and attended one of the most right-leaning, dogmatic seminaries in the country. To give you an idea of how rigid it was… women weren’t even allowed to take pastoral classes because, in their view, why bother? Women couldn’t be pastors.

For the record, my decision to attend this particular seminary wasn’t because I wanted to surround myself with people who shared my exact beliefs. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I chose it because I love apologetics—the art of reasoning, defending, and exploring one’s faith. I craved a place where I could engage in deep conversations and be challenged, not just by those who agree with me on the core tenants of my faith tradition, but also by those who see things differently. I wanted to stretch my mind and test my convictions, to see how well my faith could stand up to scrutiny and questions. For me, it was never about living in an echo chamber; it was about growth and discovering the nuances of what I believe through honest dialogue and intellectual wrestling.

This is why I ask so many questions today, why I love debates, and why I’m always diving into tough conversations. It’s all part of this journey of wanting to know what I believe and why I believe it. And this is why this week’s church experience was a terrifying and fascinating at the same time.

I grew up seeing Christianity, for better or for worse, as a club—you were either in, or you weren’t. You either called yourself a Christian, or you didn’t. And, in full transparency, I used to gauge someone’s faith in Jesus by whether they attended church on Sunday mornings. Of course, if you went to church more than once a week, that made you extra holy in my eyes. (Kidding… but not.) I never thought about denominational differences and I never really gave much thought to faith traditions and religions that don’t share what many consider, core, foundational values, or beliefs… the checklist of things you NEED to believe in order to be a Christian. It wasn’t until I married into a Catholic family that I witnessed tension between people who believe in Jesus… but don’t share those core beliefs.

I’ll never forget the first time my sister-in-law told me the Catholic Church was the real church. At first, I laughed it off, thinking she was joking. But as time went on, I realized she most definitely was NOT joking. This was a deep-seated belief that divided us more than I expected. When I started asking questions, I also came to realize that many of the Catholics I personally knew hadn’t deeply explored the teachings, history, or spiritual depth of Catholicism, and as a result, their connection to the faith often felt more ritualistic than anything else, which can also be said of any, and all, Protestant denominations. (I will dive more into this when I visit a Catholic church.)

So, this brings me to this week’s church visit.

Last Sunday, I went with my dear friends Isaiah and Julianna to the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hixson. (For those who may be clutching their pearls… there’s no need.) Full disclosure, I was a little nervous before I pulled into the hall parking lot. For so many years, it’s been drilled into my head that members of this religion are in a cult aren’t truly Christians because they don’t share our same core beliefs. And while I don’t have time to bullet point all the core beliefs of this faith, Jehovah’s Witnesses do identify as Christians. They believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and regard the Bible as their holy scripture. However, their beliefs and practices differ in several ways from those of traditional Christian denominations. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity (the doctrine that God exists as three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Instead, they view Jehovah (God) as the supreme being and Jesus as His created son, not equal to God. They also have unique views on topics like salvation, the afterlife, and participation in political and social activities, which set them apart from other Christian groups.

For the purpose of this project, my goal is to enter into religious spaces, particularly those associated with Christianity, to have meaningful conversations with people who profess faith in Jesus. The aim is to understand what their faith means to them personally, how they express it in their daily lives, and how it influences their interactions with others. But, as in this case, I also asked them questions and even shared my reservations about some of their theology, including the long held belief that only 144,000 faithful believers are anointed by God to serve as kings and priests with Christ in heaven.

So… what was my experience and what were my takeaways?

As far as the experience goes, up to this point, my only associations with Jehovah’s Witnesses were the small group of women who came to our house every week for months when we lived in Maine. While most of my neighbors ignored their knocks, I was always waiting for them to come. Sometimes I even made pie for them. (This drove my husband crazy. After a while he saw the correlation: On the mornings I would make a pie, there would be a copy of The Watchtower, the Jehovah’s Witnesses magazine, on the kitchen counter when he came home.)

But, here’s the thing… Up until this past Sunday I’ve never been to a place where so many people wanted to say hello and engage in conversation with me. And it wasn’t just me. When I looked around the hall, before and after the service, it felt more like a family reunion than a church gathering. I won’t lie… it did feel a lot like my grandma’s Sunday school class. It wasn’t showy; the music was old school simple and message was easy to digest. And, like the Sunday school classes, there was a group lesson following the message… that included questions and group participation. Congregants were engaged; I daresay you’d be hard pressed to find someone daydreaming or doodling during their services.

But, it’s more than the Sunday morning gathering. They put an emphasis on truly taking the word of God to the people in our community. Honestly, it draws up a parallel to the Mormon elders who take to the streets to talk about their faith. Whenever I see these lads and ladies out and about, I always invite them to my house for a meal. And as I sit here at the coffee shop going through my last edit of this post, I can’t help but to connect the dots.

For years, many of my friends have thought I’m crazy for engaging with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. (And, I will admit that my level of excitement might be a little unusual.) But, several of these people always voiced the same sentiment: They wouldn’t know how to engage in a conversation… specifically, they wouldn’t know how to answer their questions, or defend their own faith. And this is an important revelation.

Many people feel intimidated by these interactions because they may lack familiarity with the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons and/or feel unprepared to answer their well-prepared questions. Or maybe you fear confrontation, assuming the conversations might turn into a debate rather than a meaningful exchange. But understanding different faith perspectives can strengthen your own beliefs, help develop empathy, and foster genuine respect. Personally, I LOVED my conversation with Isaiah and Julianna… and their love for Jesus is palpable.

Also, I can’t end this post without saying this: I know beyond a doubt that when I step into the afterlife, I’ll be completely shocked by who is there—and who isn’t. (Let’s be real, I may even look around and wonder, “Wait… am I supposed to be here?”) But that’s the thing about faith: it keeps us humble, curious, and open to surprises.

CHALLENGE: If you were asked to engage in a conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness, or a Mormon, how would that make you feel? Sit in those feeling for a bit and then ask yourself why you’re feeling that way.