One late summer night, I was sprawled out on the living room floor like a bear rug at my grandparents’ farm in Minnesota, trying to cool off and wind down after a long, adventurous day.

My grandma was in the kitchen putting dinner away for the night, and my grandpa was seated in his wheelchair behind me, listening to the Grand Ole Opry blaring from the TV to override the roar of the thirty-year-old AC unit in a nearby window. 

My grandpa Bob loved bluegrass and country western for his whole life, and looked forward to watching old reruns of the Grand Ole Opry on TV every evening before the 10:00 PM news. Evidently, his love for that kind of music rubbed off onto me, because I grew to love that music, too, and enjoyed listening to it every time I spent the night at grandma and grandpa’s. 

On that particular night, the Grand Ole Opry ended with a bluegrass version of the hymn, “Lord, I’m Coming Home”. I remember this so clearly, because it was one of the last nights I got to spend with my grandpa before he passed away. At his funeral, I learned that “Lord, I’m Coming Home” was one of my grandpa’s favorite hymns, which explains why he turned the TV up even louder when the song began. 

Now, seven or more years later, I’m listening to this song again (the same version I heard on the TV years ago), preparing to go to an in-person bible study for college students like myself. 

I’ve been thinking about returning to church and bible study for a few years, at least since I returned to Colorado after riding out the pandemic in Washington state. But, the urge to go never overrode my stubborn, almost-atheistic unwillingness to go. By that, I mean I just attended too many churches over the years that left sour tastes in my mouth. Also, I had a lot of personal and theological issues to sort out between myself and God before I returned to church. 

But after reading tons of books from biblical scholars from all walks of life (Dr. Peter Enns and Dr. Michael Heiser are two of my favorite scholars, so far), researching churches and watching their online sermons, attending a church service or bible study with my grandparents roughly once per year, and, most importantly, setting aside time every day to spend with God alone, I finally feel it’s time for me to come out of the wilderness and rejoin His flock. 

It’s not that I’ve finally buried every hatchet and dealt with every doubt I’ve ever had towards God. I still have my doubts, my questions, and a mountain of bones to pick with God (and with religion in general). Rather, after years of challenging God on my own, I figured it’s time for me to find a community who’s willing to wrestle with God with me, and not in a condescending, 14-year-old-edgy-atheist-reads-the-bible, type of way. Nor in a ultra-conservative, hellfire and brimstone type of way, either. 

What better way to do that than to join a summer church group specifically for college students?