Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet, a familiar tale to us all, is the tragic tale of two lovebirds that were separated by their families’ oath to remain sworn enemies.

When it comes to church dating, many of us have been faced with a similar tragic story. If you’ve been there before, you know.

…Dating someone from “the other church.” 

We all know “the other church.” It was the church that let their youth group read Harry Potter. It was the church whose pastor wore jeans to preach on Sunday nights.

Why, oh why, would you ever want to date someone from “the other church?”

Your love for “the other church” Juliet only grows because of the disbelief and disapproval of your church family.

You realize that you and “the other church” Juliet must attend movies in a different town together. Frozen yogurt joints are no longer an option while you’re with each other. The Christian bookstore and Chick-fil-a take a financial hit from your branching out into other territory.  The youth group catches wind of you attending a lock-in at “the other church” and decides to have an intervention style accountability session, but you won’t let Juliet go.

Fortunately, very few of these stories end in the tragic death of Romeo and “the other church” Juliet, but they can serve as a great lesson for us.

At the end of Romeo and Juliet, the families are reconciled over their loses.

Assuming there is no messy break up that causes Romeo and Juliet to end up on the prayer request page of your churches new website…maybe dating Romeo/Juliet-style in churches can be an eye opening experience.

Maybe dating someone from another church can help you realize the church body you belong to isn’t the only one doing great things in your community. Maybe the story of Romeo and Juliet is about broadening your idea of worship. Maybe you could even bring two church bodies together!

Whatever the case is, don’t limit yourself to looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right within the four walls of your church. Who knows what you might end up learning by branching out?