Church group

This evening we were with our small church group, for lack of a better description. Actually it's nothing more than 3 couples trying to figure out how to get more in touch with God. There's room for lots of questions and debate and most importantly, room for everybody to be themselves!
It's the funniest mix of couples though. One couple is young (she's 22, he's 23), their 3 children are all under the age of 6 (yep, they got an early start!). The other couple is old(er), she's 46 and he's 48, they have two children under the age of 6 (yep, they started late!). And then there's us in the middle with our children who are much older than theirs. Doesn't make sense to put us together but the unusual mix works!
What it all boils down to is that we all have the same questions. Who is God exactly, and what do we want with Him? And when we've found out what we want, how do we go about acting on it? It's refreshing to talk to people about this without getting stuck in christian dogmas. That's one thing that I've developed an allergy to. I hate people telling me what I should or shouldn't do, or telling me how things are supposed to be! I really believe that a lot of our "spiritual insights" are nothing more than cultural baggage that we carry around and then use to tell other people that they're doing things wrong.
In this group, and others I've participated in, respect for other opinions has been a major part of the group culture. Another thing we try to do is "agree to disagree" without flying off the handle. Sometimes it can be hard when I'm really convinced of something, but I think that the relationships I develop with others and the relationship I have with God is more important than fighting over biblical interpretations. I've often found that living by example is a much stronger witness than beating people over the head with the Bible.