50 States Church Surch, Week 53

  Highland Baptist Church

"If you can? Everything is possible to the one who believes." Immediately the father of the boy cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief."

~Mark 22: 24

HBC got the two thumbs up, mostly because they featured a bike in the foyer. Today the Oregon Chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association appeared at the church and Pink Paul (more on that later) presented their club and opportunities for Christian motorcycle enthusiasts. Being a biker myself, I struck up conversations with Kim, Jared, Mary and her husband Paul. 

The rest of the folks greeted me warmly as well, and I settled into the large sanctuary. The place featured soft green carpet and padded pews, the hbc logo in the front with the words 'connecting.living.growing' below it. Another church standing against capital letters. 

I missed the contemporary service, so I joined the older folks for worship (around three hundred people), singing 'The Lord Liveth,' 'I Will Call Upon the Lord,' and even older songs like 'Blessed Assurance.' We finished up with 'Amazing Grace.' Seven women led, along with three men and a piano. Apparently the guitars and drums work for the contemporaries only. 

The Christian Motorcyclists Association made their presentation, wearing their colors and giving a bit of a countercultural look at hbc. Next Pastor Campbell preached on Doubt. Of interest was his declaration that a third of the Psalms are laments. ("Why, Lord?")

He announced upcoming baptisms at the last service, four people taking the plunge. Pun intended. 

The service ended and people took their time leaving, while the crowd entered the building for the last service. Quite a lot of living going on there. And they have plenty of small groups, missions, classes and counsellors to help the faithful get through life and reach others too. 

Altogether a wonderful church experience. 

Christian Motorcyclists Association

The CMA people prayed for us, for our safe trip. Wonderful people. And in the foyer sat 'Pink Paul's' bike, a very interesting model, as he bought it new in '76, a shovelhead. It was far from original, as he extended, lowered, bored, stroked and raked it. The front wheel, fenders, sissy bar and gas tank were original, although he moved the petcock and fuel filler on the gas tank due to it's extreme angle. Finally, he painted it a nice pink color, drawing speculation from everyone, including me, asking if it was his wife Marky's ride. Nope. It was his design, his color choice. But if they run in a breast cancer fund raising run, chances are he'd be picked for the front bike. I really liked the kick starter, from when men were men. He indicated it had both electric start and the kicker. In those days no one had developed complete trust in electric starters on bikes yet. 

Once again I enjoyed an excellent Sunday, topped with the Christian Motorcyclists Association. When we get home I'll have to look into joining. 

Church Surch, Week 52

  Agape Bible Church

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:33-34

I found a local church in humble Willits. ABC seems to have it going, with not only a church, but an elementary school and a gymnasium. The church is almost thirty-five years old. The people greeted me and most exchanged names, complete with firm and warm handshakes and eye contact. And when they did the mid service greeting, it was chaos, people moving all over the sanctuary to say hello to one another, the leader struggling to get the crowd back under control.  

The building kept with a Northern California theme, with wood siding and pitched roof. Plenty of long hair, shorts and flip flops decorated the faithful as well. The carpet was a pink/gray mix with matching padded chairs. The white drywalled interior bore little decoration, save a few banners.

The musicians welcomed us with two guitars, drums and keyboard and an additional two singers. We sang contemporary songs, 'Come Just as You Are,' 'Worthy is the Lamb,' and 'Here I Am to Worship,' and most people participated. The kids lined the front row and wiggled quite a bit, but they are, after all, kids. After worship they took off as we sang, 'Jesus Loves the Little Children.' If I was a kid and I heard that week after week, I'd plug my ears. 

A previous pastor of ABC, Ken, was the guest speaker today, in the middle of their eight week prayer series. He preached about the Lord's Prayer. He started with "Our Father." How appropriate. Yet he expounded on it, as the Jews of the day had finally stopped worshipping stars, cows and the Baals, and worshipped God, but held Him in such high esteem that they would not utter His name, Yaweh. Now Jesus comes along and starts with "Our Father." Ours, not mine. And Father, not king. Daddy, Papa. Wow. It was shocking, in the day.  

The rest of the sermon was just as good, as Pastor Ken broke down every phrase, sometimes explaining how it translated from Greek. Great job Pastor Ken. 

We closed with a song and dispersed, people once again friendly and engaging. 

Agape Bible Church was a bright spot in Willits, California.  





  

Church Surch, Week 50

 

Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church

www.ourladylhc.net

“I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me”

~Psalm 30:1

I'm a numbers guy. Today Father Winkler, before his sermon, gave us a daunting picture of their finances. They had a cash deficit of $30,000 by 6/11, $63,000 by 6/12, and are looking at around a $135,000 deficit by this coming June. 

Meanwhile, they've reduced electricity usage by 50%, switched to volunteers for more tasks like the cleaning, and reduced hours of employees. Still, they have used up almost all their reserves, with nothing left for repairs or emergencies. 

Father W did his best to paint the true picture, and I thought he did a great job. In summary, he didn't ask for money, but said that the people just needed to know. He did reiterate that it was 'our problem,' not just the church's. 

Since Lake Havasu City is a snowbird destination, it's difficult to tell if the crowd is light or normal. So, is giving down or membership, or both? However, the church was only a fourth full, and dominated by the gray hairs. And while Havasu is a snowbird place, it crawls with younger people because of the lake. 

Sitting in the service, I recalled doing the same on Sundays as a kid, and being jammed in the pews shoulder to shoulder. And when we went hunting in Eastern Washington, we found ourselves a church on Sunday and got ourselves to Mass before getting out and killing those pheasants. That doesn't seem to happen much anymore. 

The rest of the service played out typical Catholic, but the terrible news weighed on me. How sad that a church this big, the only Catholic Church in Lake Havasu, can't fill up the pews and make it's budget. They have three choices: cut more, get people to give more, or get more people to attend.

Here's a few more numbers:

1700 families call the church their own. 

600 families have asked not to have envelopes for the offerings.

Of the 1,100 that do have envelopes, less than 400 use an envelope or check or Internet to support the church. 

They say Christianity is like a football game;  68,000 people badly in need of exercise watch 68 people badly in need of rest. 

This church needs some people to put on their uniforms. 

I left the church distressed. And after visiting 50 churches, I've been about half distressed and half blessed. 

It makes me wonder if this church will survive. But our God is a big God.  

Church Surch, Week 49

Gallup Christian Church 

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death so one way or another I will experience resurrection from the dead." 

Eph. 1:18-20

 

 

What a pathetic little church. That was my first impression of GCC as I spoke to Dale, Daniel, Jean, Tom and other wonderful people, the remnant, the faithful. They lost their pastor and as a result, lost many of the flock. Today twenty people filed in to the '70s looking building, with pale red carpet and gray paneling. How can an already small church rebuild? Suppose they have eighty people, and they give the national average of $20/week per person. That's around eighty thousand a year for a pastor, missions, utilities and upkeep. Not much. They reiterated the struggle with finding a pastor to come to Gallup, New Mexico. 

Daniel led the service, God bless him, as his speech was sub par, with many missing teeth. We sang 'Victory in Jesus,' 'When We All Get to Heaven' (1898) and more of the oldies. A woman and man played the piano and guitar, respectively. In fact, the number of people willing to help was impressive, as four men ushered for communion and the offering. With Daniel and the musicians, a third of the church served. 

They served communion, and as a visitor it's the most uncomfortable time, since each service is different. Do we go up, take the elements back to the pew, take them right away or wait for a prayer or something? Since I sat in the third row, I was first. Churches tend to fill from the back. Sure enough, I took the elements and waited, but saw others take both and return the tiny cups to the ushers. D'oh! No big deal, really. 

Instead of preaching, they played a DVD of a sermon from last week, from a big church in Idaho. The pastor used the Ephesians scripture to encourage us that through our suffering, we can be more like Christ. I was struck by how the message was so perfect for this church, going through a death type experience. Lord willing, they will rebuild and be stronger than ever. 

The service broke up and people met me, the new guy, and we drifted to the parking lot and Libby, the people drawn to the map on her saddlebags. Most had stories of bikes and riding from the past. Speaking of that, what does BSA stand for? I know, do you? Those bikes were popular in the fifties and sixties. 

Honestly though, I got depressed halfway through the service. Such a small church, up against huge challenges. Hopefully God uses the fire of suffering to refine them like gold and they will emerge stronger than ever. 

And now, by popular demand (in other words, my Mother In Law would shoot me if I didn't!), photos of QG's latest creation!

Church Surch, Week 48

 

Bolton St. Baptist Church

www.boltonstreetbaptistchurch.org

“No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 22:3-5

I actually attended two services today, the first was a Sunrise Service at Palo Duro Canyon. Someone knew someone and I called Butch and met Lonnie, Joe, James, Tyke, Rosemary and others at the donut shop at 6 a.m. We rode twenty or so miles to the canyon- a cool ride- and arrived at a packed service and sat in the overflow outside- a cool service. Nonetheless it was wonderful to meet some Christian Motorcycle Association guys and ride with them.  

The 11:00 service took place at the Baptist Church, and I'd like to highlight a few people. First, Ken sat behind us and as Brother Leon preached, he would not just yell "Amen," or "Preach it," but would finish his sentences! 

"In the final days, we will all-"

"Meet him! Yes we will." 

It was really distracting. However, after a bit, I realized that Ken was totally focused on the sermon, and really dialed in. And that's just a quirk of the church. Every church has quirks.

And Miss Maureen. God bless her. She played the piano, and at 91 years old, has no feeling in one hand. She played a few songs, but I really noticed her during the offering. She played beautifully. Oh, yes it was an old song. Afterward I thanked her and told her how much I appreciated her playing and serving at her age. She leaned on her walker and said, "It's my life. It's what I do." She's going to get a rocking mansion on the other side. 

Today the choir treated us to eight songs or so, and for a small church, sounded like a big church choir. However, I was frustrated on two fronts; we didn't clap between songs, and I wanted to sing. If you want to sing along, it's gotta be good. Finally we clapped at their conclusion. 

The church is a bit long in the tooth, but with around a hundred in the pews and eighteen in the choir, it carries a large cross section of committed and passionate people. 

The buildings are simple brick with neat clean lines, and the faithful help to keep it fiscally sound. However, they are struggling to fund a Multimedia System. The old folks don't like change, and that may be tough. The calendar, inside the bulletin, was a paper month with the events written in each day and photocopied. Change could be fraught with problems. But the church serves the older folks, and they like things just the way they are. I say do whatever it takes to keep Maureen's hands on the keys. 

Happy Easter, He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Church Surch Week 47

  "Trust in the LORD and do good.

Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you your heart’s desires.”

Psalm 37: 3-4

I found Impact Family Church and decided to visit it because they met in a school. Any church that meets in a school is probably (a) young and (B) committed. Setting up and taking down a church every week takes people with passion. 

My only reservation was the name Impact. Would someone perhaps punch me? On the contrary, IFC gets high marks for pleasant, from Ted who met me at the door, to Melissa, the tour guide who showed me around, to Matilda who sat by me during the service and made sure I was dialed in. A dozen others greeted me and and made me feel welcome. IFC gets the Gold Wing Award for friendly. 

At four minutes to launch, I counted fifteen people in the cafeteria/sanctuary. Huh? But when the music fired up, the crowd built quickly to a hundred fifty or so. We started with worship, led by five singers and musicians and we rocked the heavens. The faithful, a good mix of ages and races, sang and worshipped with abandon. This is cooking along to be a great church. 

Then we had the sermon. 

I'm sorry, but I get testy on 'End Times' sermons. Pastor John introduced Pastor Allison, his wife. She preached about the end times and demonstrated how we are close to the end of the age, using what I would consider having heard from other people, speculation and the Internet. I kept thinking, "Based on what?" as she expounded on the Muslims goal to dominate the world, the nations gathering to destroy Israel, which could both be true but wouldn't necessarily mean the end of the world. Imagine someone born in 1900, by 1945 wouldn't he think the world was about done? What about during the Black Plague? Or any country during a bloody civil war? And what does all this have to do with Daniel 2:1-37, with the feet of iron and clay? 

She really lost me when she declared that France is becoming more socialist (do ya think?), is now taxing the rich (people making over a million dollars), at a rate of 75% and the rich are pouring out of there. So? What's that got to do with the end of of the world? Then she really lost me with Ireland on their lips and paying $10 a gallon for gasoline. Didn't the Irish think it was the end of the world during the Potato Famine? Or perhaps they hoped it was. 

I'm no theologian, and for some reason God made prophecies that don't give us specifics. Usually a prophecy comes to pass and people say, "So that's what it meant." That would be me. 

We certainly could be living in the end times, and Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour. On a personal level, what would I do differently if it's the end times or it isn't? I should still live like time is running out, whether it's my clock or the earth's. 

As I left, I felt like the church, sixteen years old, isn't really growing. Maybe because they're just a little bit out there and they're a developed taste.

50 States Church Surch Week 47

  St. Mary's Church 

www.stmvictoria.org

“The LORD who made you and helps you says:

Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one. For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.”

~Isaiah 44:2-4

Since the Catholics have a new Pope, and it was St. Patrick's Day, and the Catholics dominate Texas (the Spanish influence), I chose to go Catholic today. But which one? Two Catholic churches sat within two blocks of one another. Should I attend the one with cupolas, or steeples? Steeples for sure, the steeper the better.

A banner hung in the front and announced we have a new Pope- at least I think that's what it said, since it was in Latin. 

The place was filled with around 400 people. The demographics leaned to older, me being in the youngish group, except for a smattering of young families. Seemed like quite a good turnout. Was it typical, or more due to Lent, or St. Patty's Day? Or because of the new Pope? Father Morales announced we have a new Pope and people applauded, quite an outburst for Catholics. 

First, let me say I think there's something going on behind Pope Benedict stepping down. It hasn't happened for 600 years. I'm not a big conspiracy theorist- except George Bush orchestrated 9-11, Adolf Hitler and Elvis piloted two of the planes, and most of the firefighters were Masons- but I digress. The old Pope stepping down just smells funny. 

But everyone's excited about Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pope. Although Father Morales did allude to splinter groups complaining that he may have been connected to Communists in Argentina. Probably those who could blow the whistle on that perished in 9-11.  

The church, established in 1824, sported some awesome steeples. And stained glass, statues, and an amazing altar, with huge spires that reminded me of Disney's castle in Florida. Did Disney get his inspiration here? Nonetheless, it was beautiful. 

We once again heard the story of the adulterous woman and Jesus' clever way of dealing with the leaders. They wanted Him to violate the law by insisting they not stone her, but Jesus didn't take the bait. Father Morales speculated that He wrote their names and sins in the sand, and I love to think that's what He did. Today I realized that the scene would have taken quite some time. 

This was a typical Catholic Mass, except three refrains were in Latin. Why? Does God hear Latin better? Didn't the church modernize in the '60s and change the Mass to English so we could understand and participate? Funny but I was an altar boy 52 years ago and recognized the refrains. 

Congratulations to the Catholics for their new leader. 

And what a church to pick- I chose the first Catholic Church established in the Republic of Texas.

And now a blessing:

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Week 46, Jefferson Street Methodist Church

“...there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

~Luke 15:10

Brace yourself. I rode straight to the church. Not straight, but hit every turn, riding exactly to the building, using Googlemaps and excellent notes.  

I found the Jefferson Street Methodist Church's ad in a tourist paper, a first. The place has history; the first church started in 1807, this building finished in 1872. Our church just threw a big party for their twentieth anniversary, whoopie dang ding. Babies.

JSMC wins a Friendly Award, as everyone that I met shook hands, exchanged first and last names, and entered into conversation. Even Pastor John during the greeting time, took time to meet me- and remembered my name.

Creaking into the building (not me, the wooden floors), I was greeted with dark wood doors, trim and pews, red carpets and pew pads. The simple walls wore cream and plain lights hung from the ceiling, and a pretty pipe organ dominated the front. The church only filled half full, and the first five rows sat empty, not good. 

The choir entered and part of them gathered along the side and donned white gloves. Handbells! Each member held one in each hand, and some played four, twisting their wrists to determine which bell, and the man in the back played the large bells, a total of eight. 

The service was Methodist liturgy (well, what else would you expect?) and Pastor John preached on the Prodigal Son. My insight was it could be analogous of not just someone turning their life to Christ, but also someone who screwed up, turned away, and came back. Very good sermon, good man Pastor John. 

During the reading of the Gospel, the altar boy had to hold up a cross, and I got distracted as he shook and sweat, but endured to the end. Pastor John noticed too and gave Grant some kudos for his perseverance. 

The worship was older songs such as 'To God Be The Glory,' (1875) and it felt right. You can't sing Third Day music to a pipe organ. Maybe you could, but old songs work well with the pipes. The frosting on the music cake was the choir, piano and organ performing, 'Behold The Man.' 

More people greeted me after the service, since Pastor John pointed me out from the pulpit. A very friendly and well mannered church. I think much of it was Southern hospitality. Whatever, it was good.    

50 States Church Surch Week 45

First Baptist Tillman's Corner

www.fbtc.org

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

~John 8:7      

The church greeted me with a cacophony of noise as the faithful struggled to speak over the singers and orchestra while they practiced.

 

FBTC is a big church, maroon carpet, padded pews and cream walls, two crosses bordering a video screen. Lots of chairs up there. Around four hundred people attended this early service, and another five to six hundred will be up next. 

The service started and the choir entered, sixty people or so, and I counted thirty instruments; percussion, strings and horns, with music stands, lights and a director. The bulletin indicated they were a worship and Bible study church. No kidding. 

The choir opened with 'A New Hallelujah,' leading us into real worship. I wiped tears from my eyes as we sang, "Arise, let the church arise..."

It seems like God is going to raise up His church, it just might not be how we expect. 

Since today's theme was the grace of God, we sang, 'Your Grace is Enough.' Truly the church did worship well. 

After the offering Pastor Greg introduced Dan Moran, who preached on grace, using the story of the woman caught in adultery. And while I've heard this story a thousand times, I was struck with the word 'commands.' The leaders said to Jesus, "The law commands us..." 

These people obeyed the law, every letter. If the law commanded them to wear paper sacks on their heads and cluck like chickens, they would do it, no question. And the law commanded them to stone her, so what should they do? Moran used a psalm of David's to make his point; we need the grace and forgiveness of God. A Moran quote: "God's grace throws ropes, not rocks."

But ouch. Quilter Girl took note that the bulletin indicated they have no outreach. Every program listed was internal. I assume they have some sort of outreach (missions, assistance for widows and orphans), but it showed no signs of it, which I perceived as a weakness. 

Since it was Friend Day, they provided an altar call, and asked newbies to meet Pastor Greg in the Welcome Center. I stopped in, shook his hand, and he gave me a copy of 'Know Your Bible Illustrated.' Very nice. I guess Friend Day was outreach, correct? 

I love worship so this church was a definite keeper. If I lived here I'd join in this church in a New York minute. Well, an Alabama minute. A bit slower, for sure. Y'all. 

50 States Church Surch, Week 44

  Wimbish Road Seventh Day Adventist Church

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock."

Matthew 7:24

Since we're standing down due to inclement weather, I elected to be a Seventh Day Adventist today, and hopefully tomorrow we'll head to Atlanta. 

Note to self: If you've written directions to the church, you should follow them. Like for instance, when you write, 'Lt. on Log Cabin,' you shouldn't turn right. 

Arriving late, I slipped into a back pew of an A frame, open ceiling church, with maroon carpet and blond pews. A single piano afforded us musical accompaniment. WRSDAC looked to be a going concern, with a school 1-8, church and other buildings. Been around since before the Depression. Around a hundred faithful graced the rows, a mix of ages and races. The little kids stayed throughout the service. 

Apparently having church on Saturday was a big deal, enough to cause a split somewhere sometime, and even today they speak of it's importance, the seventh day being the day of rest. People greet one another with, "Happy Sabbath," and the leaders say it from the altar with the congregation responding too.

The kids went forward for the kids' sermon, walking up the aisle and collecting cash from the faithful and made bank, the money going to the children's ministry. And I got an idea: Have your ushers carry puppies or babies, and watch the budget get balanced. 

Pastor Witt, who's been a preacher since 1973, spoke. His preaching style was storytelling and scriptures, and he spoke of the wise man building his house on the rock, the word of God. Some of the issues he identified that erode that rock foundation were homosexuality-he cited a half dozen scriptures, then reiterated that sin is sin and we are all sinners. Also our rights as Americans are being dissipated. Then he quoted a Catholic that indicated the Catholic Church's goal was world domination, and the two obstacles were communism and Western materialism. Communism is history, so the only obstacle to their domination of the world is people shopping on the Sabbath. I'm just reporting.

He also hammered home that we don't go to heaven after death. Quoted 'Whoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.'  I think they believe we don't get to heaven until the resurrection. 

But my opinion is this: It seems like Jesus scolded the Pharisees for their wielding the rules like a sword. This seemed like a rules wielding church. One thing they did was have a vote to support a family's move to Detroit. Huh? It sounded like they just moved there, probably for work or family, not a church employee. Do they need the vote to get into a church in Michigan?

People weren't outgoing or friendly, and I realized the common denominator is me; I'm just not reaching out and chatting up people. However, it had the same country club feel, that once you're in, you're in and getting into the circle can take some time. Seems like most churches are like that.

50 States Church Surch Week 43

 

Sardis United Methodist Church

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

~John 8:7

After hiking a considerable distance, I finally landed at SUMC, and paused to catch my breath. Entering I found four people in attendance. This could be an award winner, beating the Alaskan church for smallest attended. However, it filled until 22 people or so attended.

A rural church, the building was austere and simple, with mint green chairs, carpet, and white walls. A picture of Jesus hung in front. The choir chairs, behind the podium sat empty, reminding one of a larger congregation in days past. A lady played the piano as the faithful entered and sat.

A few people said hi, obviously the new guy, and Sharon, the PW (Pastor's Wife) greeted me warmly. She's the stereotypical PW, big hair, big personality, leading the worship and sweet as a key lime pie. The ages were mixed fairly well- hard to tell with so few people. Three kids equals ten percent. 

The Methodists have a standard liturgy; Opening prayer, responsive reading, songs, announcements, and greetings of the faithful. Then Sharon sat with the children for their sermon. She presented a potato and potato chips and spoke about temptation- we know we should eat the healthy food but are tempted to eat bad food like potato chips. 

As she finished, she gave the chips to one boy. Huh? What was that lesson?  

We shared joys and concerns. Sharon asked me to stand, introduce myself and tell everyone about my adventure, so I did. We sang another hymn (All the songs old enough to be historical), then Pastor Steve spoke about temptation and how we must stand against the wiles of the devil. He finished, we sang, 'Blest Be the Tie' and shuffled out. I walked back to the campground,  thinking where are the campers? Weekend campers probably take Sunday off. When I was a kid, not matter what, we went to church. If we were pheasant hunting, we'd find an early Mass, get in, get out early and get back hunting. 

But what about the snowbirds? Do they not worship in the South? Is the church descending into irrelevance? 

I felt schizophrenic. While they provided plenty of love to go around (especially PW Sharon) and it was a rural church, was it sustainable? It had that dying feeling, that the church must be shrinking with the passing of each member.

50 States Church Surch Week 42

  Anastasia Baptist Church

 

Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

Acts 3: 4-6

 

ABC was a huge church, with a foyer that looks like a train depot. Two separate sanctuaries feed off it, apparently so they can have the Contemporary Service while they prepare for another Traditional. It's a hopping place, with a service on Saturday night, three on Sunday and one Sunday night. I chose Contemporary. No one greeted me except the bulletin guy and I sat by the aisle. Soon two pastors worked the aisle, shaking hands from the front. The guy on my side shook my hand while he engaged the man behind me, never making eye contact with me. It supported my feeling that this was a country club church. Great to be in the club, tougher when you're not.

The worship was excellent, drawing us to God with modern music, and even the traditional 'Crown Him With Many Crowns,' but modernized. Very good. And they signed for the deaf, always a great service. The pastor talked about Acts where Peter and John healed the lame man. Funny he talked about 'look at me' when no one at the church had looked at me. Let's digress:

 

People seldom look at one another lately. We drive A/C cars with tinted windows up, roll into our garages and hit the button. But even in one on one situations, we don't look at each other. Think about it and work on it. The eyes are the window to the soul, so why wouldn't we look someone in the eye? Waitresses really don't get eye treatment. And homeless people? Never.

 

The church is large, with 1,661 attending last week (their number) and                                                                                                                                                            it's a giving church with an average last week of $36 each, high number-most churches give around $20 or so. And they are celebrating reducing their debt from originally $7 million to less than $1M. They are throwing a party. I say, "Party down!"

 

The service ended and people mixed, lots of friends and fellowship. I spoke to no one, milled about and left.

 

Two weeks in a row of really nice churches with hope. I call it a country club, and many if not most churches are, but sometimes a country club is a good portal to get people in the door in the first place. But come on people, friendly and eye contact.

 

And don't forget The Week in Review, previous post. Thanks!

Church Surch, Week 41

 

Life Pointe Church

www.life-pointe.com

 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him,

rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and

overflowing with thankfulness."  

~Colossians 2:6-7

 

After two failed attempts at finding churches (online addresses that didn't exist!), and after an hour of wandering around like Moses, only on a bike, I found the Promised Land, LPC.

 

The place is in a refurbished auto parts store, the offices from offices, the sanctuary from the warehouse. They bought this place recently after spending many years hauling junk back and forth from a theater. Churches grow stronger through adversity, and setting up and tearing down makes one strong.

 

Travis met me as I dawdled in the foyer, checking out the cafe, concrete floors, nice decor and a flat screen displaying tweets. He gave me a brief history and I told him of our travels. He mentioned he rode a bicycle in Cambodia last summer. What he didn't say (humble man) was that he biked 600 miles in five days to raise money for their outreach there. Wow, he has my respect. His mother disclosed that and Travis is the pastor. Yep, a wild man for Christ. Love it. Underscores their slogan, "loving god and man with reckless abandon." Yes, and it's all lower case letters, even God, which disturbs me, but I suppose it's the geezer in me coming out.  

 

The sanctuary was redone with flat black open ceilings and concrete floors. However, should you like comfort, the entire first row is couches and easy chairs. No way I'd sit there, I'd go right to sleep. Not because of the service however, as the band and singers led worship with contemporary music. All right! And for some folks' comfort, they provide earplugs at the entry. After a lifetime of abuse and tinnitus, my ears enjoyed the muffle.

 

Travis Johnson spoke and their theme was 'In.' Oops. 'in.' Apparently they don't teach capitalization anymore. We can follow along in the bulletin and fill in the blanks, which I like, as I think we pay attention better. Travis explained the Old Testament versus the New Covenant, good job. He could wander a bit and I think he tried to jam too much into a sermon, but got us thinking. One thing he said that impressed me was, "If you want to know the deep things of God, get to know Jesus deeply."

 

Besides the earplugs, Travis provided me with another first, as he called a member in the congregation, Brian, a liar and a thief. Funny actually, as he pointed out that by the Old Testament standard, we must follow every single rule. And who has? So he asked Brian if he'd ever stolen. Then if he'd ever lied. Well, I'm sold, I'm a liar and a thief. But through the New Covenant, we become new and want to be God's sons and daughters of honesty and integrity. What a fresh cool breeze of a church, one that's ready to do the ridiculous, the extravagant and the daring for Christ.

Next week, we work our way North-Cape Canaveral, Daytona, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Tallahassee. Thanks for following, hope you're enjoying it!

50 States Church Surch, Week 40

Lakewood Community Church

At the KOA Campground

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Matt. 5:3

After locating a few churches via traditional scientific methods (drive by and the web), someone posted a church service at the community center, literally twenty steps away.

I chose the closest one. 

It's a 'come as you are' church, shorts and sandals standard fare, and casual dress made for relaxed relationships. This bunch is tightly knit, as they live pretty darn close to one another, and most of them are snowbirds, hailing from Chicago, Toronto, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. Bud and Rita met me and we chatted a bit before the service. The 'Where are you from?' question always raises eyebrows as we're so far from home, but rather than describe our setup, today I could point out the window and say, "That's us." These people, expert travelers, thought the trip sounded pretty cool.

The metal folding chairs had names stenciled on the back-that's a first. I asked if they were reserved, but was told they were the original people, and it's like a 'donate a brick' deal, and they're probably all dead by now. Weird.  

LCC looks like a church; bulletin, hymnals, lectern and altar, albeit all temporary. But when you think about it, everything is temporary, right? Susan, the pastor (is she elected, ordained, or just took the initiative?) greeted us and we got started, singing the old songs, 'Standing on the Promises,' 'Onward Christian Soldiers,' and the Doxology. Well, no one looked younger than sixty, but I still can't remember saying "Doth" or "Thou" outside of this room this week. These same songs could be heard in churches during the Civil War. 

The order of service was printed in the bulletin and I was struck by the investment of time someone took for this group. Then Susan preached, and my opinion solidified. She preached on  the Beatitudes and it was clear she worked hard on it. I respect that. And no problem with their tenets of faith. Oops. 'Tenet' is a really old word (1590-1600). Now I feel like a hypocrite. 

I know this was a low budget church. They use the rec center I assume for free, the hymnals are twenty years old, and people volunteer to bring snacks. But Susan announced the offering, stating that the money would be used for support for local humanitarian organizations. But people threw in ones and fives. Really? A dollar?Hopefully they support their local churches back home. 

Afterwards, people stayed for snacks so I mingled and people were friendly and personable. I realize we were in a retirement strong group, but still I worry about the second and third generations while we cling to our traditions.   

Today sometime I've got to visit Bud and check out his '40 Ford pickup (flathead powered) and '62 Cushman scooter (500 cc) with a suicide clutch. And one thing leads to another, so the Ice Cream Social sounds like fun and tonight is Music Night too. 

We may stay in Florida for quite some time. 

Once again, the iPad has failed me, and so I'm unable to post photos. Grr! Working on it...

Church Surch Week 39

Ridge Assembly of God Davenport, FL

www.ridgeassembly.org

Google helped me find a church today, and Ridge Assembly of God looked good, at least by their website. Although there were hardly any pictures of people on it. Aren't churches people? I hopped on the scooter and rode, 2 miles. Should have walked vigorously.  Nah.

I arrived fifteen minutes early and sat, no one else there except the band and singers warming up. Mary stopped by and gave me a visitor's packet. Does the service really start at nine? Sure.

The place was a metal building with arched roof, mint green seats and gray carpet, with no adornments except a couple of half columns and some chandeliers.

The place loaded in five minutes, almost no one late, but apparently it's a sin to be early. The faithful were of mixed race and ages, although mostly grays. We sang contemporary songs, being the early service was contemporary and they called the late one  a 'high energy service.'  It made sense to me, since this felt like low energy. Then Mrs. Pastor spoke and it made sense. A sixteen year old girl passed away yesterday, a body slam to the family, the friends and the church. 

I couldn't help but wonder where were all the people. It seats 260 or so and there are forty or fifty today. After twenty- five years? At greeting time, people met one another warmly albeit cordially and resumed sitting. 

The pastor preached on 'I Care,' holding to the theme of caring for this year. He told stories of how they had cared for others in the past, but I felt like he missed it. How can we care for this family with their dead daughter? Let's get real and let's get personal. 

Later however he nailed it, saying the old timers are getting upset with changes to music and such. He wants to reach the younger generation and that requires walking a tightrope, appealing to the younger without alienating the oldsters. I say, "Geezers, suck it up!" The church needs to reach the young people, so if you don't like the music, stay there, shut up and get used to it. Hopefully we're going to get older and grow to irrelevance. That sounds horrible, but someone has to pick up the baton, so we have to let go of it. Let's reach those others rather than die clutching our hymnals and hairstyles. 

Shoot, maybe I'll go get some tats and piercings. Okay, maybe not.  

And now, a Rant:

Sounding like a geezer; "Back in my day we had hymnals to sing from." Well, now we have overheads and Power Point. The person who turns the pages has a simple job; listen to the song, and click to the next verse. While straightforward, it's a very important job. If you don't turn the page, you take the entire church out of worship, especially the people who don't know the words. But even the veterans look at the screen and mutter, 'turn the page.' Please. It's a really elementary job. But quite important.  

After the service, a biker named Jo Anne greeted me. (They asked from the altar who rode that red white and blue bike). We chatted and she invited me to their ride on Thursday night. Very nice. Not sure if we'll still be here, but it would be fun. 

Church Surch, Week 38

Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church

Whenever you shake someone's hand, there's a time when you know it's time to let go. Ever have someone hang on a bit longer? When I shook Bud's hand (the Walmart greeter), I went through three periods of thinking, 'Now it's time to let go.' After the first time it gets uncomfortable and the feeling rises exponentially after each aborted release. But Bud passed the friendly test handily.

SRPC is a brick building with cathedral ceilings, white, over pale blue flooring and padded pews. At the raised altar area a pianist played as the faithful (around 70) gathered. I surveyed the crowd and felt quite young. However we are in Florida, where the mean age is probably over a hundred. Very few people in this church under sixty. 

The choir, dressed in blue and cream robes, started the service with 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,' sung to canned music. Well, we are in the traditional service. They led us in 'Great is The Lord,' and 'How Majestic is Your Name,' with piano and flute accompanists. I wonder what the contemporary service sings. 

The pastor led us in the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. I consistently whine about singing the old songs, but staunchly hold on to those two, a great statement of faith and a prayer taught by the Great One. 

A soloist sang a compelling song about the fear in David and Peter's minds as one faced a giant named Goliath and the other stepped out of a boat and into a storm. He related it to facing the giants and waves, in my mind, a great song. 

Another special event took place, as their local missionary to Haiti updated what's going on there and how their support is working. I've been to Haiti a half dozen times, so this got my attention. They are finishing a church building that had languished, and have a micro loan program underway that helps five hundred people. The loan program gives them the opportunity to present the gospel. I like the program myself, because you can't just go and save people. Pretty hard to accept Christ when you're scratching out an existence. The support puts legs on love. 

The man presented a plaque that the locals carved (actually, a deaf mute man carved it) to show their appreciation for the church and their support. Very nice, as they have such little means to provide a gift to their benefactors. The pastor invited the crowd to check it out after the service, and around a fourth of them did so. 

Being a numbers guy, I got a treat, as they provided copies of their budget for peoples' perusal. Next week they'll vote on it. It reflects a six percent reduction this year, raising my red flag that perhaps the church is dying. Six percent isn't much, but if it is a trend, there could be trouble. 

This budget provided each person's salary and benefits, a first. Most churches hide it in a line item. And the budget was exhaustive, giving great detail to each ministry and their costs. 

A very nice church, friendly white and graying, but I'm afraid as the Greatest Generation  marches onward to glory, the church will find itself with more and more empty pews.