Walking in, no one greeted me. The usher by the door was too busy talking to a friend to notice that I was waiting for a bulletin. (Don't worry, I got one. See below.) It would have helped if we had gotten there on time or if I had been there before because upon walking in the auditorium area, I was immediately confused as to where to go. It was very dark and crowded- the majority of the seats were already filled. We ended up sitting on the side of the stage but in the front. It was not an optimal place to sit.
The service began with 2-3 contemporary worship songs. The singers were phenomenal! They also had a full-out band including drums, guitars, a keyboard and a flute! All the words to the songs were on the screen, unlike the church we attended last week. I knew about half the songs... from the radio. Although the music was great, it was incredibly LOUD! It was the kind of loud where you can hear the drums vibrating in your chest. I couldn't hear myself sing.
After worship was the sermon. It was Part 3 of a series entitled "eMotion: Surface for Air". I tried very hard to listen and concentrate but by the end, I was still somewhat confused. I even took extra notes because I thought it might help sort out what he was saying... but it didn't. It probably also would have helped to listen to the previous parts of the series. The "points" of his sermon totally didn't make sense to me until he explained them- mainly, the point of "Don't hide behind a hyper-spiritual smoke screen." I understood what he meant after the fact but nevertheless it was still confusing. Don't get me wrong- he was a good public speaker but the content was, as I said, confusing. (What's another word for "confusing"?)
And I should admit that I was partially distracted by the countdown in the back of the room. There was a countdown that started at 20:00 minutes so that the pastor would know when to stop his sermon. He went five minutes over.
He also sounded kind of "country".
Maybe that had something to do with the fact that the majority of the congregation was... uh... white. I don't want to come off sounding racist but I enjoy some diversity so I don't feel totally out of place.
They closed the service with a couple more worship songs, offering (or was that before the sermon?) and a video that was created as a tribute to someone (which was, by the way, hilarious).
I do have to admit that although it was a new building (I am partial to older buildings), it was done decently despite the fact that you couldn't see the full stage from sitting on the side of the room and the acoustics in the main foyer. However, after the service was over, the blinds were pulled up and it was bright! I miss how in older churches, light is important. Nowadays in newer churches, churches tend to go for the "let's put on a show" type vibe and make everything dark except the stage. This makes me feel like I am to just observe worship instead of take part in it sometimes. Just a side note.
Another kind of side note was their graphic design. They seemed to have extremely good graphic design for a church. I have been to numerous churches and not many have had good design. I find that good design contributes to the experience and that poor design can take away form the experience. (I am a visual person and get distracted with the misuse of fonts, margins, Photoshop filters, etc.)
(Sorry for the weird shadows. My dining room has poor lighting.)
Todd took some pictures and I am sure he will post those to you "loyal followers" as he calls you readers. (And me- after all, I am a follower of my own blog.) Not sure about the quality of his pictures. And I do have to say (before Todd says something) that I did take 2-3 really bad photos but in my defense (1) it was not my camera, (2) we were in a moving car, (3) his camera delays a couple precious seconds after you press the button to take a picture (which doesn't help in a moving car) and (3) his camera takes yet more precious seconds before you can take another picture (which also doesn't help in a moving car).
All in all, another interesting church experience. The style was more of what I am accustomed to however it wasn't anything special.
Wonder what is in store for next week...
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