Today I got to walk to church and it was everything I'd hoped. . . yeah.
Praise Chapel Assembly of God is right up the road from me. I probably drive past it about once a day. It's a small, corner lot church that really doesn't stick out. It's an old brick building with an old weathering sign out front. Yes, it did have a corny quip on the sign.
I got there right on time (sign says it starts at 10:30am) and was greeted by some very friendly people. I'd say there were about 30 people in attendance total. As we were chatting away, I noticed that the music equipment was still sort of scattered about. Apparetly, set up time is 10:30, not start time. Hrm. . . oh well, I'm in no rush.
Once worship got started, I really had to stop myself from laughing. They had the usual: drums, piano, guitar, and casio keyboard with 8-bit music backing. Whaaaa? For those of you who don't know, 8 bit music is what was playing in the background of Super Mario Bros. the whole time you played (for an example 8-bit music, click here). I couldn't help it, I know I had a goofy smile on my face the whole time. Overall, it was a good worship experience but I think I could have lived without the 8 bit version of my favorite worship songs (although now that I think about it, I wonder if there are some 8 bit Christian artists? That'd be awesome!).
Next up was the sermon and I have to say, not too shabby. He spoke about how we need to rely on God and His mercy and that when we don't, that's when things go wrong. He actually used a bit of Scripture (unlike last week) to make the point. Stlye-wise he was very good, he had a good speaking voice and he made all of his points in a timely fashion.
Uh oh - altar call time again. And this one was a little more creepy than the last one. He called up people who needed prayer or whatever, cool. Then he called up people to pray for them, cool. But wait, now there are only two people left in the pews! Me and some lady who I think had a bum leg. Great.
Here's where it gets interesting. First, before he came down to pray, he grabbed a little bottle of oil and was putting it on the sick people's forehead. Okay, that's not too crazy. I mean, it does say to anoint the sick with oil, so I'm with it.
But then came the coup de grace, the moment I'd been waiting for. Yes, he snuck in some speaking in tounges! Oh yeah! I had never seen this in person before and this was the exact reason I wanted to go here! And it was kind of funny - he just snuck it in there a few times, I think only twice. It was like he was just seasoning the blessing with some random mumblings, er, "being filled with the spirit". Note the sarcasm.
What a great Sunday. I got to hear my favorite hymns played in 8-bit music and I got to get my first taste in seeing someone speak in tounges. And honestly, besides those two things, it wasn't a bad place. The people were friendly (as I was walking home one of them drove by and yelled "God bless you, Steve!") and the preacher was good (even though your Wandering Reverend thinks that speaking in tounges is highly questionable theology).
I'm going to stick to another small one next Sunday, I think. There is a small, store front church down on Kenmore Blvd that I'd like to check out and another one near me called Pavilion of Praise, which wins a prize for incorporating alliteration into their name.
Oh, oh! Before I go - what did the pentecostal preacher say after he bought Chevy? . . . shouldaboughtahonda! Ha!
Rev.
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