LifeChurch.TV

(I suggest scrolling down and hitting play. You'll thank me for it later.)

Whew. I was up late Saturday night. Waaaay too late, dealing with issues that a friend of mine is having. I was up until 3am and probably didn't fall asleep until 3:30am. I had plans to go to church but I didn't wake up until about 10:30 this morning, and I wasn't sure what time they started, and all other kinds of things working against me.

So, I went with church online. Yes, church online. Everything is online nowadays, so is it really a stretch for there to be an online church?

Welcome to LifeChurch.TV.

I heard about LifeChurch last year when I went to a leadership conference down in Cincinnatti and I got to hear their pastor, Craig Groeschel, speak. He was a great speaker and made some really awesome points about what church is and some of the inner functions. He has a book out called, "IT". If you're in the church business, I'd recommend it.

"Going" to this church is very easy and the site is very straight forward. The church meets live and there is a countdown to start time. As you're waiting, there's a chat room where people meet and talk about what's going on with them. I guess this would be the lobby of your brick and mortar church.

First up was worship, which I have to be honest, only sort-of worked for me. Confession time: I wrote the 4 paragraphs of this while they were singing. Terrible, I know. I mean, at regular church, I sing and clap and do all that. But it being online really didn't have the same impact for me. Hrm. . . so I have a bigger problem singing by myself than in front of other people. . . I have no clue what that says about me but I'm not sure it's healthy!

Next up, communion. Oh yes, communion. Before the worship started, they announced that they were going to be partaking, and said that if you wanted to take, then go get some bread and wine (or grape juice) so that you would be prepared. Crazy, I know. No, I didn't partake but I still think it's an interesting concept to try. Still, kind of weird.

After this, Groeschel came on to give his sermon. He spoke about how each and everyone of us is called to be a minister. No, not just the guys who went to Bible college or who are paid staff at a church, but eveyone that is a Christian. He drew from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), showing how the priest and the Levite went past the injured man, but it was the Samaritan, the layman, who helped the man with his needs.

A couple of good quotes from his message: "The church's message never changes, but the methods do change. To reach people no one is reaching, you have to do something no one is doing." I love the 2nd part of that. It reminds me of another quote, I think from Dave Ramsey, which says "If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got." Pretty simple stuff, yes. But I think so often, in our heads we're saying "Yeah, I need to change! I want things to be different!" but right after that, we end up doing the same exact things we've always been doing. Ugh.

His other good one: "When you know who you are, you'll know what to do." He gave the example of a time he was playing basketball and a guy there blew out his knee. Everyone there was just wincing and not sure what to do. But another guy ran up and said "I'm a doctor! Let me through." and he was able to help the man. The idea being that, if you know that you're a Christian, then you know what you are to do. You can help. You can make a difference by becoming involved. However, if you dont' know who you are . . .

After his message, he prayed and asked anyone if they committed themselves to Christ then to let them know by pushing the button (a little button popped up that you could hit). A virtual alter call. . . interesting. It was definitely a lot less creepy than the one at the Apostolic church, that's for sure.

Kind of a weird experience, in that I met no one new and didn't get to really get involved in worship. But I'm thinking - how many people do this by going to an actual building-church? You go to church, give a fake smile and handshake to a few people, sit in the pew, waiting for it to be over, and then leave. Never making a connection, never engaging in fellowship, never truly worshipping. I have to be honest, if nothing else, this online church made me miss real church all that much more.

They do have ways to meet with people in real life. There are small groups, I guess, that meet locally (a quick check of my zip code shows there are none in my area. Boo!) And something like that would be very interesting. There are a lot of interesting thoughts about doing church that way that are running through my mind, too many to put here.

A little announcement from your Reverend, I think my time of wandering is drawing to a close. Wandering has been good, and I have really enjoyed it. All the encouragement from people and compliments (fake compliments, I'm sure, but I'll take it anyway I can get it). I knew from the get-go that this could never be a full-time gig and that it would have to end some day.

But don't worry! You still have me for about another month! I have a big finale planned and then another, daily, project planned after that. What are the plans, you ask? I'm not giving it away! You'll have to stay tuned for it! But I really think you will enjoy them.

And sadly, you'll have to wait 2 weeks for the next church, as I'll be out of town next weekend. Maybe I'll make some time to drop some knowledge on you next week. . . if you're good.

With much love and respect from the interwebs,

Rev.

Akron Baptist Temple - Part Deux

It's been a few months since I've been to the Akron Baptist Temple and if you recall, when I was there last it was a "very special" service, with the mayor speaking and a guest preacher doing the business. My cousin, Nick, kept bugging me, "Dude, you have to come see The Bridge service. It's awesome! You just gotta go. Dude. Dude." I kind of didn't want to do a Part 2 of any church but thought, eh, since I'll be going to a different version of the service, it might be fun.

Apparently God had other plans. The big rain that we recently got did a number on the roof of the ABT. Lots of water damage and other water related issues that put The Bridge service out of service for about a month. Oh the irony of it all!

To look on the bright side, it was a good service.

Upon entering one of the many entrances to the building, a couple of very nice greeters met us at the door. We then walked through the maze that is Akron Baptist Temple. You could very easily get lost in that place! Like The Chapel in Akron, it's another one of those old churches that has been added onto about a dozen times. And I think each time they add on, they add another 5 corridors to the place. Unless I were to come in the front door (which is not convenient to get to, as it's in the front and you park in the back) you'd get lost.

We made it in and found our way to the balcony seating, where all the bourgeois sit (sans coulots sit down below).

First up was the worship service, which was good. Nothing exciting, like rock bands or DJ's, but it was done well. Band was on point, songs were oldies but goodies (one of my oldie faves, When We All Get to Heaven). They also had an older lady by the name of Rose sing, which was great.

Next was the sermon, brought to you by Ed Holland. They are currently in a sermon series that is dealing with THE END times out of Revelation. Personally, I've never liked sermons about this. For one, Revelation is soooo open to interpretation and I question anyone who reads it then says they know for sure what's going to happen. Second, it's such a divisive topic in Christianity. I'd rather we just let it lie than bring it to a boil. Can we just agree that it's very vague and when it finally does happen, we'll know it.

My personal view, which I took from an old song, is "I read the back of the book and we win!"

However, he did a nice job of balancing interpretation with insight and a lesson that we can learn from it.

After the sermon, it was over. We left and I went out in the woods and got shot by paintballs for the rest of the afternoon!

So I've made a kind-of-sort-of decision. If things with Kenmore Church of Christ don't work out, I think I might try out The Temple for an extended period of time (notice the lack of full on commitment). First, it's a nice place with lots of great programs. Second, I know a lot of people that go there and they are all really great people (except for my cousin, Nick, he's a jerk! Ha ha . . . don't worry, he doesn't read the blog but I'm sure his wife will tell him!). Third, they're local.

I don't judge anyone (to their face) that drives 20 minutes to church but in my personal view, church is a local thing. A place not only to meet and worship with fellow believers but also a place to be active and get involved in the community. A place to put your faith into action.

I'm not sure how many churches there are in Akron, but imagine if every church said to itself, "Okay, we're going to concentrate all of our efforts on the neighborhood that we sit it and meet its needs, both temporal and spiritual." Every church putting its all into one small area. What kind of difference would that make?

Anyway, it was a good Sunday and I'm glad I was able to worship with my cousin.

Peace to mah homies on the streets,

Rev.

St. Mary's - downtown Akron

Sorry I'm late, kids! Daddy just had a few things he had to take care of. Daddy still loves you. . . now get daddy's beer! Ha ha.

I had family in town this Sunday so I went with them to good old St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in beautiful, awesome, downtown Akron. Yes, I know, I've already been to a Catholic church but I wanted to take in the experience with my family.

However, it's a Catholic church. The sevice is exactly the same way it was when I was there two months ago. Yeah, there were different readings and the priest's homily (Catholic-speak for "sermon") was different (and boring). But other than that, completely the same.

For those of you who are from the Akron area you have probably read that the Cleveland Diocese (that's the overall governing body for this area of the church) is going to be closing several churches. They have already closed a few and more are on the chopping block, including St. Mary's. Problems are lack of attendance, lack of giving, and from what I can see, lethargy.

In this humble Reverends opinion, I believe lethargy is the biggest culprit. A few thoughts . . .

Has a Catholic person ever invited you to church? And no, not for the bingo or the 8th annual ethnic fest. I mean invited you because they were eager to share the Lord with you. I'm guessing no. I think for all these years, they've just assumed that parents will bring their kids, those kids wil bring their kids, and so on. I think it's sad if any church is counting on population growth for outreach. Really.

What about friendliness? In the two churches that I have been to, there were no greeters at the door and no one inside to come around and greet. You just go in, grab a seat, and think about where to go to lunch. Even when it's time to greet others (that is, the "peace be with you" handshake time) no one makes an effort to even seek out people. I shook the hands with the people standing next to me (my family) and that was it. No one left their pews at all.

Fellowship at Catholic churches seems to not exist (no, you can't count bingo or your random festival).

The service is oh so very foreign to anyone who is not Catholic. The prepared recitations, the communion, nothing at all is explained or given consideration that hey, maybe not everyone in here is a Catholic. Maybe it's because they're so used to not having any new people that they just gave up on it.

I think the Catholic church has a lot going for it. Their leaders are still powerful in the community and in the world (see Pope) and when they speak, people listen. They also have networks of charity programs to help those in need.

But where is the love of the Gospel message? Where is the passion for bringing the lost to Christ? Where has their faith gone?

I think these problems can be overcome but only if there's a change in mindset in the leadership. A change of heart. A heart that has passion for the Lord and for those who need Him.

Sorry it's not much of a review of St. Mary's but it's my honest assessment of what's going on with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Love,

WR

ps - make sure you wait for Animal come out. . .

The Church on the Boulevard

It was a cold and dank morning . . . the birds were singing songs that would make doves cry while a dog barked in the distance. Somewhere a church bell was ringing and . . . Um, yeah. I'll just to stick to the reviews and leave the creative writing to someone better qualified.

Yeah, it's muggy as all get out (welcome to Ohio!) which makes going to a small church all the more fun (they usually can't afford A/C) but as they say, no guts no glory! And sweat. Lots of sweat.

I'm still sticking to small, nearby churches so this morning I went to the Church on the Boulevard (no points for a creative name). This is a new church in an old building down on Kenmore's main drag, Kenmore Boulevard. The church that was there before it closed up shop and for a while, it was a coffee shop of sorts (I never went). After that closed up, a new church started up there and has been there for a few years.

I like old churches. I like that they have unpadded wooden pews, that they have stained glass windows, and that they actually use the front door of the church. Yeah, I know, a building is just a building and it doesn't count for anything if there's no spirit there, but I still like them. Must be something with my Catholic roots. . .

I walked in the front door (even had cool, old doors!) and took a seat in the old, wooden pews (okay, I'm done). Kind of an odd room - it's a square room, very tall, with the stage taking up one corner and the pews taking up the rest. There were what looked like old loge seats that were behind the regular pews. Yeah, very odd, but it was comfortable and it worked.

A couple of very nice gentlemen greeted me and asked me where I was from and all the standard questions. Nice but not pushy (I say that a lot, but it's true).

A few cool things off the bat. First, they seem to cater to the deaf community in some ways. There seemed to be quite a few of them there and there was a person signing on stage for the whole service. Second, lots of teens! And there were four on stage helping with the worship. Awesome! Going to a church with no kids is oh so very depressing. The kids just bring a certain life and to me, it shows where that the church has a priority in growing their kids.

Worship started up and it was very good. They sang a mix of old and new but all with the full band. The kids sang well and the band was well practiced. I dug it.

I seem to have a knack for doing this - their regular preacher was on vacation this week. Doh! This is probably 4th or 5th time that I have seen this. Am I cursed or something? Yeah, it probably has to do with the fact that it's summer, but still.

Luckily, the guy that stood in for him was pretty good. He spoke well, told some good stories, and kept me interested. His message was from Acts 6-28-40, that is, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Strangely enough, this is the 2nd time in the last week that I've had a eunuch brought up in conversation. . . weird. Anyway, he spoke about how we need to be ready to be moved by God and to do His will. Very good stuff to hear after a long week!

Next up they took the offering, while the rest of the congregation sang and let me tell you, any sleepers were snapped to attention! Instead of bringing the band back up they busted out the organ! Honestly, I don't think I have ever been to a church that actually used an organ. My old church had one when I was a kid but they never used and it was gone by the time I got older. Yeah, the organ was a little underwhelming. It was just loud.

I have to say - good church. They spoke about quite a few outreach programs they have and other services they do in the community. A very good mix of young and old and good worship. Yeah, the organ was bleh, but really a minor complaint for all the other good stuff they have going on.

Bonus! I heard that Kenmore Church of Christ is voting on becoming a church plant today. Lord! Please hear this boys prayer and let them get a restart! K-Town needs it!

Revvin' and revvin',

Rev.