Just when you thought it couldn't get more crass...

...you come across this. Seriously, I thought it was a parody when Greg linked to it.

At this church you can experience a "deep and passionate encounter with God" in Tent 2 or, if overwhelming experiences of the numinous aren't your thing, try "country music, boots and buckles" followed by "line dancing for novices" in the Worship Center. There's always the hula dancing in Room 404 if you want something even more relaxing, and that's followed by a potluck on the first of every month. If a potluck sounds unappetizing (you never know where people's hands have been), "grabbing an optional lunch" is on offer at "elevation" -- although it's singles only, I'm afraid.

All told, there are nine different services to choose from at Saddleback Church. And the fact you can bring your coffee into the service is such a bonus, the mere statement deserves an exclamation mark! YES! You can bring your coffee into the service!

God help us. Part of me wants to laugh my ass off reading this guff, and another part of me wants to cry. It's not because I have some evangelical fervour for making worship "holy" or "honouring" to God. It's because the Church exists to overcome divisions through community, and yet the whole ethos behind this consumeristic model of "worship" is anti-community and just reinforces divisions.

At a conference about Anglican ministry a few months ago, some folk suggested the future of parish churches was to have separate congregations for different groups, eg a "youth" church on one side of town and (presumably) some place to shove the oldies on the other side of town. Ugh. This is exactly the kind of ghettoization that I was glad to get away from when I left evangelicalism. Back then the focus was always on how we could best cater to different people, and usually the answer was to split up the church into dozens of compartments. The worst of all was the "youth" because after all, what could young people possibly have in common with anyone over the age of 25? (Very little, as long as you keep them in their own ghetto, I guess.)

Can we not find ways of integrating people into the same community instead of fostering divisions based on taste, of all things? Popular culture does a good enough job of compartmentalizing human beings without the Church following suit. I'd happily give up my right to have a coffee cup in church if it meant we could all strive to be one community.

Comments

[Dave Walker]

Hi David. But don't all churches do this? We all run different services for different tastes, it's just that we don't give them little logos. I've said more at my blog.

[Daniel Walters]

It's a really interesting point, this. I go to one of these emerging churches (as well as a liberal inner-city Anglo-Catholic church) and sometimes get concerned that we're almost all white, middle-class professionals in our 20s and 30s (and occasionally even 40s!). Then I get concerned that the worrying is just middle-class guilt. Then I get all in a twist and go and watch Hollyoaks or something to clear my mind...

[HarryTick™]

I'd go to the "Overdrive" venue!!

[James]

hmmm...
The church we have jsut started to go to has a big age range in the congregation - but it doesnt seem to be very well integrated. It seems to be that 'a church' in itself may be a braod enough idea to initially atrract people of different ages, but what happens inside should bring them together - we forget that people in their 20s and people in their 60s don't normally socialise together so they won't just naturally become great mates and want to hang out after the service.

[Keith]

Ghettoizing the youth?! Ouch!

Many of our churches do the same with the children: "Children's church." But I know that children as young as 4 can indeed sit through one of my sermons (with a little help from a coloring book.) I even had one come up to me after I'd preached on Pharaoh's daughter to ask me more questions about the "princess" who loved God.

The most Spirit-filled moments I've experienced in church where when sharply different people could all gather round the Lord's Table and fellowship together. We may have nothing else in common except our faith in Christ, but Christ is enough.

[Mickey]

This church is literally right down the street from me; I've never been, but understand it's quite popular, to the point of having some sort of service at Edison Field (home of the Angels baseball team) a few months ago.

[speakless]

Enjoyed the blog.