The church I'm attending right now, Elevation Church, is considered the second fastest growing in the country, according to Outreach magazine. It hasn't existed a full 3 years yet and has about 4,000 people attending at 3 locations. As the leadership is quick to remind us, what God is doing here is not the norm.
The services are cutting edge (at least to technologically-challenged me, anyway). Each location has a live worship band, lights, 3 video screens, and a killer sound system. Ear plugs are offered for those who find the music on the loud side (yes, it's loud). Every minute of service time is carefully structured; it has to be if you have another service scheduled immediately following. Pastor Steven preaches in jeans using the NIV; the worship band is similarly casual, and there has never been any impromptu singing or testifying from the congregation that I remember. As a matter of necessity, Pastor Steven isn't usually available to greet you as you leave; how could he be?
In contrast, my family and I visited my parents church in the Appalachian mountains of Southwest Virginia this past weekend. My niece was getting married on Saturday, and we attended the homecoming at my parents church on Sunday. It is located about 6 miles outside the nearest town, which got its first stop light a few years ago. The population isn't growing, which makes it hard for a church to grow too.
There was lots of singing, mostly southern gospel. The attendance board, which notifies the reader of Sunday school attendance and other important church statistics, was faithfully updated during the service (I think 83 people attended). The pastor preached in a jacket and tie, used the KJV Bible, and lots of folks testified or sang when volunteers were asked for. After the service, we walked across the parking lot to the fellowship hall and everyone, including the pastor, sat down and had lunch together; southern fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, and banana pudding, to name a few dishes.
By the way, being raised here, I must point out the superiority of country cooking. There is no better in the world. I've worked in several churches in cities after I left my mountain home. The KFC, Bojangles, Pizza Hut pies, and other fast food offerings brought to church functions is a nice gesture, but unspectacular. I did attend the Serbian Orthodox Church (in Manhattan no less) that my wife grew up in, and absolutely loved their ethnic cooking. I would only prefer the southern cuisine because I grew up with it. They do, however, serve alcohol in their fellowship hall, something unthinkable to Southern Baptists, so I'll give the Orthodox churches extra credit for that.
What is my point with all this? Just that the Church of Jesus Christ has to be THE most diverse, mixed-up, colorful, beautiful, wonderful, crazy organization on the face of the earth. Sometimes if you're looking at your local church, you may feel underwhelmed. But if you step back and try to take in the panorama, you discover a miracle.
