1. Building is big; no obvious religious words or symbols (like school or convention or performance space); lots of newish cars.
2. People are dressed neatly and simply; mostly Euro-Americans aged 35 or younger.
3. Worship service is straight forward and easy to follow as an outsider: instructed to stand for a couple of hymns projected on front wall. Audio is loud enough to absorb one's own singing; loud enough to resonate with the rhythms, but maybe too loud to savor the lyrics' imagery or poetic echoes.
4. Sermon/message was very engaging with visual aids, movie (YouTube) segments, take-away memento (lego piece =available 'hooks' one has in one's life), audience participation (write in the program grid space). But while it is easy to enjoy and indentify with the speaker, it felt like a finished presentation with closure. So I did not have a way to act upon the insights given us. If this "watch the story" approach is like having one' feet on the ground of daily life, and the other extreme where preaching is parsing of scripture meanings is like having one's head in the clouds, then what is most precious and elusive is that middle ground between one's feet and one's head; the part that connects intellectual discernment to daily life actions.
5. A few facts from the greeter who spoke with us: began as house-church of 12 people at MSU in 1996, then expanded and used campus space. Finally the original big building went up in 2000 and the new addition opened only recently. About 5-600 attend one of the 5 services (Saturday; Sunday; also a branch outlet on the MSU campus). This church takes its primary mission to be a seekers' church: an easy to approach introduction to God and his Word. So the traditional church trappings and elements are streamlined. Very little flavor of the Middle East, of Old Testament voices. Psychologically my experience was less like a filling meal than like a cup of coffee: pleasant, filling, giving a slight stimulant.
Amazing digital supplement online at http://eriv.net/
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