Though it may sound (and look) more like a nightclub than a church, this name has significance. So explains the associate pastor of Warehouse 242 with whom I visited following this morning's worship service. The "242" references Acts 2:42 (the Pentecost day text, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.") The derivation of the "warehouse" portion of the name may seem a bit more obvious, given that this congregation 'emerges' twice every Sunday morning in a warehouse situated in a rather rough neighborhood on Wilkinson Blvd., just east of downtown Charlotte. But "the name has nothing to do with our setting," the pastor reported. A warehouse is the place where items are collected, inventoried, sorted out and prepared to go back out...somewhere. This captures this congregation's understanding of what takes place in worship. Followers of Jesus, for a short while, are warehoused and empowered to be Christ in the community. Cool!
Despite the aids of Rand McNally and Mapquest and a rather keen sense of direction I made several passes on Wilkinson before spotting this congregation. It took a director clad in an orange vest to capture my attention. The warehouse is rather unassuming and blends in quite well with its setting. Even in July (and arriving 15 minutes early at that) parking spots were at a premium. The predictably 20-30-something summer crowd poured into this retrofitted-for-worship space in impressive numbers nearly filling the 350ish seats. The pastor reported about 200 at the early service...so 550+ for the morning. The crowd differed from those of other emergent communities in several ways, i.e. they were a bit more socio-economically elevated (more European sedans) and slightly older (lots of children).
One enters the bagel, pastry and coffee welcome area through one of the roll-up warehouse doors and is greeted not only by the aroma of coffee (regular, decaf, lots of fixin's including whipped cream and any sort of danish one might crave) but also by smiles and "good mornings." There is an energy and undeniable hospitality about these people. The place is astonishingly acoustically friendly with a raised platform up front for the speaker(s) and an area for the band situated between the screens (of course). The chairs are set in a semi-circular pattern around the leaders' area and, much as with our space at Atonement, worshippers look not only at the band but at the faces of other worshippers. The space is rather dark and void of symbols, but red cloth has been hung in the metal rafters above to swoop over the congregation. Announcements and upcoming events scroll across the screens as worshippers gather.
This band was 'hands down' superior to any other group I've experienced this summer. Their sound was rehearsed, professional and impressively clean. Interestingly, this was the only group that did not display a rack of CDs for sale in the welcome area. I would later learn that this was the most mature of the three Warehouse 242 ensembles and that each member has a professional gig in some area nightclub the night before. There were four guitarists, two vocalists, a keyboardist and a drummer wrapped in plexiglas shielding.
The order of matters varied from other emergent services. Instead of opening with the typical 20-30 minutes of music/worship there was only one wonderfully presented piece prior to the pastor's mounting the riser to teach. I wanted more. He later explained to me that they feel that immediately engaging in music and worship is difficult for first-timers or for those new to the faith and church scene. Many who come need to ease into the morning. And sure enough, there was a notable crescendo to the service that built to an upbeat version of "All Creature of Our God and King" and a wonderful, prayerful benediction that recapped and tied the service theme together. So...there was one musical offering ...announcements ...teaching ...offering of tithes ...longer musical set ...benediction.
And here is one marked difference in understanding of worship between emergent congregations and many traditional mainline churches. While folks in our tribe typically understand that worship begins as soon as the processional hymn rings out (or at 8:30 am if that is the service we are attending), emerging congregations move from music to a state of worship when one's spirit ascends to a noteable encounter with God. This will take place at different times for each worshipper. Some of those attending the service may never actually enter worship at all. This seems worthy of further conversation at some point.
The sermon/lesson was 40+ minutes. Perhaps the fact that we were receiving the final segment of an eight-part series on "Home" might have made the experience a bit awkward, but most worshippers seemed to stay engaged in spite of the message more than because of it. Next week begins a five-part series that will study the redemptive themes of current blockbuster movies for the stated purpose of equipping Warehouse 242ers to engage cultural conversation in Jesus fashion. I really encourage you to visit the congregational link. It will take you to one of the more impressive web sites I have visited...and to the trailers for the movies they begin tackling next week.
The rest of the day was spent on the highway negotiating a surprisingly congested Sunday afternoon Interstate 95 South. We are moteling it for the night just south of Jacksonville and intend to roll into Melbourne, Florida tomorrow to visit dear friends (and former Atonemenites) Don and Karen Hagen who retired here several years ago.
I hear rumors that summer has arrived in full force in Kansas...and that Rick assembled a pretty impressive drum line for worship this morning. Eager to learn what that was all about and sorry to have missed it.
Must say that it is a joy to be away for these days knowing that ministry is left in the hands of such a wondrously capable staff! ...in charge of shepherding a congregation that cares enough about its pastor to allow for such a re-creative and spiritually renewing time away as this. Blessings to you all!
Despite the aids of Rand McNally and Mapquest and a rather keen sense of direction I made several passes on Wilkinson before spotting this congregation. It took a director clad in an orange vest to capture my attention. The warehouse is rather unassuming and blends in quite well with its setting. Even in July (and arriving 15 minutes early at that) parking spots were at a premium. The predictably 20-30-something summer crowd poured into this retrofitted-for-worship space in impressive numbers nearly filling the 350ish seats. The pastor reported about 200 at the early service...so 550+ for the morning. The crowd differed from those of other emergent communities in several ways, i.e. they were a bit more socio-economically elevated (more European sedans) and slightly older (lots of children).
One enters the bagel, pastry and coffee welcome area through one of the roll-up warehouse doors and is greeted not only by the aroma of coffee (regular, decaf, lots of fixin's including whipped cream and any sort of danish one might crave) but also by smiles and "good mornings." There is an energy and undeniable hospitality about these people. The place is astonishingly acoustically friendly with a raised platform up front for the speaker(s) and an area for the band situated between the screens (of course). The chairs are set in a semi-circular pattern around the leaders' area and, much as with our space at Atonement, worshippers look not only at the band but at the faces of other worshippers. The space is rather dark and void of symbols, but red cloth has been hung in the metal rafters above to swoop over the congregation. Announcements and upcoming events scroll across the screens as worshippers gather.This band was 'hands down' superior to any other group I've experienced this summer. Their sound was rehearsed, professional and impressively clean. Interestingly, this was the only group that did not display a rack of CDs for sale in the welcome area. I would later learn that this was the most mature of the three Warehouse 242 ensembles and that each member has a professional gig in some area nightclub the night before. There were four guitarists, two vocalists, a keyboardist and a drummer wrapped in plexiglas shielding.
The order of matters varied from other emergent services. Instead of opening with the typical 20-30 minutes of music/worship there was only one wonderfully presented piece prior to the pastor's mounting the riser to teach. I wanted more. He later explained to me that they feel that immediately engaging in music and worship is difficult for first-timers or for those new to the faith and church scene. Many who come need to ease into the morning. And sure enough, there was a notable crescendo to the service that built to an upbeat version of "All Creature of Our God and King" and a wonderful, prayerful benediction that recapped and tied the service theme together. So...there was one musical offering ...announcements ...teaching ...offering of tithes ...longer musical set ...benediction.
And here is one marked difference in understanding of worship between emergent congregations and many traditional mainline churches. While folks in our tribe typically understand that worship begins as soon as the processional hymn rings out (or at 8:30 am if that is the service we are attending), emerging congregations move from music to a state of worship when one's spirit ascends to a noteable encounter with God. This will take place at different times for each worshipper. Some of those attending the service may never actually enter worship at all. This seems worthy of further conversation at some point.
The sermon/lesson was 40+ minutes. Perhaps the fact that we were receiving the final segment of an eight-part series on "Home" might have made the experience a bit awkward, but most worshippers seemed to stay engaged in spite of the message more than because of it. Next week begins a five-part series that will study the redemptive themes of current blockbuster movies for the stated purpose of equipping Warehouse 242ers to engage cultural conversation in Jesus fashion. I really encourage you to visit the congregational link. It will take you to one of the more impressive web sites I have visited...and to the trailers for the movies they begin tackling next week.
The rest of the day was spent on the highway negotiating a surprisingly congested Sunday afternoon Interstate 95 South. We are moteling it for the night just south of Jacksonville and intend to roll into Melbourne, Florida tomorrow to visit dear friends (and former Atonemenites) Don and Karen Hagen who retired here several years ago.
I hear rumors that summer has arrived in full force in Kansas...and that Rick assembled a pretty impressive drum line for worship this morning. Eager to learn what that was all about and sorry to have missed it.
Must say that it is a joy to be away for these days knowing that ministry is left in the hands of such a wondrously capable staff! ...in charge of shepherding a congregation that cares enough about its pastor to allow for such a re-creative and spiritually renewing time away as this. Blessings to you all!
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