Flashing lights and Smoke Machines: Life Church Yukon

    I'm really excited to share with you our first experience at a Life Church, but first, let me tell you about Car Church.

    Wait! First, let me tell you about why we were having Car Church in the first place:

      We woke up early Sunday morning knowing we weren't going to be able to attend church that morning. My oldest daughter's basketball team had signed up weeks before to take part in the High Five program for the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team's home game against the Chicago Bulls. It was a 12:00 game, we were required to be there an hour early, and being a couple hours from the city, we would be driving and arriving around the time most churches start. Several of us regular church attendees had some misgivings about missing church for a basketball game but decided that we were still part of the Body of Christ no matter where we gathered, so we gave God the praise for the opportunity and headed to OKC as the sun was coming up.

     My niece had stayed the night and was riding to the city with us to spend a few days with her aunt and uncle, and my daughter's bff was joining us for the game, so I headed east out of town with three happy eleven year olds in the back seat chattering along. A few minutes later, I declared that we would have church in the car this morning, and this is how it went:

                              Praise and Worship:  I cranked up the tunes and all four of us began to sing along. The tune was upbeat and we were rocking out, worshiping God together through music.

                              Prayer Concerns: I looked down at my speedometer that was pointing somewhere near 80, and up into the flashing lights of a flashing patrol car. The concern was obvious, and the prayers began.

                                Confession and Contrition: As the grim faced patrolman renounced my sin and asked for an explanation, I apologized profusely while frantically searching for my license and registration in a purse packed with junk, a console full of papers, and a glove compartment stacked with all manner of ridiculousness. After hours (or a couple of interminably long minutes) of really uncomfortable silence while I dug and shoveled and searched, I finally gave up and begged for mercy.

                                  Morning Message: While the officer returned to his patrol car to decide my fate, I proclaimed to the girls in back the importance of staying organized and following the rules and not allowing your life to get trashed out due to being overly busy. All this was said while continuing to search my purse for my illusive license and tossing not one but FIVE oranges out of my purse, over my shoulder, and into their laps as I spoke, until a distinct throat clearing at my left shoulder stopped me mid-toss and I turned to the officer even more humiliated than before while the girls behind me choked on giggles behind their hands.

                                  Absolution: "Mrs. White," the officer sternly stated, "You currently have no  record on your license, so I'm going to give you a warning this time. However, if you'd like to continue with no record, I recommend you get all of these offenses taken care of and set your cruise control."

                                 Praise, Adoration, and Prayers of Thanksgiving:  Praise the Lord!! Just as God offers us salvation through Jesus Christ and bids us to "go and sin no more," I had been given grace in the face of my failures, no record was kept of my wrongs, and I was allowed to continue on my journey praising God and thanking Him for a second chance today and always. However, as we drove away, I declared to the girls that I would be focusing on my driving for the rest of the trip, and I was sure we could find a Life Church to attend on the way home, which is exactly what happened!

We don't get a lot of time together without the sisters!
What a blessing this day turned out to be!

    
     It was close to 3:00 when we left the Thunder game, and a quick internet search revealed that LifeChurch.TV of Yukon had a service at 5:00 which was absolutely perfect.  It was on our way home and gave us time for a quick stop at the outlet mall for a little shopping. I had never been to a LifeChurch before, but I've had several friends recommend it. One of the main reasons for encouragement was that there are so many service times offered on both Saturday and Sunday that you can always find time to join a worship service even when you've got a busy, over-booked weekend schedule, as most of us do, at least from time to time.  In addition, I'd been told that the pastor was excellent, and the kids church had been highly suggested for my girls by my friend's son who is the same age as my oldest.

Actual feelings face.

Might be on Mom's blog face.

     I really had no idea what to expect, and my daughter (who is not quite as friendly and adventurous as her younger siblings) had no desire whatsoever to attend kids church, but with some encouragement from her friend, and a demand from her mother, she poutingly deigned to attend. We followed the signs to registration and got the girls signed up. They each received a name tag with a number that corresponded to a sticker given to me that would have to be presented in order to retrieve them. We were welcomed by some very friendly volunteers and shown to a special classroom for 5th grade students that looked like a pretty good time to me. There were several games including basketball and foosball and a comfy looking couch area in front of a big screen television. The girls were told they would get the VIP treatment and were offered snacks and drinks and were headed in that direction when I left them and followed the signs to the auditorium.

        Before passing into the auditorium (I wonder why it's not called a sanctuary?), I encountered a large coffee, tea, and water bar. There was a variety of snack and drink options, and church members were eagerly filling cups and carrying them into the auditorium with them. Feeling a bit sacrilegious, I filled a cup of ice water and found a seat near the center back.

      So far, I had not been spoken to by anyone in the lobby or the greeters by the door, and I felt a little awkward as I sat alone in the congregation as others entered in groups of family and friends. I noticed a few other singles in the congregation and was a little surprised that like myself, they continued to remain alone, with several seats separating them from the others as the auditorium began to fill up. I wondered if this was common in all churches and if I had simply never noticed because I'm usually surrounded by family of my own.

    The church itself was unlike any I'd ever been in before. The closest I  think I've been to would be Jr. High Church Camp or a Women of Faith Conference. The stage itself was backed and flanked by a trio of huge tv screens counting down the time until service began, and music was blaring as laser beams flashed off of the machine made smoke hovering above. It was definitely a festive, fun-filled atmosphere, and as the booming bass vibrated up the floor causing my pant legs to shake in time to the music and tickle my stubbly legs, I realized that I was probably a little past due for a shave. (Too much information again? Sorry, again!)

     As the countdown came to a close, a live praise band took their places on stage, and we joined in as the words to songs that were new to me but easy to catch on to flashed across the screens. The musicians and vocalist were excellent and the words to the songs meaningful and touching. People across the room lifted their hands in praise and danced in their seats as they sang along in praise to our God. I was surprised by the continued feeling of isolation I was experiencing. I think perhaps the fact that I couldn't hear myself or any of the people surrounding me singing over the volume of the band kept me feeling like I was in a bubble of my own, there but separate. (Once again, this could very well have been due to the newness of attending church alone, and I in no way mean it as a ridicule against this particular church family. Its simply how I was feeling at the time. )

     As the praise band left the stage, the local pastor stepped up to welcome, encourage, and pray for the congregation. He also introduced the senior pastor of Life Church who soon appeared on the large screens to greet his congregations. Pastor Craig Groeschel  and a handful of others launched LifeChurch in 1996 with a vision of creating a different kind of church. Nearly 20 years later, there are Life Churches throughout  the US and their services can be viewed live throughout the world through the power of Internet. Pastor Groeschel can be found leading in person at his church in Edmond, Oklahoma, but he provides leadership to all his churches behind the scenes and on the big screen. He often provides the morning message for all of his church families while various local pastors provide the messages around four times each year, but this particular morning, Pastor Groeschel introduced an upcoming sermon series entitled "I Deserve It" and a guest speaker to present the morning's message on Chasing Light: Part 2: Greed. Paster Peirre Du Plessis from The Father's House in Rochester, New York presented the morning's message, and as I nodded in agreement and chuckled with the other members of the Body, I finally found myself feeling a part of the congregation as a whole. (If you're interested in hearing a really great sermon for yourself, you can find it at http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch/chasing-light/.)  By the time we'd all received the message, the offering had been taken, and we were dismissed with an invitation and a prayer, I was feeling much more at home with this body of Christ. I took a few minutes before we left to ask some questions, meet some very kind people, and learn a bit about Life Church as a whole.

      I find myself intrigued by this relatively new style of church, and would definitely encourage anyone seeking a modern, contemporary worship style to seek out a Life Church near you. In addition, I highly recommend anyone who finds themselves unable for whatever reason at this time to join a church family, to experience and learn from the messages by tuning in at www.lifechurch.tv.  You can view live services several times a week or view messages on demand from their archives anytime. There are several sermon series that I'm really excited about seeing as soon as possible.

    From sirens to smoke machines, this week's Steeple Chase was definitely a unique experience.  We were reminded that whether in a car, at a ballgame, or viewing a Biblical message on a giant tv screen: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them. (Matthew 18:20)  After all, even without a steeple, if the message points upwards, the journey is headed in the right direction. Thanks so much for being a part of this journey with us. Stop in next week for our next Steeple Chase adventure!

 ***Just a little side-note here: As I was completing this week's blog post, Tara from Life Church Yukon called to welcome us to their church and see if we had any questions or comments about their church. She volunteers her time to make contact with all new visitors to make sure they feel connected and welcome in their congregation. What a great way to make a newbie feel at home! Well done, Tara at Life Church! Thanks for your call and your encouragement!