by Ann Brugger

The debates are finally over, the three ring circus tent packed away for another two years. What a relief. Political wrestling these days is no less palatable to me than Big Time Wrestling; it’s a sham. Add the follow up phone messages, and intolerant commercials and you’ll find me rudely talking back to my answering machine and hitting the mute button on the remote with a vengeance. I have no sign in my yard or sticker on my car. Lately, I’m not much of a fan of any party.

One does not have to be a liberal or Democrat, to want our children to be safe in schools. One needn’t be registered to any particular political party to desire safety in our streets where gangs of children operate their own warfare with weapons of mass destruction. It is not un-American to feel shock and awe over the loss of our own American soldiers, and the innocent civilians of Iraq, and no society on earth, by choice should tolerate violence toward children who are blameless.

Shortly after the unspeakable murders of the young Amish school girls, I read pages of comments on a media blog in reaction to the tragedy. Countless parents, grandparents and teachers had written sorrowful messages of grief for the victims and litanies of fear for the future of our children nationwide. However, my breath was ripped from my chest as I read one comment:

What worries me the most about this latest rash of school shootings is that the liberal gun control advocates will use it as an excuse to further their cause of attempting to abolish our constitutional right to bear arms…only 12 to 20 homicides occur in 100,000 schools nationwide but, the gun control soccer moms that have the fantasy that the nation will be a safer place by banning guns only pay attention to the media frenzy that these school shooting(s) attract.

I beg your pardon for repeating such rubbish, but I do so out of unspeakable outrage. In fact, there have been 225 shootings since the events of Columbine, 13 so far this year. I suppose we shouldn’t actually count the near misses just as we shouldn’t be privy to the numbers of Iraqi civilians killed since the beginning of the War. President Bush reacted to the recent Iraqi civilian death figures by saying “I am you know, amazed that this is a society which so wants to be free that they’re willing to – you know, that there’s a level of violence that they’ll tolerate.” Breathtaking, isn’t it, how much the two societies have in common?

One does not need to be a Republican to anguish over the tragedy of abortion. What a crime for our country to have legislated permission for thousands of innocent children to be lost. To add to the pain, we now have to listen to politicians debate their party’s stand every two years. Who in their right mind would ever sanction the death of so many children? Surely, neither candidate! We simply cannot isolate our values by political party. Using issues such as abortion and gun control as part of a political platform is manipulative and unproductive. No amount of political spin on these issues will persuade me to vote for one political party over another. In fact, no political party is completely worthy of representing my personal values.

As a Christian, I am weary of the politicization of my faith. I am uncomfortable in this nation of red and blue, right and left. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” (1 Corinthians 3:19) We must work to change hearts and souls, for the good of the world. We must follow the example of the gentle Amish community who was able to forgive under such excruciating pain. The school building which represented innocence and then horrific violence, no longer stands. A pasture remains, where grass will grow tall, and pleasant breezes will blow once again.

On Election Day this year, you’ll find me consulting the Creator, as I drive by the Lake or walk through Duncan’s Woods, admiring the windswept sand, and the crunch of leaves underfoot. I may have a cup of coffee at Fat Chix, and share a business card with a few new people. I may spend an hour at the Loutit Library, reading, or catch an art exhibit in one of the many galleries in town, all of which reminds me that it is again, breathtaking to be blessed to live in this country. I will vote, with hope for the future, yet remember that this world is a temporary place, and we must be vigilant not to become victims of its foolishness.

Grand Haven Tribune
19 October 2006

Having lived for the last year in an intensely Muslim nation seeking to witness the love of Christ to the people here, our hearts are grounded in phrases like “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” or “The field is white unto Harvest. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send forth Workers.” Being distanced from the American church our minds are nurtured by memories of brethren committed to pray with us as we walk in this darkness; by images of last, fond farewells and sincere handshakes; heartfelt commitments to partner with us, and the historical knowledge of various times in America’s past when waves of committed Christians left the comfort of home to step into the unknown and take the Gospel to places where there was a high chance of them being persecuted and coming under serious spiritual attack.

Being MKs (missionary kids) and being grandparents (meaning we have been involved in missions for a long time now!) we have a panoramic view of the church in America over the last more than several decades. This last year has been noticeably different. American church websites are cutting edge, church programs rock with fake smoke, perfectly tuned sound balance, and mega screen projections, church worship melds the generation gap with fine tuned sensitivity, church growth and programs are a science at the local level, and there are churches and church plants for every flavor of culture to satisfy a smörgåsbord buff. But across the board missions giving has plummeted to the tune of up to two thirds less in one year. This is being written off to salary cuts, a lull in the housing market, liberal giving to rebuild New Orleans, and the price of gas. From our perspective, as we look out across the water, we see something else.

Islam died down about eighty years ago. America was viewed as the great and respected western Big Brother, who offered technology, protection, mediation, education, and funding to encourage these second world countries out of the dark ages into the modern era. With those who brought these improvements to society came Christians willing to live alongside people here to share the Gospel. There were pockets of response, and some national churches were born. But in the last five years Islam has made a major come back. Funded by American oil purchased, and handled by the now rich and educated in Muslim lands, funds are channeled into the poorer sectors of Muslim society with a Muslim price tag. First you return to Islam and then you get your economic aid. Put to them as a return to their roots and a breaking with all the immorality that came in with Hollywood, people are eagerly flocking back to the mosques. The scales have tipped. Christians are in a dangerous minority and persecution is normal.

So those few of us who step out into this environment meet far more resistance than in times past. But at the same time, we also have about one third of the moral, spiritual, and financial assistance from our sending churches that we once had. It’s like sending a soldier to the front line with a hand tied behind his back and no tools to dig a trench. Vulnerable is an understatement. This is heavy. When you leave the States you say goodbye to older parents whom you’d like to stay and care for, you say goodbye to programs for your kids that will help them excel when they get to college, and you plunge into a culture which goes totally against Jesus. You do it gladly, for Jesus. But the hard part is to turn around and find that those people who said goodbye with tears in their eyes are now text messaging in expensive church cafes, web hopping for the coolest new church site, and missions giving is cut leaving you without even the money to get home and raise new funds to try and did that trench… That’s what’s rough.

Shortly before 1543 the ruler of the Byzantine Empire saw the Muslim hoards gather on the shores of the Bosphorus across from Constantinople. Being at that time considered the capitol of the Christian world, the ruler felt a responsibility to gather Christians together to withstand this common enemy. Having just withstood three crusades against Constantinople sent by the church in Rome because of doctrinal disputes, Constantinople lay in shambles and had no money to guard it’s gates. This ruler gathered himself and humbly went to Rome to put the situation before them. The church there had no concept of what he was talking about. Instead they locked him up and said he owed back taxes. It was not much longer that Constantinople fell to the Muslims.

Today America is like Rome. We have time for our games; we will keep the boat and the third car before we’ll give to missions. But meanwhile Islam is evangelizing our inner cities. We deck out our churches, competing for members and church politics is terrifying. Perhaps it should not surprise us then that annually an average of 80,000 American young people are leaving the church for what seems to them a much more inviting Islam. As we look across the water at our beloved America, we tremble. Too busy with an island mentality, is there a chance that God will hold us, who have been given much, responsibility for much?

- Pen Nahim

The infectious rhythms of Latin music have always intrigued me (I still listen to Gloria Estefan). So, when a talented youth praise band from their sister church in Honduras opened the worship gathering at Covenant Life Church on August 20, I was impressed. The band and singers from the Vida Abundante Church led us in “La Victoria Mia Es,” and left no doubt that “the victory is mine” and that music moves people of all colors. It was different, but far from disturbing.

Jeff and I were greeted by several people we know and quickly located the Loading Dock Café for our morning caffeine infusion. The church campus is located in a functionally redesigned complex originally built for the production of pianos by the Story & Clark Piano Company in Grand Haven. I was impressed by the turn-of-the century integrity maintained throughout the facility.

I was caught off guard when people began leaving their seats to present their tithes and offerings (probably because I had just spilled some coffee on my shirt) so I quickly handed Jeff our offering and sent him forward. That was different, but not too disturbing.

An excellent video of several individuals in the church sharing their testimony of how they came to faith aligned with “The Door of Salvation” theme of the morning. Interim Pastor Case Van Kempen presented a message from Revelation 3, where John is seeing Jesus holding the keys to eternity.

Case described the church at Laodicea, a prosperous town, as a place where people dealt with abundance and wants, not needs. Their lukewarm faith was an issue! Like many people in the Grand Haven area, this church in Asia Minor was “distracted by the issues of prosperity” and reluctant recipients of God’s help.

Case referenced the popularity of internet communities like MySpace and Xanga as evidence of our desperate need to connect today. How true! He said that Christ “wants to offer us the help we are too proud to ask for.” And in accord with Revelation 3:18, we should also allow ourselves to be refined. How’s that for a theology of renewal?

Case spoke of the doorways of blessing and opportunity and offered an invitation for people to respond to Jesus knocking. Several seekers responded during the quiet moments of reflection. It felt like my childhood church where such “calls” were common. That was different, but far from disturbing.

CLC has been without a pastor for about a year and is currently in the final stages of their interview process. However, it appears that Case Van Kempen and a strong lay leadership team of pastoral and administrative elders have maintained a good work in the interim. Information about Covenent Life Church is available at www.ghclc.org.

- Kirby Chittenden

Food tasters often use what is called a degree-of-difference (DOD) scale when comparing products within the same category. A 10 rating designates two things that are very different while a 1 or 2 may describe mere nuances between two batches of the same food.

Daybreak Church provides little in common with typical church cuisine. Using a DOD scale, I would put them at about 8 or 9 without question. The August 6 portion of their Summer Salsa series featured speaker Derek Bareman, on the topic of service.

Daybreak is located in the heart of west Michigan farmland less than 7 miles south of Grand Valley State University. Daybreak started as a church plant of Kentwood Community Church. Although its roots are in Wesleyan tradition, their DOD score distances them from most churches in the denomination.

I intentionally didn’t make coffee before leaving home. Susan questioned my very casual summer attire. The 27-mile trip didn’t take as long as I expected so we arrived a little early and just in time to purchase freshly brewed coffee in the lobby area. I wasn’t the only one wearing shorts. Paul was familiar with the campus which included a bookstore, Head Rush, and an entire wing dedicated to children and student ministries. The facility was architecturally open and resembled less church and more community.

The worship folder or church bulletin should be rated 10 on the DOD scale—first class print material. My initial impression was that mediocrity was not a part of Daybreak’s vocabulary. As we entered the worship center, two large front-projection screens flanked the proscenium stage.

A visual countdown led into the opening song titled “Yahweh” featuring worship leader Mike Smith, a strong vocalist who delivered the U2 selection with equal presentation—hazers included. The worship set, led by a phenomenal group of instrumentalists and vocalists, also connected with the established theme of service. Daybreak’s reputation of theatrical technology was apparent in the lighting design, which only enhanced the flavor of today’s worship.

Derek “chihuahua” Bareham spoke about a servant lifestyle focusing on the first part of Philippians, chapter two. This is a powerful and relevant text! He asked what would happen in family, business, and church if we went forward with an attitude of servant leadership? He shared several personal stories that supported his “no strings attached service” model and encouraged us to ditch the scoreboards we frequently create in a typical approach. Although I was looking for more reflection on Paul’s powerful instruction to the Philippian Church, the teaching was sound, sincere, and the relevant anecdotes enriched the theme.

Other “salsified speakers” for this month include Dr. Ed Dobson, former pastor of Calvary Church, and Daybreak’s senior pastor Wes Dupin. The fiesta roster for August looks appetizing. I think I might just spice up what’s left of this summer with some Daybreak salsa. It is refreshingly different.

- Kirby Chittenden

This past Sunday was a scorcher. I think it was something like 100 degrees with 80% humidity… enough to make that little spot under your bottom lip sweat.

Natalie and I thought we’d get in from the heat and visit Spring Lake Baptist. I’d heard the pastor speak before and was impressed by his teaching. As it turned out, our plan didn’t work so well. When we walked into the lobby, the first thing we noticed was that our glasses fogged up and it was roughly 15 degrees hotter in the building than it was outside. Apparently, their building was not air-conditioned.

The good news is that was the worst part of the experience.

We got there in time for Sunday School and enjoyed a good study in Genesis about Abraham led by the pastor’s son.

Following Sunday School, we headed upstairs into a sweltering fan-cooled auditorium.

Per my usual experience, it was an abnormal service the week we visited. Most of the worship team was out of town that week but we were in for a treat. Apparently, that week several high-school music students from Germany were visiting and accompanied worship. They were very talented and the music and worship experience was wonderful.

As expected, the pastor’s message was excellent.

Most notably, however, the thing we commented about after everything was said and done, the thing that stuck out in our mind was the friendliness and warmth of the people. In our experience, Baptist churches are frequently cold and a bit inhospitable. That was certainly not the case here. Several of the members there made it a point to meet us, remember our names and approach us again after the service was over to speak with us and make us feel very welcome.

Between solid teaching and a warm atmosphere (both figuratively and literally), we found our visit to Spring Lake Baptist a pleasant one.

- Paul Yuen

I know a lot of people have been wondering: what’s been going on with you and church, Paul?

Well, here’s the skinny: we had been attending Nortonville Chapel. The Lord had led us to the church about a year and a half ago. It didn’t really seem like a good fit at first, but it did seem to be where God had directed and wanted us to stay. God reveals His Will to us in prayer, circumstance and by his Word. All three seemed to be lining up at the time to indicate that this was, indeed, where he wanted us to attend.

…so we jumped in with both feet. We plugged in wherever there seemed to be a need that we felt the Lord was directing us to serve and it was a great experience.

The fit never really felt right, though and over time, we prayed for direction as to whether we should stay or go. In recent months, it felt as though the Lord was beginning to close doors and prepare our hearts to find another church. Once again, through prayer, circumstance and scripture, his Will was revealed that it was time to move on and go on the search.
The first church that we decided we’d visit is called New Life Community Church and is located about a mile away. Now, being the avid technology person that I am, when I begin a venture like church-shopping, the first place I start is not likely going to be the phone book. It’s usually much easier and faster for me to find information online… so my fingers danced and danced on the keyboard as I Googled the web (when did that become a verb?) for more information.

Twenty minutes into my search, I was still coming up empty-handed. In the course of my research, I discovered several other churches in the area, each website looking seemingly worse than the one before. I have to believe that at some point, the pastor or a board member says, “the Inner-nest is the wave of the future. My grandson tells me they’re making it for computers now! We need a website.” At that point, they assign the task of building a website to either a high-school student or some poor goon who wasn’t paying attention during the meeting.

From this we get truly awful results. We’ve all seen it: Church websites with nearly every other word spelled correctly, a picture of a cross and/or dove, complete with awful colors, pictures of people sitting at a picnic or on a canoe trip and an events calendar that’s out of season and two years old, along with a list of prayer requests for 9-11 victims. Usually the images are all shifted out of proportion, nothing lines up, the type-treatment is bright red, in as many fonts as Windows comes with, flashing and so large that you’re not certain as to whether you’ve found a church website or a monster truck rally advertisement… in either case, the words, “Sunday Sunday Sunday” both seem appropriate.

I did manage to find a church’s website that had clean lines, was up-to-date and looked like their beliefs lined up with my own. Trying to find out WHERE they were and WHAT TIME to show up was another matter and apparently a huge secret.

More than once, these words escaped my lips: “church websites suck.”

Now why is that?

1.) lack of funding

2.) lack of competency within the local church’s body

3.) lack of anyone taking the initiative to do something about it

Let’s look at this strictly from a business perspective. If you were running a business, the cardinal rule of business is, “if you’re not growing, you’re dying.” I think that can also be said of churches. If you were a small business and you wanted to encourage people to come through your door, there are a number of initiatives you would launch to advertise and increase customer awareness: Radio spots, TV commercials, fliers, billboards, etc. Eventually, word of mouth becomes the small business’s best friend, but they have to do a lot of work up front before that becomes a reality.

Again, the reasons we don’t see a lot of these same kinds of initiatives from the church is lack of funding and knowledgeable personnel. Generally, when a church writes out their budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, the advertising department gets a pretty slim cut… but a business would never do that.

The reason the web has had the explosive impact that it has is because it’s cheap and easy to create a presence and pump out relevant information to your target audience… you just need someone with know-how and ability to make it happen.

I decided I could do something about this dilemma. I called up a few friends I have who share my love for the Internet industry and www.churchwebsitessuck.com was born.

More or less, it works like this: we will give local churches in our area then benefit of our design and development skills free of charge, as long as they are willing to host their website with me for at least one year.

They’ll get the same treatment any paying client would get and the same quality of work, but they don’t pay a dime for it.

Problem solved. It’s like pushing the big red un-suck button.

We’re just doing our part.

- Paul Yuen

For months, my friend, Garrett, has been Instant Messaging me to come and visit his church, Spring Lake Wesleyan (SLW). I know a number of people who go/went to that church and added it to the rotation of churches that I intend to visit as we “church-shop.”

SLW must have a million billion members because they conduct four services. Two of the services are “Celebration” services; a program that’s a bit more on the traditional/conservative side of things. The other two services are “59 West” services… the opposite of “Celebration.”

I decided on Sunday that I would attend both.

The first service I attended was the “Celebration” service. We arrived a few minutes late, but caught the last three or four songs from the worship service. They were mellow and well-performed. The worship was powerful and moving with which it was easy to connect.

The second service I went to was “59 West.” The name of the service comes from what the church has come to name that wing of the building. There’s no mistaking the audience to whom 59 West is geared. Before I even got inside, I saw a herd of Berkenstock-wearing teens standing around the entryway, text-messaging and chatting on their mobile phones. Upon actually entering the building, I was immediately met by a waft of fabricated smoke from the previous service. The room appears to be the church’s “original” sanctuary that’s been MacGuyvered into a small concert stage. I was prepared to be blasted out of my seat, hair blown straight back by the sheer awesomeness of the hard-core rockfest I was about to enjoy/endure. When I saw a familiar drummer enter the stage, his reputation preceded him and my smile broadened.

As it turned out, when all the cards were down on the table, the worship service at 59 West was not all that far removed from the worship service at Celebration. Sure, it was a little louder, the guitars were a bit more pronounced and the lighting array was quite a bit more elaborate, but all-in-all, I was pleasantly surprised to find that SLW had not taken the “worship” portion out of their young-audience service and completely replaced it with “entertainment.”

Pastor Pete was the speaker that morning in both services I attended and he taught the first of a three-part series on The Wonders of the Torah. The main passage was Psalm 119:89-96. My first response to that was, “the torah is made up of the first five books of the Bible… what’s Psalms got to do with anything?”

Pastor Pete went on to examine each verse from the passage, tying it back to passages found in the Torah. He taught a compelling and convicting lesson, most notably about God’s faithfulness vs. our perception of perfection.

At times, I felt like some of the illustrations distracted from the main track of the teaching, but overall, Pastor Pete did a fine job.

My final evaluation: Based on my single experience, SLW adequately meets the needs of both the older and younger generation while providing sound teaching and an engaging worship experience. The biggest question in my mind is this: How are they encouraging and fostering inter-generational relationships if they have segregated the body by attracting the young and mature audiences in different directions?

- Paul Yuen

in this journey of finding a new home body, i expect to run across anomalies and quirks specific to a new church body.

that’s what my BRAIN says…the rest of me expects the new church to be just like the one i last knew as my ‘home church’ (unrealistic, i know)…and when it’s not, i wonder if i am being fair and so i extend extra patience so as to ‘read’ this new body carefully…

with that disclaimer in place, i proceed with my thoughts on new life community church.

it feels like a seeker-friendly place–warren and i were greeted at the door with effusive hand shaking, smiles, and presented with a dot. i assumed it was either a name tag ritual or that it figured into the message–sneeches with stars upon thars…(there were also stars being handed out)–or it was the wemick story about punchinello.

turns out, the latter was right. the kids were brought up front, and read a story about punchinello, the wemicks, dots and stars and the fact that those are all labels given by the created..and not the creator. so the labels shouldn’t stick–we’re special cuz God made us and loves us.

the pastor, ‘pastor todd’, gave a message on the function of our faith–using teflon as his vehicle…that sometimes if we allow life’s ‘forks’ to scratch us up, the things of the world stick–like the labels…ok. i can go along with that…but the more i thought about it, the more i thought that the analogy was a little short. our faith isn’t a coating…it’s integrated with our lives–having impact on every thought and deed–a mere scratch can’t or shouldn’t be able to flake off the non-stick…otherwise it’s more religion without the power of personal relationship with God. (here’s where i thought–‘he needs to know about pampered chef! natalie could tell him all about the pampered chef pots with the non-stick BAKED into the metal–so it doesn’t FLAKE–and it can withstand a lot of abuse’)

so as i’m thinking this, the analogy breaks down even further. ok–so i assume he’s talking now to people who are either new in their faith or looking for God’s truth…as most of the church body in the room admitted to being first-timers.

worship music was ok–it was quite well-done, actually, but i got this feeling that it was too well-done. the song ‘coming back to the heart of worship’ came to mind–simply because i wondered how hard it was for the worship team to maintain the attitude of leading the body to worship before the throne, as opposed to performing…which is what it felt like to me. mini-concert.

assuming i was being overly negative, i tried to get past a couple of these things–and hoping i am wrong. i plan on going back a couple more sundays so i can get a better feel of this church body…and if i feel the same way in a couple weeks, it might just be time to find another place where depth is part of the worship–and no apologies are made to the seekers.

IF the holy spirit is leading, he will open eyes and hearts to understand the mysteries of God…and no apologies need be made…or dumbing down of the Gospels.

seeking Truth–always…

we’ll see you next week.

ruth bliss

Some time ago, Natalie got an invitation to give the New Life church in Muskegon a visit. We knew they met at the Trillium Conference Center on Van Wagoner, but didn’t know what time. I knew they had a website, but no matter how hard I scoured the web, trying to find it, it wouldn’t come up… so we guessed at what time to attend. 10 am seemed like a pretty fair guess, so we packed up my folks, who were visiting from Toledo, into the car and made a run over to check it out.

Turns out, 10:00 was a pretty good guess.

First impressions: The people were very friendly and inviting. It didn’t seem to take much effort to connect with several individuals within the congregation. The atmosphere was informal and very upbeat.

The worshp service was well put-together, clearly well rehearsed and technically proficient. One thing I liked was that each song was scripturally-based. For each song we sang, someone from the congregation read the passage that related to the upcoming song, putting our hearts and minds in tune with the root of the meaning of the chorus and helping to focus the worship experience. All of the songs were contemporary and geared toward a younger audience.

As visiting churches tends to go, the week we visited, they had a guest-speaker… a guy from within the congregation. He seemed to be a pretty grounded fella, speaking on the subject of fear. It seemed to me that he was still fairly young in his faith, but walking toward maturity. I look forward to hearing their Senior Pastor teach.

Finding their website online is nearly impossible. Here is the web-address: http://newlifechurch-lakeshore.org/index.htm

- Paul Yuen

The original purpose of Faithscope was to share information and thoughts about some of the churches we would visit in west Michigan this summer. Although the scope of this project will go beyond that purpose, I hope others will share their thoughts about their church search.

WATERMARK Church in Grand Haven usually meets at Grand Haven High School on Sunday mornings for two gatherings. Seldom have I visited a church where the focus on the faith family been so evident. Author Keith Drury writes that the church should be less about me and more about us; and Watermark provides clear evidence of collective faith in action. Although I assume their Life Group ministry provides a solid basis for personal spiritual development, I imagine this emphasis on “building the body” plays a key role in Watermark’s strategic plan.

As my daughter and I walked into the casual cafeteria setting, it was good to see friends. We spoke with Sarah, Mike, Jeff, Deb, Shawn, Chuck, and Peggy before the second worship gathering began. I also spoke briefly with Pastor Steve Duer and recounted the early days of this church plant just a few years ago. The informality of the venue encouraged comfortable interaction among people.

IN COMMUNITY was the obvious focus of Sunday morning at Watermark where the mission is “being the church, making disciples.” We were encouraged to put our faith in action and participate together as a faith family in their community. Steve Duer shared a story of a woman whose life was defined as extravagantly generous. He then asked, “What is your life’s description?” But he carried an important step further: “What is OUR description as Watermark?” He referenced the church in Acts 10 who was encouraged to model Jesus and to do good, heal, and bear fruit. I appreciated this focus on the US aspect of church for a change.

Steve shared how Watermark connects with the Grand Haven community on several fronts. They recently launched a laundry ministry to help families with these essential needs. The church plans to distribute 10,000 bottles of water at the United States Coast Guard Parade in August. They also engage occasional service teams and maintain an active alliance with the Tri-cities Area Habitat for Humanity. An excellent video clip on the ministry of Habitat got the point across: let’s participate together in community with a goal of extravagant generosity.

There is little consensus these days about the official name given music which is Christian and performed in contemporary styles. It has become an eclectic genre of rock, heavy metal, punk, pop, rhythm and blues, ska, swing, country, and Latin music. A three-song set at Watermark clearly defined a time where people were encouraged to contribute to the gathering led by a fairly tight rhythm section and two vocalists. However, the selections seemed to lack a logical melodic form which prevented many people, at least in the section I was standing, to actively participate in singing. Engagement is a critical element in worship.

WATERMARK is a Wesleyan Church. I have to admit, with all the hype about the emergent church these days, I could not resist typing “emergent” and “Wesleyan” in my Google bar. Lo and behold, several familiar names, including Steve Duer of Watermark and David Drury of Spring Lake Wesleyan, appeared in my search results. I do not wish to define either of those search words in my remarks, but they both give this writer a clear indication of the theological engine, if you will, behind Watermark. Personally, I think Wesleyan theology has much to offer the present age; so my theological meter for Watermark tilts positive. In addition, Watermark Church also seems somewhat of a haven of cultural diversity and emergent practices. That is refreshing.

With the help of On Point Media Group, the church maintains a very clean and functional web site at www.iamwatermark.com.

-Kirby Chittenden