Comments on: The Steeplechase Diaries: South Campus Off the Interstate

By: Jonathan McIntosh

Jonathan McIntosh — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:04:55 +0000

Henry – I think some of the confusion comes from Michael David’s writing style, as well. It’s different than other things on this (or any) site.

He’s not going to provide an analysis in the traditional sense: “We went here. Here’s what I observed, and here is what is wrong or right about it.”

As a filmmaker/storyteller – he wants to observe more than analyze. Sometimes, like in a good movie, he focuses his lens on something that strikes him odd or peculiar. But don’t mistake his observation of the odd as mockery.

Often he will in his writing say in a sense, “This is the way the world is.” Or, “this is the way people are,” or in this case, “this is the way the Southern evangelical megachurch is. Isn’t that kind of funny.”

What I find in Michael’s writing in those moments, however, is not that I am left (as his reader) in a position of self-righteous superiorty mocking his subject. Often the reader is caught with the subject and both are equally exposed.

This is what the best observational satire does – and I think this is the vein that underlies Michael’s writing

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:33:58 +0000

“This gets at a fundamental idea that I hope readers will take from the post: there are things that occur in a church service that feel wrong sometimes. Sometimes they feel wrong because they are wrong; sometimes they feel wrong because an individual has preferences or personal biases. It is important not to mix the two.”
Absolutely agree. There’s a tension in there that is hard to figure out.

“Churches communicate things about their beliefs and theology by the way they conduct a worship service. It is rarely explained outright, but it is perceptible.”
Agreed, again.

Thanks for clarifying. I had a suspicion that this was “the point” of this series/post but… just wasn’t sure. Looking forward to more…

By: Jeremy D

Jeremy D — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:49:06 +0000

I like what your saying Michael. What are we at church for if we’re not there for Jesus? It turns into a really bad hobby if Jesus is not our goal.

By: Michael David Perkins

Michael David Perkins — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:09:19 +0000

Henry:
I appreciate your comments and your interest. This post (and potential future accounts of church visits under The Steeplechase Diaries banner) is intended to take the limited yet often lucid impressions of visiting a church and use them as a springboard to explore christian culture and its effects, positive and negative. In many ways, you bring the cream filling. It is not about hammering a big church or about being cynical. Big churches do things right sometimes and small churches do things wrong sometimes. Sometimes the methods differ, sometimes the principles.

And what you bring up is an important practical point of being a follower of Christ: when and how do we know a church is the right fit? I wrote about that part of the message because I do agree with it to a certain extent. Obviously this church was not the right fit for me, but it was for reasons that go beyond nitpicking. I don’t have to stay at that church several Sundays to know that. This gets at a fundamental idea that I hope readers will take from the post: there are things that occur in a church service that feel wrong sometimes. Sometimes they feel wrong because they are wrong; sometimes they feel wrong because an individual has preferences or personal biases. It is important not to mix the two. In this case, there were both. The way the cars parked in the parking lot felt wrong, the way the greeter tried to integrate me into their various ministries before knowing anything about me felt wrong; the shallow nature of much of the worship songs was wrong, the way the service seemed to be built around this image-driven event where Christ and His Gospel are hardly mentioned at all was wrong.

And that is the point. Churches communicate things about their beliefs and theology by the way they conduct a worship service. It is rarely explained outright, but it is perceptible.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:56:54 +0000

Re-reading my comment, it sounds harsher than I meant it to be. I just had a “where’s the cream filling?” moment and am honestly wondering what point you are going for.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:49:20 +0000

Okay, so you felt really cynical about a really big church you visited. I guess I kept waiting for there to be a point. Did I miss something? I’ve read this entry a few times to see if I have. If this was just about some angst you were feeling with regards to this church, then that’s fine. I just thought it all was building up to some kind of conclusion.

“We fit together with one another in the church, but not every church is the right fit. We have to find the right fit.” – This line caught my attention. Are you agreeing with him since you didn’t care much for their church? This seems particularly relevant to me, anyway, since my wife and I are considering looking for a new church. It’s a weird mix of feeling like we don’t belong in our current church and wondering if two years at this church still isn’t long enough to decide that it’s been too long…