"I'm kind of a big deal. People know me."

Church number one really emulates the famous word's of the San Franciscan news anchor, Ron Burgundy who said, "I'm kind of a big deal. People know me." It is the largest, most well-known church in the Houston area is and it is, as a matter of fact, a big deal with it's world-wide selling author Pastor, world-renown worship leader/team, and it's former NBA basketball arena building. They have definitely made a name for themselves. Thus, church number one on the Sunday Vagabond's adventure. I have to be completely honest as to say that I had always judged this specific church because of it's reputation. I have felt this way for four+ reasons: it's huge, it's flashy, it's televised, and it's a well-funded institution. I promised though that I would be unbiased in each of my church visits so I was, I promise :)


All preconceived notions aside, we woke up early Sunday morning, did a Starbucks run and were off. When we walked in we felt very welcomed by all the greeters. They were all very friendly and I felt that their joy and smiles were pretty genuine. Maya and I walked all the way around the building until they finally let us in the actual sanctuary. We walked down the steps and surveyed what we saw. We decided we could 1) sit on the sides and watch the huge screens or 2) we could sit on the ground floor and watch everything live and be in the middle of the action. Naturally, i decided the latter would be better for our anthropologic purposes even though we would not be able to use our phones for sneeky texting breaks during the service ;) 


The service started with worship and a greeting from the pastors. Worship was great! It was great to see free worship without feeling that you are out of your place if you had a little boogie in your step or felt like raising your hands in praise to God. My only reservation was that with the exception of one or two songs it was all about how God can do anything and how we can do anything through God. Don't get me wrong, I do believe like it says in Philippians 4:13, we can do anything through the strength of Christ, but isn't worship supposed to be about how great our God is, an adoration of his power, strength, and sovereignty no matter what the circumstances in life may be? 


The sermon was equally as good as worship. There was scripture recited out of Psalm 40:2-3 supporting the sermon that encouraged that one can overcome discouragement and truth was spoken through said scripture. Unfortunately, my thought throughout the sermon was, "How does this apply to your life, pastor?" At no point was there an application and I began to feel that snip-it verses were being thrown at us as though we were at a self-help conference and we had no knowledge of the actual context of the verses. Could someone explain to me why we go through this discouragement and could it be confirmed that as it says in the Bible in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." It is not about us, it is about God's glory. I never heard this very important fact within the sermon. I felt it was very "me" centered. 


Something I do have to commend them for is that one of the pastor's stated that in order to make a decision that is based in following God's will you should consider the following: Peace vs. no peace about the decision, and allowing God to lead you by the integrity of your heart. I felt that that was very sound advice for someone who was or will be struggling with life decisions. 


Overall, I had a pleasant experience. I've heard that the pastor has said that he wishes to be the elementary introduction into a Christian lifestyle, the face of what a church should look like. From there he wishes to have those who have surpassed the depth of the church sermons to move on and reach deeper. While this is good for those who are new in their faith I feel for the church who may not have room to grow with such limitations. I pray and trust that the leaders of the church will follow in God's will and be able to discern what will give him due glory. 


Until next time, Sunday Vagabond Lauren :)