Scott and I visited my mom's church for Mother's Day. She attends a large suburban megachurch that has several campuses around the metro-area. Scott and I were hesitant about attending because suburban, evangelical mega-churches are typically theologically conservative and anti-gay. The right-to-life event in the church brochure, male-only leadership, and presumptive heterosexual attitude confirmed our suspicions. I actually warned Scott that we were going to walk-out if any anti-gay statements were made or the gay rights laws were mentioned as a concern.
The service was in a rented room at the convention center which even mom said she preferred the services in the churches. It was the typical, glossy multimedia service with light rock that I imagine most consumer-suburban churches strive for. The speaker/preacher gave a simple, repetitive Powerpoint sermon with video clips. Surprisingly, I thought all the visual and audio gimmicks made the sermon even more dull and drawn-out then the simple spoken sermons we are used to.
Admittedly, I probably didn't go into the service with an open mind. After all, the Cathedral of Hope gay megachurch in Dallas I visited had a similar multimedia format. There was a time during my holy roller high school day, I would have loved the soft, rock worship music. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I really do prefer a simple and more intimate church service.
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