A Day at Church

This past Sunday I deviated from my original schedule. Since this was just my second week into this exercise of visiting different church, I feel this may set a bad early precedence for myself. But I wanted to attend my home church of Meadowbrook UMC to see Rev. Chandler do his first person sermon. This is where he plays a biblical character, and delivers the message from the voice of that character. This past Sunday he played the role of the inn keeper that shut out Joseph and Mary. Over all it was good, and had a distinct message to it.... so for the life of me I can not recall what that message was right now.

Since I am quite familiar with Meadowbrook, it is difficult for me to give an honest "visitor's account" of my experience there. So in lieu of that I have decided to share a poem about church. Upon cleaning out my closet I discovered some writings I had done many years ago. One of those writings was a poem titled A Day at Church. I can remember writing this, and it's words were inspired by many Sunday mornings at Meadowbrook1. Thus I feel it might be appropriate for now.


A Day at Church

An old man speaks.

I sit expressionless,
Glancing around at other
Expressionless faces,
Lots of people I don’t know.

The choir sings.

I look down at the golf pencils,
How far could I get one
Up my nose before
It starts bleeding?

Now we pray.

Is that mud on my shoes?
I hope its mud.
Where did I get mud from?
Did it rain this morning?

An old man speaks.

The ceiling is divided into 18 sections,
Each section has several small tiles,
144 small tiles in each section,
2592 small tiles in all.

An old woman sings.

What if I jabbed the
Golf pencil into my eye?
Would everyone turn around?
Would the old lady stop singing?

More prayer.

I wonder how many tiles
There are on the floor?
Can I crawl under the pews?
Would anyone care?

More singing.

There are 4 sections of pews,
18 pews in each section,
4 golf pencils to each pew,
288 little golf pencils.

An old man speaks.

A note gets passed,
Lunch. Question mark.
Chili’s, On the Border, Friday’s
Question mark.

The old man is still speaking.

I imagine I am watching a slow train,
I count each rail car as it passes,
432 and counting,
There’s no caboose in sight.

We sing again.

Mr. Johnson didn’t stand up.
I wonder if he’s asleep,
I wonder if he’s dead,
Either way I envy him.

The benediction!

Anticipation, eagerness,
Finally I can leave.
Church is over!
Thank God. Amen.



Upcoming schedule:
January 3rd – Bellaire United Methodist (Houston, TX)
January 10th – Brookhaven United Methodist (Dallas, TX)
January 17th – New Beginnings Church (Arlington, TX)


1. In fairness to Meadowbook, their worship service at the time was considerably more drab than it is now.

The Sunday Morning Experience - Felowship Church

With my recent departure from Faith UMC I find myself, for the first time in over seven years, not required to attend a church on Sunday morning. I’ve contemplated sleeping in, waking up just in time to watch football. However, it would feel just plain weird not to go to church on Sunday. But I’m not sure where to go. I could go to Meadowbrook UMC, but there isn’t much to attract me on a Sunday morning. So then where do I go? I’ve decided I must find a place, and I’ve decided I’m going to go “church shopping”. For the next several weeks I plan to attend a different church every Sunday and evaluate my experience there. In part, I want to figure out what it is I really look for in a church, but I also want to see how others worship. I am well versed in the traditional United Methodist worship, and I think it will be fun to broaden my horizons, and experience more, different forms of worship.

I started this Sunday by going big… huge in fact. I attend Grapevine’s mega-church, Fellowship Church. The first thing you’ll notice about FC is the greeters. There are hundreds of greeters from the moment you enter the parking lot, as you enter the doors, and as you make your way through the foyer, toward the worship center. The worship center is an expansive auditorium, with three large screens, a large stage, many many lights, and theater-type seating. The worship experience here resembles something, more like a rock concert that a church service. The worship band was traditional in the rock band sense: lead singer/guitar, lead guitar/back up vocals, bass guitar, and drummer. But the band also had an additional five vocalist and a small choir behind them. They played three songs, none of which I recognized as something I’ve heard previously, before moving on to the sermon.

At this point I should point out the sheer size of FC. It’s more than just a church… or I should say, it’s more than just one church. In fact they have several campuses in downtown Fort Worth, downtown Dallas, Plano, and Miami, Florida… Miami? Really? That seems distant and random.

Today’s sermon was brought to us live from Plano. Meaning, we watch a broadcast, on their three big screens, of the sermon that was being delivered simultaneously at the Plano campus. This is typical on all of their campuses apparently, as the church with the “in person” sermon seems to rotate. But this left me with a feeling of disconnectedness. The message of the sermon was good, and on point with the scripture, but there’s something less personal about watching the sermon on TV. Which is essentially what is was, just watching TV.

After the sermon, there was a brief video from the church’s lead pastor, Ed Young, on the importance of giving. And then another song was played as the offering baskets were passed around. After that, a short prayer, and we were dismissed. And that’s how it felt at the end, like we were being dismissed from something. There wasn’t much hanging around and socializing, everyone immediately got up and proceeded in an orderly fashion out the doors.

There are pros and cons to a service like this. On the one had, the message was meaningful and deep, the band was talented, and the production value was above and beyond. However, there were some key elements missing for me. For starters, I noted there was no altar present. Though I realize an altar isn’t necessarily required for a worship to be valid, I also don’t see it as a small thing. I like having an altar, even if it’s nothing more than a place to set a cross… Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing a crucifixion present anywhere in the worship center. Really? I can’t recall seeing a single cross located anywhere. That just seems weird.

I also felt like there could have been more prayer as well. A couple of short prayers on either end of the sermon weren’t quite enough. And even another song or two wouldn’t have hurt. Overall I was left feeling disconnected in a spiritual way. Though I did get something out of the message, it was more the feeling of when you learn something really good in class. The spirit still wasn’t in it for me. This is a huge church, and they offer a lot in an attempt to appeal to everyone. But the heart of a church is its Sunday morning worship. And if the spirit isn’t at the heart of everything, then what’s the point?

My upcoming schedule:

December 20^th – New Beginnings Church (Arlington, TX)

December 27^th – Out of town to Oklahoma, may not make it to church

January 3^rd – Bellaire United Methodist (Houston, TX)

January 10^th – Brookhaven United Methodist (Dallas, TX)

The Breakup

The straw that broke the camel's back. It may have been a small straw, but nonetheless, it was the final straw. I don't like feeling mistreated. I think my loyalty should be rewarded and not taken for granted. But I don't feel that way. I feel hurt and nauseous. "This must be a dream," I keep thinking, "It can't be real."

Antoine Wright fouled Carmelo Anthony; that is fact. And there is no acceptable reason to justify why it wasn't called. In the grand scheme of things one could say that it was a minor mistake by the referees (although one with major ramifications), and that I am overreacting. But it has been a series of minor mistakes that has gotten me to this point. I've watched a lot of play off games this post season, and my opinion comes in a somewhat non-biased form. I'll admit that I am biased when I watch Maverick games(1), but I am virtually unbiased when I watch any other game. I can say that I have watched approximately half of the postseason games to this point, and I can say with complete confidence that the officiating has been inconsistent at best (and flat out awful at worst). And it's that inconsistency that has brought me to my decision. I'm through.

It frustrates me more than anything else to see bad officiating, in any sport. And basketball seems to have the worst. I'm not completely sure why that is. I realize that calling any sport must be difficult, but the same inconsistencies are not present in other sports. Football has the benefit of instant reply to get some things right(2), and maybe baseball is just easier. Maybe it's the fast paced, physical nature of basketball that makes it more difficult. I don't know. But I can't go on being a basketball fan if it's going to upset me this often. And so, I'm through.

It may seem irrational, but it really isn't. If my girlfriend angered me every time we were together, I'd break up. If a friend constantly upset me, they would cease to be my friend. So why should I continue my relationship with basketball when it always upsets me?

And for those of you who think this is temporary and that will be back together in a week, think again. I broke up with baseball back in '05 and only now have I started to care again(3). I have the will power to break up with the NBA, and once I break up, I through. Perhaps, at some point I will return to being a passive fan, following a team again, but for now, I'm through.

Of course it wasn't all bad times. There are certain memories that I will always cherish. The comeback against the Spurs in the 2006 finals, for example. Or the joy of watching a brilliant rookie season from a future star, like Josh Howard or Jason Kidd. I'll never forget hustle players like Eddie Najara, Darrel Armstrong, or Brandon Bass. And the thought of Popey Jones' ears will always bring a smile to my face(6).

Like the break up of any meaningful relationship, it's a little saddening. But I have to remember that in the end, its really the best thing for both of us. I'll always look back fondly on my time with basketball(7), and I wish it all the best in the future.


1. Bias aside, the final blown call is indisputable.
2. But so does basketball and it seems to be used more often.
3. I still wouldn't say that I'm back to being a "fan"(4) of Major League Baseball, but I am back to following the rangers again.
4. I mean 'fan' in the sense of it being the shortened form of the word 'fanatic'(5). I was at one point in time a fanatic about baseball. Same for basketball too. But I am no longer a fanatic and I can't ever really see myself become one again.
5. Of course I realize that the word fan has more than one connotation. So let me say, when I stopped being a fan of baseball, what I mean is I stopped following, I lost all interest in going to games, I stopped caring about the Rangers or any thing else with baseball. Only now am I becoming a passive fan, as the MLB has begun to make some attempts to correct the error of there ways.
6. Or Avery Johnson's voice, or Shawn Bradley's... ridiculousness.
7. I feel it necessary to clarify that this "breakup" only pertains to NBA basketball. I'll still enjoy playing basketball and may even pick up college hoops... well maybe, I don't think I ready just yet for a relationship with any organized basketball right now. I need to take some time for myself first.