{"id":18948,"date":"2015-08-12T20:45:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T00:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecrescat\/?p=18948"},"modified":"2015-08-12T21:03:26","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T01:03:26","slug":"is-it-a-church-or-a-bar-who-knows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecrescat\/2015\/08\/is-it-a-church-or-a-bar-who-knows.html","title":{"rendered":"Is it a Church or a Bar, Who Knows…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u2026 They\u2019re opening another church in my area. At least that\u2019s what I think it is. It\u2019s really kind of hard to tell. It\u2019s called The Wave and if it weren\u2019t for the sign that says \u201cworship community coming soon\u201d I might think it was just another bar. <\/p>\n

The Wave, A Worship Community. I wonder what they\u2019ll be worshiping. The sea? Is it the Cult of Neptune? Maybe it\u2019s the Church of Cthulhu where they worship the ancient ones. There\u2019s no other information for me to go on other than an ambiguous sounding name and some abstract symbol of a wave. <\/p>\n

Maybe they mean The Wave<\/em> in the sense of a welcoming gesture. Plausible, but who really knows. Personally, I think they are just trying to fit in as the new kid on the block that\u2019s in competition with other trendy ambiguously sounding non-denominational houses of worship. <\/p>\n

My favorite local church, though, is Journey Church. <\/p>\n

\"journey\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve personally never been to Journey Church. I\u2019m afraid if do it will fall miserably short of my expectations and what I have pictured in my head. <\/p>\n

\"play<\/a><\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s better this way. Journey Church will live on in my imagination. <\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Mosaic<\/a>, Elevation<\/a>, and The Cove<\/a>. Not as cool sounding as Journey Church, but still little in the name or the logo itself suggests these are Christian organizations. <\/p>\n

\"mosaic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1200px-ElevationChurchLogo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"the<\/a><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it strange? In lands where there is Christian persecution people are ripping the crosses right off the roofs of churches and here in the USA we voluntarily remove them. Elevation church doesn\u2019t have a cross out front, they have a large neon pole \u2013 like a Vegas stripper pole. <\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t put the word \u201cChurch\u201d on your sign and proudly display a cross outside, I have no intention of ever setting foot inside. When the focus is on community it implies a lack of focus on Christ. <\/p>\n

But seriously, a Journey Church would be awesome. <\/p>\n