Orange County Churches Review & Guide

http://www.rockharbor.org

Church Review - 3 stars
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Topical
Worship: Choruses
Service times: Sat. 6:00; Sun. 9:00, 11:00 am & 7:00 pm

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 3/5

Review: I attended a Sunday morning service at Rock Harbor in October of 2004. With huge Rock Harbor banners and other artistic additions, the church converts a senior citizen center in Newport Beach into their meeting place for worship.

Inside, a few hundred college-aged people enthusiastically sang songs while a big video camera at the back recorded the service. After a few songs a guy with dreads shared a brief story about his life and how getting involved at Rock Harbor had really impacted him. He concluded by encouraging everyone to get involved more.

During the time of worship to God through the study of His word, the Pastor, Mike Erre began by reading John 3:16. He said that they were doing a series through the book of John and that this week he was going to focus on just that verse. After reading it he said he wanted to talk about hell. Pastor Mike read several verses which mentioned hell and then summarized them all by saying that God never sends anyone to go to hell but that they choose to go there. Then he read from Genesis and said that the whole point of story of Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge of good and evil is to teach us that God values human free will above all things. He said this is because God wants us to love him and that God cannot make us love him or it is not real love. Mike also said he wanted to emphasize that part of main purpose of his sermon was to answer the question many people have about why God would create people He knew were going to go to hell. At the end of the sermon Pastor Mike read John 3:16 again and concluded in a prayer for people to choose Christ as their savior. After praying he pointed to a few nearly life size crosses placed at different parts of the room. At the crosses anyone could go to pray, take communion, or talk to someone.

At the end of the service there was an offering and a song. In the bulletin there was a card for visitors to fill out and ask any questions if they wanted. I filled out my personal information and asked why Mike did not consider Romans 9:22-23 in his sermon since in it Paul raises the very question Mike raised but answers it extremely different.

Though this church seems to generally be evangelical I cannot recommend it for the lack of emphasis on the actual words of Scripture. Much was said but the handling of Scripture seemed to be very driven by an unorthodox Christian philosophy that does not acknowledging God’s perfect justice or His Sovereignty over human decisions.

http://www.mosaic.org

Church Review
Scriptural View: 2/5
Beliefs: 2/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Topical
Worship: Choruses
Service times: 9:00 am

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 5/5
Site Content: 2/5

Review: I attended a service at Mosaic in the summer of 2004. The church meets in the heart of downtown Los Angeles in a dance club/bar. As I walked to the building from the parking lot there were a number booths I stopped to look at. Some sold food or coffee, some sold books, and some others were giving out information about Mosaic and various ministries of the church.

Inside the building it is obvious that it is a club. There is the bar at the back, disco balls hanging from the ceiling and a stage where the d.j. usually spins records in those early morning hours. But on Sunday mornings Mosaic converts this building into a place for worship by hanging various art pieces all over the building, by adding two big screens on each side of the stage, and by filling the place with chairs.

The worship of God in song was led by an eclectic group of musicians and singers who traded off taking leads. For example, one of the guitarists ,who was wearing a leather jacket and jeans with a bunch of holes in them, played right next to one of the singers who was wearing tight corduroys and a beanie. All of them appeared to be enjoying what they were doing, often closing there eyes or lifting up their hands as an act of worship to God. They played only choruses because they believe “hymns have no cultural relevance in a multiethnic, multicultural urban church.”

When the sermon time came I expected the pastor of Mosaic, Erwin McManus, to preach. Erwin McManus is the author of “Seizing Your Divine Moment” and a couple of other books. He calls himself a “cultural architect” and apparently has become what the L.A. times reported as “a guru among many younger American church pastors.” Mosaic hands out copies of the L.A. times article to people at one of their booths and has it on the front page of their website to see and download. But Erwin McManus was not there to speak on the Sunday I attended. Instead a young man shared a long story about a chain of dorm pranks he was involved in when he was in college. At different parts in the story he would reference various passages weaving them into his story. The point of his message seemed to be that he thought he wasn’t very loving when he was involved in those dorm wars and that we need close communities where we can really love each other.

Mosaic is to be commended for their interest in the arts and their courage to meet in a bar. However, I cannot recommend this church for their lack of esteem for the Word of God in their desire to reach out to culture. The doctrinal section on their web page offers nothing but simply says to get to know the lives of people at Mosaic. It states that if you are really wanting to read a “statement of faith” to read the Baptist Faith statement. Yet in the L.A. Times article Erwin McManus admits that though “Mosaic is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention it does not subscribe to many (of their) stances…for example Mosaic allows for women pastors.”

Missional? Is that a Real Word?

A church that is not missional is not really a church. A church exists by mission as the sun exists by burning. When the sun loses its burn it ceases to be the sun. When a church loses its mission, it ceases to be a church. Missional is an adjective describing all of the activities of the church body as they are brought under the mission of God (missio dei) to bring salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “The world has hated them [My followers] because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You [God] should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one…As You [God] sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:14-16, 18; emphasis added).

A missional church understands it has been sent into an irreligious world to proclaim the Gospel of Redemption that is made possible by the Son’s sacrifice for our sins and the Father’s love for us. Every believer is sent into the world by God just as Jesus was sent into the world. Read the rest of this entry »

http:// www.gracelb.org

Church Review
Scriptural View: 5/5
Beliefs: 4/5
Community: 5/5
Preaching: Exegetical
Worship: Choruses and Hymns
Service times: 9:30 am

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 2/5

Review: I attended a service in July of 2004. Their website states that they are “a multi-congregational and multi-generational church” which is a fairly accurate description. There was quite a wide range of different types of people there from dressed up older men, to college age men dressed in holy jeans and other rags, to Asian girls dressed in hip Japanese fashion, to Mexican moms with their kids huddled around them. The church was founded in Long Beach 1913 and meets in a fairly large church building. It has a very artsy feel inside. Seventies style lights hang from the high ceiling. Pews fill both the main floor and the balcony. And older carpet covers the platform.

I sat in the balcony and looked down at the band which led everyone in singing a couple hymns and a couple choruses. The words were projected on a large screen while a young man led everyone in singing them while he played his guitar. Most the time he simply stood there with his eyes closed and his head looking upward while he sang.

After the time of song the senior pastor, Lou Huesmans, preached a sermon out of the book of Proverbs. He spent a significant time explaining the historical and cultural backgrounds that need to be understood in order to interpret Proverbs correctly. He illustrated how wisdom was seen during that time period and how Proverbs was a book of wisdom. Pastor Huesmans defined wisdom as “the right application of truth in one’s life.” He also spoke about the background of the author of Proverbs, Solomon and the various events of his life. After this he went through a few verses of the passage of Proverbs he was preaching from, dealing with each of the words and sentences and how the instruct us to live a life that is pleasing unto God and not foolish. He concluded with a time of response wherein all the Christians present, and all those who desired to put faith in Christ as their savior for the first time, were invited to read a confession of faith out loud that was printed in the bulletin. As we finished, he prayed a prayer a concluding prayer and everyone was dismissed.

When I walked outside there were a number of people just hanging out in the courtyard area in front of the building. There were a number of canopy covered tables some with information about different outreach ministries, some with information about different Bible studies and one with free coffee and doughnuts. One fellow with long brown hair, a beard, and a heavy metal t-shirt came up and introduced himself to me. We talked for awhile and he told me about an “Labrys,” art gallery they have there on campus. He took me over to another building where a good sized room was filled with art pieces on the walls a couple small tables , some chairs and a counter where they have coffee available. Apparently, he explained that on some nights they have film screenings and theological discussion about them afterward.

I would definitely recommend this church as a good place to grow in one’s faith and in their knowledge of the Word of God. They seem to have a good grasp on missionally reaching out to their urban community and culture. It is unclear about their stance regarding the some of the major tenants of the reformation. Deeper involvement in this church would ultimately demonstrate their convictions regarding them. I would encourage you to read the comments from a Pastor of the church. They will be helpful in your determining to visit this church.

http:// www.newsong.net

Church Review
Scriptural View: 1/5
Beliefs: 2/5
Community: 2/5
Preaching: Topical
Worship: Choruses
Service times: 9:00, 10:15 am & 12:00 pm

Website Review
Site Usability: 5/5
Site Design: 4/5
Site Content: 2/5

Review: I attended a service in the beginning of November 2004. Newsong is located in an industrial area of Irvine. I attended the 10:15 service. There were several people talking outside and in the foyer. I walked through the people to the entrance to open the door and walked in when a young girl stopped me and told me they were not ready and for me to leave and come back later. So I went back outside into the foyer and went into the a small room off in the corner which was their bookstore. They had one wall with a bookshelf containing a few select books and also a small table in the middle of the room displaying the books: “The Purpose Driven Life,” “The Prayer of Jabez,” and “Letters From a Skeptic.” I turned to my left and noticed everyone in the foyer had started to go inside.

As I entered the large wherehouse my eye was immedietly drawn to a picture projected on one of the side walls which said “Misfits.” I later discovered that Newsong teaches series to series and the series they were in at that time was Misfits. The theme of Misfits is that God accepts Misfits if we choose Him and follow His plan for our life. I sat in a seat sort of in the middle of the room. As I looked around at the hundreds of people around me I noticed that everyone, literally everyone, was Asian. The music began and a band, which descibes themselves as a band playing “contemporary rock and R&B.” There are large video screens to the left, right, and behind the band, which picture flashing images of the people in the band and their instruments while the words displayed. In addition, colored lights constantly flash while they are playing, much like you would see at a large concert.

The sermon was from an excerpt about Moses in the book of Hebrews. The speaker used this text as a springboard to talk about His own personal story and how it compared to Moses and how each one of us can have a “God moment” and “do great things for God.” He quoted several other passages and told stories about how he used to be a “Misfit,” acting up in class as a kid and playing pranks. He told us a story about how he had to be put in a special class for difficult kids but how his mom prayed for him and his life began to change and how he eventually became a pastor.

Newsong prides themselves in being a church reaching out to culture who has been on the front page of the L.A. Times three different times for that very reason. The head of the church, Dave Gibbons, describes himself as a “entrepeneur and lead pastor.” I have sent two different e-mails to him inquiring about the theology of their church since the books emphasized in their bookstore do not represent the orthodox Christian faith, particularly “Letters From a Skeptic,” written by an open theist. (Suggested Articles: Decreasing God So As to Increase Ourselves, More about Open & Process Theism) But there has been no response to either of my e-mails.

It seems to me that in their desire to reach out, Newsong Church has sold out. The gospel Newsong Churches professes in their statement of faith seems very different than what is expressed in their service and in the books commended in their bookstore. Until I receive further clarification on these issues I cannot recommend this church and advise that you stay away from it. If they are advocates of open theism they worship a different God than the God of the Bible and the God of the historic Christian faith. In addition, they do not demonstrate careful concern for the right exposition of God’s Word but put more emphasis on human experience.

http://www.fefcful.org

Church Review
Scriptural View: 5/5
Beliefs: 4/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Exegetical
Worship: Hymns and Choruses
Service times: 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 am

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 2/5

Review: I attended a Sunday morning service at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton on memorial day of 2004. As I drove into the parking lot some men in orange vests helped direct me and the rest of the traffic to open parking spaces. I followed the other people getting out of their cars and walking into a large building with a cross on top of it. I walked into the dimly lit building and found a seat in one of many pews that filled the building .

The service was composed of four main segments. It began with some opening words about it being a day to remember those who have died. This led into the first segment of the service which was a audio-video presentation of several pictures and short clips of people who had died in the church in the past years. The second segment of the service was a time of singing, wherein we all sang a couple hymns and a couple choruses. The third segment was an interpretive dance by a young lady dressed in a white ballet dress. With a smoke machine blowing smoke across the stage and with colored lights changing back and forth she danced across the stage for several minutes to the song, “I Can Only Imagine” by the band, Mercy Me.

The last segment of the service consisted of a somewhat rigorous Bible study led by the Senior Pastor, Dale Burke. The primary passage of Scripture he was dealing with was 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, though we did look up several other verses. The main thrust of his message was that we as Christians do not “grieve as the rest who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13).” Pastor Burke attempted to demonstrate why we have hope by using other passages to present a case for a physical and spiritual death and the nature of the time that we live in as being a “time between the times.” He argued that the kingdom of God is both “now and not yet” and that Jesus will physically return in body, prior to a significant period of tribulation the church will undergo. In addition, he also explained that there will be a period after this tribulation when Jesus will reign on earth for 1,000 years as a king.

Fullerton Evangelical Free Church prescribes to a very particular type of eschatology, which may not be completely substantiatable biblically. However, the Bible does appear to be highly esteemed there since the Pastor cared very much to demonstrate that what he said was biblical. To grow in your faith at this church one would need to reach out to one of their many Bible study groups or ministries in order to get involved. It is unclear what their position is regarding our protestant reformation heritage.