sshaffer63

View
Twitter

Personal Information

Zip Code: 27705
Your Church Relationship: Regular Attender

History

Member for: 2 years 19 weeks

Contributed Reviews

I attended this church on one occasion, and my first (and lasting) impression was that the members had a long history with each other but a lack of interest in welcoming newcomers. The church building has somewhat of a 70's architectural feel, with inclusive half-circle shaped pews, and an equally 70's liberal protestant theology. The sermon and announcements were solely focused on outreach to the poor, but more in small symbolic ways than actual service and involvement.

Duke Memorial United Methodist Church

I attended this church on one occasion, and my first impression was frustration at not being able to find the sanctuary in the midst of the many labyrinthine buildings and hallways. Once I did make it to the sanctuary, the service had already begun. The worship was slow and traditional, with hymns and an organ. The highlights of the service were the baptisms, the sermon, and the change to remember your baptism.

Reconciliation United Methodist Church

This church seemed very small the first time that I attended it, but after the college students returned by my second visit, the numbers had increased significantly. This church makes a concerted effort to be racially diverse and inclusive, and their services are for the most part bilingual, in english and spanish. This attempt at diversity was much appreciated, though the bilingual service was distracting at times.

Trinity United Methodist Church

This church was very warm and welcoming, and the pastor even invited us to have lunch with him after the service in a future week. I attended this church twice, and I was impressed the first time by the guest preacher, but did not enjoy the preaching of the head pastor (his sermon was dis-organized and boring). The church building is very large and seems to have a long history in Durham, but the congregation is small now, and to make things worse they do not sit near each other but rather spread out among the pews.

The Summit

I have attended the 10:45 and 12:30 worship services at the Briar Creek Summit campus. My first reaction upon attending the church was that they were very warm and friendly, greeting you at the door and making newcomers feel more than welcome. Once I entered the sanctuary (which is inside of a warehouse), I was at first turned off by the prominently displayed video cameras that were blocking my line of sight. The cameras are used to record the sermon and live-feed it to other campus locations.

Contributed Comments

The Summit

@ TylerM. To answer your first question, just this past week Pastor J.D. Greear discussed important issues like materialism, pornography, and marital problems to illustrate points in his sermon...

First United Methodist Church of Butler

As a seminarian, you think I have time for that? haha.

Lakewood

As a true member of Generation Y, I barely skimmed through these comments and I'm ready to click on to a new page. But I did have one thought: Do Mega-Churches spend more money per attendee...

Counterfeit Revival

I had a friend who sought asylum in the US after fleeing Russia. She told me she would stand in line in Russia for hours to buy a pair of shoes. When she got to the front of the line she would buy...

Two Atheists Help Me Discover Faith

Jim Henderson

I was killing time between planes when my phone buzzed. My good friend Joe Myers was emailing me, “Jim, there’s this atheist on eBay who is selling his soul, you need to get into this...

You’re Going to Hell, Boy

Tyler Mahoney

It’s two am and I open my email to find the word “REPENT” in all capital letters in the body of the first message I open. Not only am I told to repent, I’m also told I...

Jim & Casper Went to Church... Now, They Come to YOU.

Want to give your congregation a real treat and take your church to a whole new level? Want to better understand how to reach outsiders and grow your church in a major way? Want the unvarnished...