St Andrew's Church

I was not sure what to expect when I visited St. Andrew's. It is a well-know church in the Charleston area. It is especially well known for their involvement in the community. Being an Episcopal church, it is unusual in many ways. Not the least of which is the blatant abscence of formality and stodginess that so many area Episcopal churches are known for. Elements of a sacramental church were blended nicely with evangelical preaching and Vineyard style worship and ministry.
I gave the singing a 3. Overally, I really liked the music portion of the service. The leader of the band clearly knows, and I would guess, likes the church and the people. And, I would guess they liked him. There was a lot of singing. 20 minutues to start the service, then another 10-15 min at the end during communion/ministry time. My critique is threefold. First, like many contemporary songs, the lyrics were a bit vague. Secondly, it was formulaic: two big songs, one transitional song and then a balllad to close out the opening set. Now, the songs were some of the better ones I've heard, but predictable. Lastly, the leader of the band get repetitive, singing a chorus or verse, or song, over and over and over. But I liked him - as I said, he seems to have a love for the people.
Friendliness: this was a very friendly feeling church. Literally, there was a nice humm in the air. People were excited to be there. Lots of happy voices. We were greated as we walked in, then again in the lobby. At one point in the service there is a time for greeting and several did greet me. After the service, though, while I stood looking lost, no one approached me. They did have a guest center which was manned, and, I could have just walked over - which I eventually did - I just wanted to see what would happen when I stood looking lost.
Preaching: the sermon was good. It was true to real life. Meaning that you didn't have to be a Christian to engage and learn. The Sr. Pastor preached on the idea of embrace. He suggested that human beings are relationally paradoxical. He explained this by saying we have conflicting attitudes to community: we both desire and run from authentc relationships. He then presented a talk noting that judgement, competitiveness and hiding all damage relationships. He had several good stories, including one about himself and relational challenges he faces - this helped humanize him. He also told a story about a guy named "Bo" who was a football coach. Anyway, it was touching and the woman next to me cried at the end of the story. He also quoted bible verses in context and did a nice job tying them all together.
There is an exciting buzz around this church. I was surprised that it was not located on some huge multi-building campus. But, instead, was in the (pricey) local neighborhood known as the "Old Village." As a neighborhood church, there was limited parking and it was kind of cool to see people walking through the neighborhood and down side-streets to get to the church.
I arrived at 10:30 am for the 10:45 service. It was a good thing I did! There were plenty of seats when I arrived, but within 10 minutes people came from nowhere to pack this church (which the usher guessed seated 800).
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. If I lived closer this seems like it would be a good place to belong to.