Riverzzz Edge

Wow. Three blogs in eighteen hours. I'm bingeing or something.

So, Riverz Edge Church. The "z" still annoys me. The church motto, on banners at the back of the platform: "No perfect people allowed! No one stands alone! No making out in the back row!" Hmm. I was prepared for something "edgy" after looking at the website. But the guy handing us our program looking like something from ZZTop should have given us a hint that this likely wasn't for us.

I was right about it being loud. Seriously loud. Rock concert loud. Like when the vibrations pound in your chest and you wonder if your heart is still beating in its appropriate rhythm anymore. Electric guitars, full drum set, colored lights flashing on the black walls. For some reason, Scott Koerwer kept coming to mind . .

It was very good music. I would have enjoyed it if I'd been there for a rock concert. But for me, it just wasn't conducive to worship. It apparently was for most of the rest of the congregation, though, so that's cool.

But one of the main reasons I wanted to visit was to see the preaching. They have videos of some of the sermons on the website (http://www.edgechurch.tv/, if anyone's interested). They seemed to be very creative. There was a series called "My Dream Home", and the platform had living room furniture on it that the pastor used while he spoke. Another series -- "Pirates: Reclaiming Your Lost Treasure." Like I said, creative.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear that pastor. In fact, there was no mention of him -- we're wondering if he's not there anymore. The church is in the process of establishing some kind of satellite relationship with another church in town -- the one we visited last week. So, the sermon we saw was the pastor from that church on a video. Kind of disappointing. Been there, done that.

Anyway, we determined that this is not the church for us. Kind of like Edison finding 199 ways to not make a light bulb. (Keith did enjoy the free bag of popcorn to munch on during the sermon, though.) Finding a church can be a long process.

But I am encouraged to know that there are churches like this in Sioux City. There's a mass of people out there that would never find their way into a traditional church. Glad they have a place here. I may even check out the Saturday evening service once in a while. But I'll take earplugs and sit at the back.