Sa-Eun and I attended the National Community Church at Union Station, Washington, DC this past Sunday, October 4, 2009.
This church has an unusual style. Instead of shuffling thousands of attendants through a large building every week for multiple services, they use a constellation of movie theaters located throughout Washington DC and live stream sermons to all of them simultaneously. Sa-Eun has even taken to calling this “Movie Church.” I like that, but I'm not a big fan of the church. Our movie church met in the theater in the food court in the basement of Union Station.
When asked later what I thought of the service the two words that came to mind were “pleasant” and “efficient.” Very light on theology, nothing too challenging, just a little Soma for the masses. The sermon was on “ritual” and the preacher talked about what she called the “first ritual” the sabbath (which absolutely was not the first ritual in recorded history) . But what this really boiled down to was a sermon on “rest.” Allowing yourself downtime in the midst of your busy schedule. And I believe this illustrates well the broader function of the church itself.
Function is a key theme I’ll return to again and again in this blog. Functionalist sociologists (e.g. Durkheim, Parsons) see anything that exists and persists in a society as serving to maintain the functions of that society. So in a capitalist society, such as ours, what is the function of rest?
Lets pretend that capitalist America is a factory and all us are workers and machines. Rest is tantamount to maintenance. It is a chance fix the works and to take stock of why its important to keep working! A time for reflection is required in order to be reminded of our families, our possessions, our status, and why we value our lives in this society. We must be reminded to enjoy ourselves, so we don’t suddenly decide to jump off the assembly line. And this service was very restful. We both fell asleep at one point.
So that covers pleasant.
Efficient goes more to structure. And just marvel at the efficiency! You don’t need to go across town, you don’t need to know anyone there, you don’t need to speak to anyone, you just come in for your hour of worship (multiple services to fit multiple schedules), check off the “Sabbath / rest” box and then go along your merry way. Now I should say here too that this church does have some emphasis on community service (which I like). But the way that was presented (this is admittedly anecdotal) was as a way of feeling good, by doing good. Service though, is not an inefficient use of time. It also brings us to the same valuating processes that come about through contemplation and rest. Service (like other church functions) is also necessary for the maintenance of church as a social structure. Sociologists have found that churches with the greatest rates of retention are those that get people actively involved on multiple days per week, in multiple church related activities. This church is no exception, but the level of commitment required is limited to a select group of believers who perform basic administrative tasks (I'll return to this in a moment). As with any institution which submits to modern capitalism (and as Weber predicted) efficiency is key. And here modern capitalism provides a great tool for analysis.
This church is brilliantly profit maximizing! Moreover, we had no fewer than 3 chance to give donations. On our way in we were handed what we each thought was a bulletin, but it ended up being a promotional flyer that included an addressed envelope (you know, just in case you get home and realize you want to give some more). There was the regular offertory during the service and a chance to stuff a coffer on our way out as well. All this at a church that rents space a few hours a week in locations throughout the city and simulcasts services. Their overhead is cut substantially by the fact that there's no building to maintain. This also reduces the requirement for full-time staff. Think of the savings! Think of the profits! Not only that, the headquarters of the broader church is actually a coffee house (that’s where they have the cameras). So on top of a super cheap way of drawing in donations from thousands of people every week, they also drum up business for their bean presser! ;-)
One last note on efficiency: These folks have nailed their market niche. Their target demographic is the young professional / college student -- people who are transient, don’t have much in the way of christian community around them and have little time to dedicate to joining one.
If you’re looking for a church that won’t require much of you (except maybe a little bit of cash), doesn’t take up took much of your time (the live stream has to be perfectly synchronized) and will make you feel good for a day or so, I highly recommend the National Community Church.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for real theological depth, lasting commitment to a community, and oh I donno, a permanent location, this is not the church for you.
I give it 2 1/2 bells out of 5.
-Paul
