Amplified Car Wrecks Don't Do It for Me Anymore

In July 1997 my family attended a Saturday night service at Saddleback Church for the first time, and afterwards sat together in a Fuddrucker's restaurant and made the decision to start attending that church. Ironically, 8 1/2 years later, we sat in the very same booth and decided it was time to move on. This latest meeting occured after attending a Dec. 10th service in which the music had little to do with the Christmas season, and basically sounded like an amplified car wreck. I'm tired of gritting my teeth for the first 25 minutes of the service and wondering how long it will be before my ears stop ringing.

I've been moving this direction for several months. Last Christmas I wrote a piece about the disaster of a Christmas Eve service the church offered last year, and based on last night's experience, I have no reason to assume this year would have been any better. This is a holy, sacred time of year, and I just don't have patience anymore with those who don't understand that. Maybe I'm getting old, but that's the way it is.

After attending a wonderful Advent service in Oklahoma two week ago, I was reminded of what church can and should be. It's time to return to the good stuff.

Consequently, I have a challenge for my readers. If you know of a church in South Orange County (CA) that's planning traditional Christmas Eve services, let me know. We're actually going to be gone on Christmas Eve itself, so we would have to attend a service prior to that, but many of the larger churches now do multiple services so I'm sure there's somebody out there who will be doing a decent service on the 23rd. Just hit the comment button with your suggestions.

Thanks.