Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
California Mystery Worship Five: Church Reservations Needed

California Mystery Worship Five: Church Reservations Needed

Last updated on: September 1, 2014 at 3:33 pm by Christy Thomas

California Mystery Worship Five: Church Reservations Needed 2014-09-01T15:33:03-05:00 Christy Thomas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Chocolates for visitors and the necessary parking pass for free parking. Photo by Christy Thomas

My first hint that this might be a radically different place to go to church was the fact that I had to make a reservation to attend.

And radically different it was–full of life, music, great greetings, welcomed earplugs, and the challenge to live without fear fearlessly given.

On the recommendation of a Denton-area friend who follows their music, I drove to Los Angeles for one final Sunday to attend worship at Fearless LA, a one-year old church plant. It meets in a nightclub in deep downtown LA, near Spring and 6th Streets.

The church began September, 2013. Jeremy and Christy Johnson, a young couple from Modesto, CA who spring from the Calvary Chapel background, founded the church. Jeremy, a former youth pastor, and Christy, a gifted vocalist and worship leader, brought their two young children and a host of powerfully talented musicians with them on this experiment in faith. They followed the call of God to bring the Gospel freedom to Los Angeles.

The Worship Experience

Friendly greeters, not concerned that we were 30 to 40 years older than most other worshipers, explained the layout, and offered refreshment, including freshly made pancakes, and earplugs. Babies in worship wear noise-cancelling headphones.

Just before 11 am, I walked into the nightclub-dancefloor-turned-worship-space. An extensive stage with six giant screens loomed in front of the 100 folding chairs. And at 11:00 am, the music began. With the earplugs in place, I was able to enjoy an excellent 30 minute Christian rock concert led with 11 piece band of musicians and vocalists.

If you want to watch this video, you will get a good sense of what that morning was like:

Nearly everyone was dancing, a synthesizer linked the music to a light show on the massive screens, and words of praise to God, deep thankfulness for God’s love, and pleas for God to break barriers filled the screen. Seats quickly filled and extras were set up.

The name of Jesus was lifted up. Joy, expressed by dancing and singing people, transformed nightclub to center of worship.

At 11:30, Jeremy came on the platform and offered welcome and spoke briefly of the church history. He moved to prayer and asked God to touch and heal all those there on this day. He then asked everyone in need of physical healing or a miracle to lift their hands. Then he asked everyone else in the congregation to lay hands on those with lifted hands as he prayed for those things. I made no move to participate, nor felt any pressure to do so, and just observed with interest.

At 11:37, we sat down and first time visitors were all given a candy bar and invitation to stay afterward for further information. People were asked to take out their smart phones and register their attendance and many did.

Co-pastor Christy offered an eight minute appeal for people to step out in faith and give generously. She shared testimonies received last week of answered prayers for miracles and healings

Jeremy then came back to the platform for a 40 minute long message centering on the Matthew 14 story about Jesus walking on the water in the storm. He emphasized Peter’s willingness to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus. He also demonstrated it by having an inflatable boat on the platform populated by others on the worship team.

He spoke passionately, using a call and response style, of a paradigm shift where people leave behind their fears (thus the name of the church, “Fearless LA”) and step out in faith to follow Jesus no matter where it might lead. He spoke of his own journey from fear to confidence, how he learned as a youth pastor to become totally dependent upon God for his leading and his ministry.

The Invitation

His invitation to come to Jesus took nearly 20 minutes of powerful, emotional stories of lives changed. He called everyone who needed this new movement in their lives to take one step away from their chairs and then walk forward. Most of the congregation responded. After more hand-raising and prayer, we were finally dismissed at about 12:55 pm. It is my understanding that this service ended earlier than many do–there are days when the Spirit falls and they stay in worship quite a bit longer.

We did not linger for the informational session, as I had learned much ahead of time. No one, not the pastors, the musicians, the superb tech people or anyone else has a paid position here. This is a labor of love, faith and passion for God. Although I certainly prefer liturgy and the celebration of the Sacraments, I also saw hope on the faces of the hurting, and healing for those who needed it. The music was superb, even if damaging to unprotected eardrums.

I loved it–and recommend it, especially for young adults in LA.

[Note: the above commentary ran first in the August 29, 2014 edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle]

Additional Comments

This was a great example of a culturally sensitive church plant where the language of the gospel is very much spoken in a way that this particular group of people could hear it best. I have also thought much about the finances of this church plant and the huge contrast with the finances of a United Methodist Church plant.

It costs somewhere between $500,000 and a million dollars to get a UMC plant off the ground. One of the big issues is, of course, clergy pay. Those who are Elders (or near their ordination dates) in full connection are carefully groomed to be planters. They walk into this with the expectation that their salaries and housing costs (and health insurance and pension contributions) will be covered for a fairly significant length of time. Funds are also needed to rent a meeting space and for the necessary equipment to transform rented facilities into worship and educational space for Sunday mornings. Even with all this support, a significant percentage of church plants fail to make it to self-sufficiency.

The people that planted Fearless LA are doing so without the denominational security that surrounds our planters but with the “fearless” passion of those who have had a life-changing encounter with the Risen Lord. Recently, they became part of the Planetshakers movement, which started in Melbourne, Australia, and has moved globally. This will help.

Even so, this plant also may not make it–they’ve had to change locations several times already and the current nightclub space is unquestionably problematic on many levels. The pastors are young and still theologically immature. I get the impression that they are working off a lot of inherited theology coupled with a powerful experiential message. In time, they are going to wear out. There is enthusiasm evident but not deep wisdom.

It’s not a perfect solution, as if there is such a thing.

Yet, I found it winsome and attractive in what it has set out to do although I did disagree with much of it. Personally, I felt the extended invitation to be overhyped. I knew they hoped that some would break out into speaking in tongues or some other ecstatic expression. Just didn’t happen–and I may have been one of the reasons, since neither I nor my companion joined in the otherwise nearly universal movement to the aisles and to the front at the invitation. We may have indeed hindered the emotional flow of such a time.

Even so, I was touched by the reality of the Gospel in their lives, and their willingness to follow Jesus and let their fears be transformed into the courage needed for the moment.

I suspect this much more closely reflects that kind of personal transformation seen by the early followers of John Wesley and his band of roaming preachers, both in England and in the US. Too much of our passion now turns on tiny points of debatable doctrine and right belief and too little on the real trust in God to bring it about despite our human frailties and yet-to-be-transformed imperfections.

As a result, we have lost necessary flexibility.

We are not able to be nimble and quick and actually jump over the candlestick any more. Now, we must be measured and weighed and vetted and then equipped with the best possible sports gear before attempting the leap. And even then, others will say that those trying to make the leap don’t do so with adequately tidy “biblical” doctrine, since there is nothing said about jumping over those candlesticks, but a lot said about how those candlesticks may view their sexuality.

I am taking a deep sigh here. I so love the UMC, her past, her passions, even her processes. But I sense that we are walking through a field of sticky glue something like Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew, not yet fully dried so some movement is possible, but no longer enough to make the necessary leaps to engage the culture now with the love of Jesus, a love that had no boundaries.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

church plants

Fearless LA

planetshakers

The United Methodist Church

UMC

Previous Post

August 19, 2014

California Mystery Worship Four: Back in the Saddle Again

Next Post

September 2, 2014 Let's Talk About Sex #UMC

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category " obedience abortion accommodation accountability administration adolescence Advent advice an ordinary death anxiety apology apportionments Ash Wednesday ask thoughtfulpastor baptism betrayal Bible bondage calling certainty change character charity children Christianity Christmas church church as garden clergy clergy credentials closure comfort compassion competition compromise Confirmation conservation conservative conspiracy theories consumer conversion coronavirua corruption courage covenant cultural context death Deconstruction discipleship discord divorce doctrine doing good drugs dysfunctional Easter Easter; Resurrection education election entertainment envy escape evaluation evil exclusive church exercise faith faithfulness family fasting fear feast featured film review finances first world problem food forgiveness fundamentalist garden gay marriage General Conference generosity giving thanks GLBT glory good government grace guilt habit happy harmony hateful acts healing health health care heaven hell hello/goodbye heresy hidden agenda holiness homelessness homosexuality humility hymn hypocrisy Imago Dei In training inclusive church indulgence injustice innocents insurance intolerance itinerancy joy Justice kindness Kingdom of Heave kingdom of heaven language laughter laundry lawsuit leadership Lent LGBTQ liberal life Little Things Matter longform meandering thoughts memories mercy metaphor metrics miracle misfortunes morality Mormon Muslim mystery worship natural disasters New Category Name nutrients older adults oppression pain Paleo paperwork partnered pastor peace pension pharmaceutical placebo politics poverty prayer privilege public schools questions quiet racism rain reason reconciliation religion repentance requirements rescue respect rest resurrection retirement Sabbath sacrament sacred salvation same-sex marriage sanctuary schism schooling science SCOTUS secrecy separation of church and state sexism sexuality short cuts silence sin sleep soil spiritual journey stillness suffering surgery sustainable church teacher technology thank you theology therapy thinking tolerance TOS trust truth Uncategorized welcome Why Easter? wisdom women worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz