Church Rater #3

www.lkjennings.blogspot.com

The Church

What Church did you visit?-Rabbi Ed’s church

What city or town is this Church located?
-East Berlin

What date and service did you attend?
-Saturday night 2/28/09EvaluatingHow would you rate this church?-I would rate this church as an 8 on a scale from 1-10.

Please provide ratings based on your own experience. Yes, I realize this is subjective and your '1′ might be someone else's '5′. That's ok. It's your rating and I really want your opinion.Rate the following from 1 to 5. 1 is not effective, 5 is very effective!
Overall: 4.
Friendliness: 5
Singing: 4 (I love the Hebrew/style music) Rachel Ralston and I went and we learned the dancing so quickly! It was a lot of fun!
Preaching: 3-As far as his preaching, it is interesting to learn different religious cultures but at times, he doesn’t hold my attention too well.

First ImpressionsOutside:
Was the building easy to find?-Well, sort of. It was down all of these back roads and I get lost very easy haha!!

Was it difficult to find parking?-No. The parking lot was small but accessible.

How about the interior or exterior signage- what would you do differently?-I understand that they don’t have a lot of money so, the building was very small. Also, the bathroom was an experience!!! The toilet was a porta-potty inside of the building with directions on how to use it. It was a good time.

What did the appearance, style, or construction of the building communicate to you?-It had a very homey feel to it. There were strings of white lights to help make it look nice inside as well as Judaic pictures and artifacts placed around the room.

Before the service:

Did anyone approach you and speak to you before the service got underway?
-YES! That was the most friendly congregation of people I had ever experienced. Of course, there were about 20 people all together so, a family-type congregation is not surprising. If someone did speak to you, how did you feel about that? I felt great about it! They weren’t awkward or anything.

Can you share their names? Marcia, Brittani, Willi, Nick, Sophia, Ken, etc…

Did you know them before the visit? I knew a few of them from Rabbi Ed’s bible study but, I got to meet a lot of people as well.

General observations:

As you observed the people "doing their church thing", what went through your mind?-I thought, “This is an interesting and pleasurable experience to see this cultural change.”

Were you able to understand why they do what they do?-Not exactly…I asked some questions about different things such as the dancing, the pictures, the singing etc…and was able to learn some pretty cool things.Do they seem sincere?-YES they do!! I sort of fell in love with them.

What do you think about the overall presentation of the service? (the liturgy, program or flow of the service)-Well, the flow was very relaxed…almost to the point where I could’ve fell asleep. Which, on one hand was good because there was incredible peace.

Bulletin and communications:
Is there anything in the church bulletin that you find confusing or offensive?-I don’t remember receiving a bulletin.

If this were your "business", how would you improve the communication part of it- the bulletin especially?-Getting a bulletin might not be a bad idea…

Were announcements clear, and interesting (did you want to sign up for anything)?- I don’t remember any announcements. It didn’t seem to fit the culture of the church actually.

Children's Ministry

Does this church appear kid-friendly?-Absolutely. There were toys in the back for them to play with. Some kids were even allowed to play quietly during the service! I thought that was sweet.

Did you bring any children with you to the service?-NO
If so, ask them about their experience. What did they tell you? N/A

Music and Prayer:

How would you describe the music?- Its Hebrew. Absolutely beautiful. There is a calming, alluring presence that fills the room when the music is played.Did you enjoy any of it?- I enjoyed all of the music. Rabbi’s son Nick sang a few songs and he has a beautiful voice!

Did you feel like you connected with God during any part of it?-Yes I did.

How was it different from what you are used to?-The question should read, what isn’t different? I can’t think of too many similarities between our church and theirs.

Would you enjoy worshiping like that often?-Yes I would but not as my daily form of worship. The nicest thing about their worship is that it’s peaceful. I can’t remember feeling so feminine than I did while I was dancing with the other ladies in the church. It was lovely.

What did you think of the prayers that were offered in the service?-They almost have a repetitive feel to them. Before and after each prayer, Rabbi says a few names of God in Hebrew (cultural I’m sure). But each prayer was straight from his heart and I believe are very effective.

As you listened to the prayers, what did you learn about how that church might think of people, or of God?-They have such reverence for God. The impression that they give off towards the Lord is that He is incredibly Holy and needs to be taken a little bit more seriously. Towards people-they really love people. Rabbi Ed has a wonderful heart for everyone he’s around.

The Speaker's Presentation:

Did the Pastor or speaker seem likable?-Yes he is.

Is he/she a person you might enjoy having coffee with? Why?-I have had coffee with Rabbi Ed…during his bible studies. I would imagine f we went out for coffee it would be like a bible study. It’s so fun and exciting to pick his brain and be challenged in my thinking.

Did he/she seem engaged/sincere/condescending?-He seems very sincere above all else. It is so obvious that he loves the Lord so deeply.

Were you motivated to do or think anything differently because of the talk?-Not too much. I was motivated to find out more about their culture.

What could they have done to make it more enjoyable or useful?- I think he should make the messages more challenging to us…we need to be challenged in our faith and in our presentation of the Gospel.

Please erase any of the following descriptors that did not apply to the talk: Enjoyable, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Slow, Credible, Useful, Life-changing

The Message

What was the main idea of the message?- I can’t remember if there has ever been a main point to the message when listening to Rabbi Ed. He reads from their three sections of the Bible. Two from the OT and one from the NT. But the three of them don’t really tie all together.

What action did the speaker want you to take or consider taking?-There was no challenge/action presented.

Did the talk itself (the subject matter) hold your attention?-Parts of it did, parts of it didn’t, other parts of it didn’t make any sense to me (such as his theory that the world was created out of water droplets and such).

Did any part of the talk stand out to you in a positive or negative way?-Positive…his knowledge from the Jewish culture thousands of years ago can be so astounding and insightful to listen to.

What is the one thing the speaker could do that would improve his/her presentation?-Nothing I don’t think.

Do you think that you particularly will remember anything that was taught?-I remember some things, yes. Weather I understand or agree with them is another story. It’s all good though-I love the challenge!

Do you understand God or people better because of it?-In a way, yes.Did it make you feel like you wanted to preach someday yourself ?-Not really.