Lakewood (Part 2)

Having been shown to our seats, I took a moment to record a bit about our surroundings.  The very first thing I notice was the giant, golden globe revolving slowly at the rear of the stage, with a sloping choir loft on either side.  Inset panels above the choir lofts each bore the image of fluffy white clouds on a bright blue sky, and there were projector screens just beyond this for song lyrics, videos, and close-ups of people on stage.  There was also a large projector screen directly over our heads for the benefit of those in the back, but I would have had to crane my neck at an absurd angle to see it.  The ceiling was illuminated with intricate patterns of blue and white lights amid the many catwalks and projectors.  A large camera crane rested on the side of the stage, and it would swoop around throughout the service getting long pans of the audience, choir, and Joel himself.  On either side of the stage was an exit, and above these rested . . . oh, no way: more waterfalls?!  Why is it always waterfalls?!  Ben answered my question, “Well, let’s see here: Baptism imagery, the sense of continual renewal associated with running water, new age sensibilities, the fact that they’re just really peaceful-- want me to keep going?”  “No, man, I think I got it.”

We all thought the golden globe was just a little odd, but I explained that most of the more seeker-sensitive megas eschew cross imagery in favor of softer images like globes or waterfalls or even a tongue of fire.  “At least it’s not an American flag,” I found myself thinking as I flashed back to the patriotic service at Saddleback.  In fact, there wasn’t a flag anywhere on stage, perhaps because Joel’s ministry there at Lakewood is so international, with services being broadcast to over a hundred countries every week.  As if on cue, Sanetta brought my attention to the back of the sanctuary, where a mammoth American flag was stretched between two higher tiered sections of seating.  Nevermind.

Just like at so many of the other megas, a series of advertisements was running on the screens prior to the service.  There was another promo for Joel’s newest book, an ad for an upcoming couples retreat, the hours for the Lakewood bookstores, and an announcement that sermon CDs would be available for purchase.  “Hey, look-- a prayer service,” Sanetta pointed out on the screen, “You know, I might actually be kind of curious to see Lakewood’s approach to a prayer service.”  There was a more detailed ad in the bulletin that I wouldn’t discover until later:

Dodie’s Prayer and Healing Service

Tuesday, August 9th 6:30-8:00PM, New Beginnings Room

Ms. Dodie will personally pray for your needs and believe God for emotional

and physical healing in your life.  Come and go.

Parking is available on the West Circle Drive off Timmons.

Ms. Dodie Osteen

Dodie Osteen is Joel’s mother, and since Sanetta had told me that Joel’s father --Lakewood’s charismatic founding pastor who grew the church to 6,000 members-- actually had kind of a fire-and-brimstone reputation, I have no idea where Ms. Dodie stands theologically.  From the looks of it, it seemed that the idea behind the Lakewood prayer service was to have Ms. Dodie serve as something of a prayer service provider.  I’m like 90% sure that I explained this a while back, but as Protestants, we believe in a “priesthood of all believers,” meaning (among other things) that you don’t need any intermediary between you and God and that God hears the prayers of all people.  I have no doubt in my mind that Ms. Dodie is a loving woman, but the ad seemed to suggest that her prayers have special priority, and I really don’t like the message that sends.  Of course, then again, I’ve never exactly been 100% on board with the whole healing prayer thing, so maybe I’m overanalyzing and should give Ms. Dodie the benefit of the doubt.  If nothing else, she raised a very kind and compassionate son, so I’m sure she’s got a good heart.  Still, the prayer thing really didn’t sit right with me.

With about ten minutes to go before the service, the simple slides on the screens transitioned into a video hosted by a young Latina spokeswoman named Serena Gonzalez, who welcomed us to Lakewood and told us about a few of the programs that the church had to offer.  If we were new to Lakewood, we could visit the Discover Lakewood area after any service for more information about the church.  There were a number of Compass Bible Studies available for people looking to go deeper, and if we had kids, we should check out the Kidslife program.  Also, Serena told us about the upcoming retreat for married couples, which an ad in the bulletin explained in greater detail.  The ad featured a smiling couple embracing and the text:

Married Life Romance and Recreation Weekend

October 14-15, San Luis Resort, Galveston, TX

This special get away for married couples includes dinner, worship, communion,

renewal of vows and a lesson on what God says about marriage.  The trip total is $300.

The initial deposit is $150.  All payments must be made to the Bookstore.

Questions?  Email marriedlife@lakewood.cc or call 713-491-5112.

For more information, visit Lakewood.cc/marriedlife

I looked around and realized that the room was still only about 1/3 full, but it was a very diverse crowd.  Even though the room was predominantly white, there were quite a few black and Latino worshipers there as well, and people looked to be from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.  As far as formal and casual, the folks at Lakewood ran the full range from suits to t-shirts and jeans.  The video came to a close, and the lights went down as I struggled to see the lines in my notebook.  The service was beginning.

Worship

The choir seemed a little sparse, possibly because the Saturday evening service is still a relatively new addition to Lakewood’s roster.  Still the nine singers on the main stage (three groups of three singers-- aren’t my minor number-based compulsions fun?) were about to put on one heck of a show.  The service started with a recorded soloist singing how, “You make beautiful things,” but I soon realized that the voice I had mistaken for a recording was actually live.  The soloist walked out on stage, and the lights came up around her, revealing the choir, all of whom were clad in purples and blues.  Behind the soloist, the orchestra pit rose up from underneath the stage, and several flashes of light heralded the start of the next song as a young and enthusiastic black male singer came forward to lead us in singing:

Hallelujah What a Mighty God,

What an awesome God, O Lord You are,

Hallelujah what a great God you are,

Lord You are marvelous, You are glorious,

Wonderful to me, O what a great God You are,

And we will praise You, forevermore,

Hope for the nations,

Father of every generation,

People everywhere, stand and declare

He’s a mighty God, a mighty God,

This may have been the best bass player I’ve witnessed in a church setting.  In fact, it seemed like the band never missed a single note all night.  They were polished and rehearsed, but they still communicated with one another and smiled just the right amount so that it didn’t feel at all artificial-- not like the too-smiley worship leaders I’ve complained about in the past.  Of course, it helped that the singers were really into it too.  In addition to the nine on stage, there were probably about thirty or so in each of the tiered sections on the sides of the stage, and I was just a little surprised to find that they were really racially integrated, possibly even with a slight black majority.  I have to admit that Lakewood pulls an odd switch-up; while churches like Saddleback try to showcase their limited diversity (and even exaggerate it a bit in the process), Lakewood has the diversity, but you’d never guess it from their bulletins and promotional literature.  There were three main soloists who traded off leading songs: a black man, a black woman, and a white woman, all of them somewhat ageless, but I would guess somewhere around 30.  Each of them had a phenomenal voice.

During this opening number, Joel and Victoria Osteen both came up on stage and stood to one side clapping and singing along with the music.  I could swear that Joel looked right at us and smiled, but in a room that large, it’s hard to tell.  Plus, the guy does smile a lot.  Ben had joked beforehand, “Hey Tom, I’ll give you $20 if you can talk to him and find a way to make him frown.”  The challenge was accepted but never completed.

The musicians continued to play as Joel stepped forward and welcomed us to Lakewood, telling us that, “God’s got amazing things in your future!”  Uh oh, shields up.  Sensors to maximum.  Detecting prosperity gospel.  Readying missiles.  Joel said pointblank that he often gets criticized for getting people’s hopes up, but he assured us that you can’t really have faith if you don’t start with hope, and that includes expecting great things from God.  We need to come into this service prepared to be like a sponge that is going to soak up God’s goodness, so welcome to Lakewood, make yourselves at home, and remember that “When the praises go up, the blessings come down!”  I felt a simultaneous cringe on either side of me.  Victoria stepped up next and expanded on what Joel had said, saying that we get strength from God, but we still wait for more and more of that strength and come into worship tonight with an attitude of expectation.  It was a pretty impressive preaching cadence that she gave.  She’s got some serious rhetorical skill.  The singers led us into the next song, and even though it was another fluffy cookie-cutter Hillsong number, the sheer talent and stage presence of the musicians at Lakewood made it engaging:

If not for Your Goodness
If not for Your Grace
I don't know where I would be today
If not for Your Kindness
I never could say, I'm still standing
If not for Your Mercy
If not for Your Love
I most likely would have given up
If not for Your Favor
I never could say, I'm still standing
But by the Grace of God

To You I lift my offering
And set my heart on higher things
Cause if it had not been for You
Standing on my side
Where would I be

On Christ, The Solid Rock I'll Stand
All other ground is sinking sand
On Christ, The Solid Rock I'll Stand
But by the Grace of God

I'm still standing, I'm still standing
I'm still standing
But by the Grace
But by the Grace of God

The performers were practically jumping up and down with excitement on stage, and this enthusiasm was echoed by the people in the congregation, as hands and entire bodies moved upward toward the blue-illuminated ceiling and the heavens beyond it.  While the bassist had caught my attention during the last song, this time it was the guitarist’s flawlessly executed solo that impressed me most . . . well, that and I noticed that every singer was wearing heels that looked to be a minimum of three inches high.  I have never understood why women do that to themselves, and in the past, I have been known to pick up and carry walking-impaired ex-girlfriends who got a little too ambitious with their heel height for a night on the town.  Still, these singers were moving around and dancing in high heels without missing a beat.  Impressive.  As wowed as I was by the male lead singer’s voice and enthusiasm, I was reminded of a quote Allison used to use: “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels.”  These singers were embodying that spirit.  Returning my gaze to the band, I took a moment to observe the instrument setup: a full horn section, multiple electric and acoustic guitars, drums, percussion, a full grand piano-- wow, they had spared no expense.  Even though some of the band members looked to be fairly young (including a drummer and guitarist who could have easily passed for teenagers), I suspected that the majority of the band and singers had professional experience of some kind.  They never missed a note.  There was no way that these people weren’t pros.

As the band transitioned into the next song, we got a major lightshow, with the whole stage going momentarily black amid flashes of light in blue and purple and white and magenta.  The screen behind the globe flashed with all sorts of spiraling graphics as the band continued to play.  Wow.  I looked around while all of this was going on and saw that the room was still filling up, and the second tier of seating in the church was nearly half-full-- still not a capacity crowd, but quite a large gathering nonetheless.  As the soloists sang, it occurred to me that the Lakewood musicians really only had one setting: full-force enthusiasm.  Unlike the smiley contemporary worship leaders at some of the other megas I’ve visited, these performers were showing a full range of emotion, but every emotion seemed somehow amplified.  Being in that space with that spiritual presence, it was as if they couldn’t hold back even if they tried.  The soloists sang at the tops of their lungs.  The choir rocked back and forth, clapping and singing along.  The musicians played and played and played, never holding back even for a second.  I haven’t actually worshiped enough with Sanetta to be able to speak for her, but Ben and I are normally pretty stoic during services like this, and even the two of us were raising our hands and getting into it.

Invading all my weakness
You wrapped me up in grace
The worst of me succeeded by the best of You

My heart is overtaken
My soul is overwhelmed
The worst of me succeeded by the best of You

My dreams have found their purpose
My future in Your hands
This life would have no meaning if it weren't for You

Lord make my life transparent
Your life in mine displayed
And let every earthly glory
Go back to You

So I lay me down
For Kingdom come
Steal all that is within me
Cause all I want in this world Is more of You

And the less of me it is You
Increasing as I fade away
Your light for all the world to see
God It is You who breaks the chains
It is You who lights the way
And everything I am cries out for You

The song had been another Hillsong number, but once again, Lakewood brought new depth to it.  Rather than simply imitating everyone’s favorite international praise music factory, Lakewood made the song all their own, giving it that unique Lakewood punch.  Ben and Sanetta and I definitely weren’t 100% on board with some of the theology being preached, but wow!  What a worship experience!  People clapped after the song, and an effected electric guitar brought us into the next tune, an old Newsboys song (The Newsboys being a British Christian rock band from back in the day when I was in my Christian rock phase-- I think they’re still around, but it’s a different lineup now since so many of the original members retired or left for other projects).  As the band vamped into the song, video played on the screens of various Lakewood mission trips (usually featuring smiling African children), and many of these clips showcased Joel and Victoria themselves interacting with people in the countries where Lakewood is sending aid.  Not to pass judgment too quickly, but given how much the subject of “poverty pornography” has been on my heart lately, these clips made me squirm a bit, and it would get worse later in the service.  Ben and Sanetta would later comment on how uncomfortable Victoria Osteen looked in many of the pictures, and it was a bit of a chilling realization when the suggestion came up: “And those were the best pictures.”  At least she’s making an effort though.  I was also really impressed with Joel for getting out there himself and meeting people, but I’m starting to feel more and more dubious about the presence of cameras in the mission field, even when they’re used to raise awareness.  The choir began to sing:

It's the song of the redeemed rising from the African plain.
It's the song of the forgiven drowning out the Amazon rain,
the song of Asian believers filled with God's holy fire.
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation, a love song born of a grateful choir.
It's all God's children singing, "Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns."
It's all God's children singing, "Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns."

Let it rise above the four winds, caught up in the heavenly sound.
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals to the faithful gathered underground.
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation, some were meant to persist.
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples, none rings truer than this.
All God's children singing, "Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns, He reigns."
All God's children singing, "Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns, He reigns."

And all the powers of darkness tremble at what they've just heard.
'Cause all the powers of darkness can't drown out a single word
when all God's children sing out, "Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns. He reigns, He reigns."