Brentwood Presbyterian Church
12000 San Vicente Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-826-5656
www.bpcusa.org
9:30 AM; 11:00 AM

The Brentwood Presbyterian church has a huge campus on the corner of Bundy and San Vicente in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. I came for the second of two services. My impression is that the second service is more contemporary, and the smaller of the two. There were hymnals in every pew, but the hymns and more contemporary Christian music we sang was printed on a screen which hung from above the alter. There was also not a formal choir, but a group of about 12 churchgoers standing on the alter in plainclothes singing their hearts out as the approximately 60 attending parishoners were encouraged to join.

I also had the impression that the first service was the more family oriented of the two since there were gobs of young families leaving as I rolled in. It seemed that there is an entire wing dedicated to the church's learning programs for children and adults, and a large gym for young adults and others. During the service the youth minister, a peppy young girl who liked to say "man!" and "excitin'" presented the work that the young adults are doing both for their own personal enrichment and the community, including a once-monthly trip to Santa Monica to work with another youth minister in that area's work with the poor. A confirmation class meets concurrently with the 11 AM service, and the youth also meet again Sunday evenings. Definitely a great church to raise a family.

The service was great. The minister started with a greeting in which every person was to shake the hands of three others and pass it back, this all to orient us with the context of his sermon on Paying Your Family Forward. The emphasis was on generosity (it also happened to be stewardship season). There was also an opportunity for people to share concerns and the Minister would bring us to prayer after each concern, all of which were heartfelt. The Minister was very good at keeping people concise and pulling their concerns into eloquent prayer.

There is not an embarrassing introduction of visitors.

This bible-based church has a very active bible study program for adults, carolling, hikes, youth and children's program. I would be interested to see if there is a big difference between the 9:30 and 11:00 services...

If you plan to come to the Agape Church in Culver City arrive early! Despite its two large parking lots it took me 15 minutes of driving around in circles to finally follow the flags guiding me to the satellite parking down the road. There is a shuttle that will take parishoners to and from this lot, but I walked the two short blocks. Finally making my way inside at five-till-eleven, I see that the place is packed! Luckily I am meeting my cousins who arrived at 10:30 when the doors open for the service. I sit with them waaaay in the back corner of the church while others wait by for openings, or take a seat outside to watch the service through television monitors.

The Church Building
The Church looks like a gutted office building, or a warehouse in which they have put up some curtains and a stage to make it appear to be an actual, traditional church sanctuary. Still, the somewhat industrial environment does nothing to discourage people from attending, rather this is a profoundly popular church. So what about this place so effectively lures people in?

The Church Vision
This International Spirtitual Center, which one parishoner described as a "Science of Mind" church, has a very broad appeal, but it is not a Christian church. They believe that we are created with known gifts that we may stifle through fear and societal expectations, but that through self-affirmation we can realize our natural dreams and gifts, and by so doing, we are actually becoming the person God would want us to be. The philosophy links together emotions, God, and experiences, and asserts that we create emotions through our experiences which may ultimately create boxes which limit us to see ourselves in the eyes of the material world and our own fears rather than in terms of our great potential to attain a life that God sees as reaching our capacity. A very enriching vision.

The Message
This particular Sunday was the youth Sunday. While it was not typical of the ordinary service, you could see the impact of the church message in the young people . The children and youth perform songs, dances, and read poetry and bits of personal insight. Because the youth who deliver parts of the service are such natural performers, visitors are offered an understanding of the effectiveness of this institution. Unlike typical insecure adolescents, these young people are confident, self-assured, and driven and cannot wait to participate.

The message, delivered by Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith is consistent with the vision of the church and organization with which he is associated. He seems to inspire a kind of awakening allowing you to meditate into an inner voice that will push you to face your fears and obtain the confidence to attempt to try new things, and achieve your personal dreams. While there is not talk of Jesus, except peripherally among all of the major religious founders, the idea of living for today, planning for tomorrow, and being the very best person you can be as being an example of God himself is intriguing. However, it takes a position of self-interest and self-centeredness that is somewhat contrary to my Christian beliefs. Still, an environment such as this and messages such as these may be just what one needs to pull out of a slump and into progress and greater enlightenment. And that is without question a good thing, and may be just what the doctor ordered. Apparently for many, they are moved to tears through the service.

Music
It is definitely a clap and holler church, with words for songs (not hymns) on a projection screen, a drum set, guitars and professional singers being words of inspiration to our ears, and for some people, a little pep in their step as they dance in the halls.