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by Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

MELISSA LAUBER/UMCONNECTION

A replica of the car from the movie, 'Back to the Future,' protrudes from the fellowship hall of Cedar Grove UMC.

Sometimes when a church takes a risk, strange things can happen. A DeLorean automobile can crash through the wall of the fellowship hall; temples of doom can spring up and icebergs might appear on the horizon as a praise band plays in an ocean liner's lounge.

At Cedar Grove UMC in Deale, where they nurture a culture of risk, all these things have happened. During worship. In church. And the risk is paying off.

More than 80 people, ages 12 to 60, attend the 9 a.m. service, dubbed 'The Experience,' held in the church's Fellowship Hall, down the hall from the more traditional worship in the sanctuary. The Experience uses blockbuster movies as the basis for worship. Currently, the service centers around the movie 'Back to the Future.'

That explains the DeLorean.

'Indiana Jones' and 'The Titanic' have also provided inspiration for the setting and content of The Experience. 'It's church like you've never experienced,' said Joe Heinrichs, the youth pastor who creates the magic that draws people in. The Experience was originally designed for students, to give them a comfortable, fun and thought-provoking way to experience God, Heinrichs said.

However, that purpose has evolved as people of all ages began to attend, excited about the fast-paced, relationship-based worship. The un-churched and de-churched, who had been hurt or made uncomfortable by past religious experiences, seem drawn to the service, he explained.

'We can do different stuff here,' said Heinrichs. 'We're not bound by an expectation of what church looks like.' For the 'Back to the Future' series, Heinrichs sculpted a DeLorean car, set up the fellowship hall like a sock hop, replaced the collection plate with 'Save the Clock Tower' donation jars, and sprinkled various other elements of the movie around the walls.

The service, which includes music from a youth praise band, is conducted by the light of candles that sit on the tables around which the worshipers gather. There's always food, and Heinrichs edits the movies into three or four minute clips that he uses for his teaching sermons, which he delivers dressed as characters from the movies.

The whole experience is a playground for theory that worship can reflect the television experience. Heinrichs divides the order of worship, like a TV show, into three minute, then four minute, then three minute segments. It's a rhythm people respond to, he said.

The Experience, which began seven months ago, has yielded many surprises. One of the most interesting is how people float between this service and the traditional one, often finding their way into church through The Experience, then moving down the hall into the sanctuary, Heinrichs said.

Not everyone has been happy with the changes.

Because of the complexity of some of the decorations, the set-up is not as flexible as it once was. Some events have had to be moved out of the church, like a reception after a funeral that was relocated to an Elks Hall. 'When you have 80 kids, stuff happens,' said the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Kevin Baker. Some church members have adapted to this more easily than others.

'We approved this quickly,' said Bill Kline, president of the church's board of trustees. He admits some tensions have developed, but, 'We'll do whatever it takes,' he said. 'We're reaching people for Christ.'

Baker believes he and Heinrichs have developed enough trust with the congregation that they will allow 'crazy stuff' to unfold in this alternative worship setting.

Heinrichs is comfortable with crazy. He watched with delight one Sunday as he immersed the 80 people present into 15 minutes of complete silence.

'It was amazing and awkward,' he said. But after the experience, one older man told him that he didn't think it was really possible to hear the voice of God.

'I heard,' the man said.

During the Indiana Jones series, two young people accepted Christ, Heinrichs said. 'That's always a huge amen.' For those interested in starting an alternative worship experience, Heinrichs' advice is simple.

'Just do it. Don't worry about failing. You will make mistakes, but trust God.'

Heinrichs also advises watching the scale of things as they develop. His Indiana Jones set was overwhelming, and took too much time and energy. He is learning to delegate, empowering the youth to take the lead on music, greeting, refreshment and building teams, and to run with their ideas.

When this is done, 'amazing things happen,' he said.

Baker agrees. At Cedar Grove, sacred cows are sacrificed to allow people to honestly and authentically experience God, he said.

The 280 people in the two traditional services are urged not to 'paint on their church faces,' but to come as they are before the God that created the universe, Baker said. The worship springs forth from their response.

Baker believes strongly that all of life is worship.

'If I love Jesus,' he said, 'everything about me is worship.'