Noisy church creates neighborhood protests

[RoadKingLarry]

Anybody else feeling a call from God to go worship in front of this guy's house with airhorns at 3AM?

I like the idea from the article comments...  create a "Church of the Immaculate Air Raid Siren" next door!

I'm in

[MillCreek]

When I made my original post, there were 47 comments.  As of right this second, there are 508.  The pastor of the church sent an email to his congregation encouraging them to post comments.  

PS: The comment thread has been closed by the paper.

[roo_ster]

Methodists are wayward heathens?   

Nope, just the gal minister at the last Methodist service I went to.  She couldn't be bothered to wear anything nicer than a T-shirt with her college/seminary on it to conduct the service.  I'd bet "Casual Fridays" among the ministers church workers is something to write home about.

Nice building, though.  And no disturbing the neighbors with Gawd Rock.

[230RN]

Conversion by the sword amplifier?

[Ron]

This "church" apparently is oblivious to the concept of loving your neighbor.

Appears to be just another symptom of the narcissistic nature of our culture.  

I want what I want.

[vaskidmark]

I want what I want.

"Boy, you had better start learning to want what I tell you to want."

I believe those were the words my Drill Instructor used.  I might have left some flowery descriptive adjectives and modifiers out, of course.

stay safe.

[makattak]

This "church" apparently is oblivious to the concept of loving your neighbor.

Appears to be just another symptom of the narcissistic nature of our culture. 

I want what I want.

The worst is not the "I want what I want" but the spoiled "How dare you tell ME what I can do!" attitude.

No, people can't tell you how to worship God. They can tell you at what volume is acceptable for the neighbors.

You want to worship God extra loud? There are plenty of places where people won't be disturbed. Alternatively, soundproof your building better. (You spent thousands? Great: it wasn't enough. Spend more or turn it down.)

And seriously, drywall? I'm no expert, but what are the sound deadening capabilities of drywall?

[lee n. field]

This "church" apparently is oblivious to the concept of loving your neighbor.

Appears to be just another symptom of the narcissistic nature of our culture.  

I want what I want.

That church, is here, and from the Google map, appears to be in the middle of the twisty street district (suburban residential).  The signs I'm seeing look like typical suburban pop megachurch.  To research it, I'd be googling their leadership, seeing who they were connected with, stuff like that.  I'm seeing a few oddities in their SOF.  Remarkably indefinite on the nature of the Trinity, for one.  Just sloppy?

No, people can't tell you how to worship God.

But, God can.   Ohhhh, the dreaded regulative principle. 

All the signs look like a church "not my style".  But, style is the wrong question.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

what are the sound deadening capabilities of drywall?


there are some specialized (read pricey) products and techniques

[seeker_two]

This church really needs to pick up its readings in the book of Romans.....

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2013&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+14&version=MSG

[MillCreek]

I remember when this church was built originally.  At the time, it did not have as many houses as are surrounding it today.  However, the large concert hall/sanctuary is new, and was finished (it was partially-built for a couple of years) just last year.  The surrounding area had been completely built out with houses by the time the concert hall/sanctuary was started back in 2008.  The church was not known for loud concerts prior to building the concert hall/sanctuary.  So from the standpoint of the surrounding neighbors, the loud concerts are a new development that did not exist when their homes were built. 

[MechAg94]

I remember when this church was built originally.  At the time, it did not have as many houses as are surrounding it today.  However, the large concert hall/sanctuary is new, and was finished (it was partially-built for a couple of years) just last year.  The surrounding area had been completely built out with houses by the time the concert hall/sanctuary was started back in 2008.  The church was not known for loud concerts prior to building the concert hall/sanctuary.  So from the standpoint of the surrounding neighbors, the loud concerts are a new development that did not exist when their homes were built. 

Sounds to me like they recently changed how they were worshiping God.  It also sounds like there are solutions they could pursue.

[KD5NRH]

what are the sound deadening capabilities of drywall?


there are some specialized (read pricey) products and techniques

Dropping a crane load of it onto the noise source is usually the most effective.

[lee n. field]

Sounds to me like they recently changed how they were worshiping God. 

Quite possibly.

Poking around on Teh Interwebz, I found this, which indicates that from 2001 to 2005 numbers were pretty steady.  From 2005 to 2010, membership and weekly attendance more than doubled.  Perhaps that's when the rock bands came in.

[Antibubba]

For his part, Pastor Dan Kellogg, a youthful man who preaches in jeans and a rhinestone-trimmed black shirt, says the church takes the complaints seriously. And Ehoff, who plays in the band, says the church has spent $50,000 putting up drywall to mitigate the sound.

I never knew drywall was the ideal sound absorption material.

[MillCreek]

Quite possibly.

Poking around on Teh Interwebz, I found this, which indicates that from 2001 to 2005 numbers were pretty steady.  From 2005 to 2010, membership and weekly attendance more than doubled.  Perhaps that's when the rock bands came in.

No, in 2005 they moved to their current site and built the first of the three steel-frame warehouse-type buildings that are currently on the property.  Prior to 2005, they were about five miles away in a much smaller, more traditional type of wooden-frame church building that was originally built as a Lutheran church back in the 50's.  So the new church in 2005 was more than double the size, and I suspect that enabled the attendance counts to start climbing.

When I have read about them in the local paper, they make a point of pride in all the construction is funded with current monies, and they don't take out loans to build.  This explains the piece-meal expansion over the years, and why the current concert hall/sanctuary sat half-completed for two years while they saved up enough money to finish it off.

And again, I know all this only because I live within a mile of the church, bicycle or drive past it several times a week, and have read about them in my local media.  Before the latest kerfuffle in the paper, I was actually unaware of any controversy surrounding them. 

[230RN]

This church really needs to pick up its readings in the book of Romans.....

Yeah, that's what I was looking for.


(1.)

Appears to be just another symptom of the narcissistic self-righteous nature of our culture.

Fixed that.


(2.)

The worst is not the "I want what I want" but the spoiled "How dare you tell ME what I can do!" attitude.

Yup.  See (1).


I don't see it as a drywall-solvable problem.  I see it as a personality problem. 

Those in doubt, shout it out.

(Terry said that.  Feel free to quote it.)

Terry, 230RN

[Hawkmoon]

I don't see it as a drywall-solvable problem.  I see it as a personality problem. 

See reply number 37 ...

[sanglant]

the neighbors need to raise enough money to surround the church with sound barrier walls. be downright funny. have a double walls, a gate in the front in the outside ring and a gate in the back of the inside ring. wouldn't even have to look at them, or the ugly building*.



*for some reason, churches like this are always in ugly buildings.

[lee n. field]

or the ugly building*.

*for some reason, churches like this are always in ugly buildings.

That's the style now, for church architecture.

[MillCreek]

As promised, I just got back from walking down to the Gold Creek church to hear the music for myself at the 0900 service.  As a test, I did this without wearing my bilateral hearing aids.  With the aids in, I have about a 40% hearing loss; with them out, I have about a 66% hearing loss.

I could hear the music, or more accurately the bass beat, from about 200 yards away.  I stood right across the street from the church (about 75 yards from the sanctuary) and the music and bass beat were louder then the infrequent passing car traffic.  It was hard to really recognize it much as music, since the thumping of the bass beat predominated.

So it is now clear to me how the local neighbors, especially those with normal hearing, are upset about this.  According to a story on the local CBS affiliate, the music is on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evening rehearsals and occasional Friday night concerts.

PS:  And oh, before I forget, this is for Fistful:  this wayward heathen Methodist did not feel an urge to convert from hearing the music.

[lee n. field]

this wayward heathen Methodist did not feel an urge to convert from hearing the music.

No discernible gospel content?  (That's a rhetorical question.)

[Perd Hapley]

That's the style now, for church architecture.

Well, I wouldn't call it style. 

[Hawkmoon]

That's the style now, for church architecture.

No, it's the style now for churches that are more interested in maximizing return to the pastor/founder than in glorifying God by (among other things) caring enough to build Him a nice house in which to worship Him. Yes, I understand that He is happy when people worship Him anywhere, in any way. But I'm an olde pharte who studied the history of architecture in Europe. Those magnificent Gothic cathedrals in England, France and Germany (particularly) were built by pious people who viewed it as their duty to create structures suitable for God. Most, if not all, of the great cathedrals took generations and even lifetimes to complete. There were any number of master stonemasons and journeymen who spent their entire working life doing nothing but working on one cathedral -- and they might have died without seeing it completed.

That would be unheard of in today's world where everyone wants instant gratification. The new style independent churches are not interested in glorifying God, they just want a roof to shed the rain while they pass the collection platter. I have personally seen churches of this type make a huge issue out of being asked to even comply with the building code -- which is universally deemed a "minimum" standard for safety. They argued that complying with the "minimum" standard was going to cost "too much," so they should be exempt because they're a church. [Love thy neighbor but screw thy parishioners, I guess.]

[roo_ster]

I could hear the music, or more accurately the bass beat, from about 200 yards away.  I stood right across the street from the church (about 75 yards from the sanctuary) and the music and bass beat were louder then the infrequent passing car traffic.  It was hard to really recognize it much as music, since the thumping of the bass beat predominated.

Yeah, that is un-neighborly.  Turn the amp back from "eleven," Nigel.

PS:  And oh, before I forget, this is for Fistful:  this wayward heathen Methodist did not feel an urge to convert from hearing the music.

Heh.

"The Wesley is strong in this one."

Oh, I recall going to Savannah, GA, and seeing a JW statue.  Here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley#Mission_in_Georgia