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Old 11-27-2007, 02:01 PM
 
91 posts, read 335,809 times
Reputation: 23

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Hello,

I am moving to Nova (the herndon/ashburn/sterling area).
I go to a fabulous multi racial/cultural church in Denver that is wonderful, casual, very service oriented and reflects the diversity of the city in the congregation and leadership. It has its quirks-all churches do, but it is a great fit for my family.

Does anyone know of something similar in Nova? I'd be willing to drive up to 30 minutes, but would prefer closer.

Again, I am not looking for the "perfect" church, as I know everything has its pros and cons and each church has its own sub-culture. That being said, I am really hoping to find a church that at least fits most of our requirements for a good fit:

-diverse congregation
-service oriented
-diverse pastoral staff/ leadership
-celebrate recovery/aa programs a plus

I welcome any suggestions and/or links!

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

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Old 11-27-2007, 03:54 PM
 
1,727 posts, read 1,981,958 times
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... a friend of mine who was looking for the same thing went to, I think, the McLean Bible Church in Vienna. I just looked it up and it is big, but has great reviews. She loved it.
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Old 11-27-2007, 05:03 PM
 
91 posts, read 335,809 times
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i have heard of that church. it does look huge! maybe we will put that on the short list.

it looks like they also have a church in loudoun county that is a mclean plant or something??
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Old 11-27-2007, 05:19 PM
 
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... that would make sense! Someone else would be more of an expert here, but my friend talked endlessly about the sermons; this was 7-8 years ago before she moved for graduate school.
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Old 11-28-2007, 09:19 AM
 
Location: Manassas, VA
352 posts, read 1,585,233 times
Reputation: 91
Quote:
Originally Posted by gogogo View Post
Hello,

I am moving to Nova (the herndon/ashburn/sterling area).
I go to a fabulous multi racial/cultural church in Denver that is wonderful, casual, very service oriented and reflects the diversity of the city in the congregation and leadership. It has its quirks-all churches do, but it is a great fit for my family.

Does anyone know of something similar in Nova? I'd be willing to drive up to 30 minutes, but would prefer closer.

Again, I am not looking for the "perfect" church, as I know everything has its pros and cons and each church has its own sub-culture. That being said, I am really hoping to find a church that at least fits most of our requirements for a good fit:

-diverse congregation
-service oriented
-diverse pastoral staff/ leadership
-celebrate recovery/aa programs a plus

I welcome any suggestions and/or links!

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

Just so we have a feel for what you're comfortable with, what denomination was your church in Denver?

McLean Bible Church is one of the biggest megachurches in Northern Virginia. It's a very conservative church, and has become a favorite of socially conservative Republican politicians like Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Senator John Thune (R-SD). Not passing judgement on it, but depending on what your definition of diversity is, it may not work for you.

The wiki on that is McLean Bible Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Old 11-28-2007, 09:50 AM
 
91 posts, read 335,809 times
Reputation: 23
Thanks knopfler!

My politics tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. It is a bit tough to find any church that I am politically aligned with.

I appreciate your input.

My biggest concern is more the mega-church thing. I grew up in a church like that and it is sometimes hard to feel a part of the "church family" when there are thousands of people.

We'll see. I am keep my ears open!
Thanks again!
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Old 11-28-2007, 10:36 AM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,366,503 times
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McLean Bible Church has great reviews written by members of the McLean Bible Church. It is a non-denominational, evangelical, and often ultraconservative mega-church. Think of those old big-tent revival meetings of days gone by dressed up in more slick and modern packaging, and you've got a pretty good idea of what Pastor Lon is selling. Do they actually try to fill some of the gaps in the social safety net that the government (forced to finance things like NCLB) can't get to these days? Yes, they do, and some not insignificant number of folks have benefitted from it. Do they also send funding off into right-wing channels that only the most religiously and politically conservative folks would necessarily want to be associated with? Yes, they do that, too. Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, Reed, et al? MBC is independent of all those, but still cast from the same mold. Membership estimates run in the ten to twelve thousand range, depending on whose numbers you want to believe...
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Old 11-28-2007, 02:54 PM
 
1,727 posts, read 1,981,958 times
Reputation: 388
Quote:
Originally Posted by saganista View Post
McLean Bible Church has great reviews written by members of the McLean Bible Church. It is a non-denominational, evangelical, and often ultraconservative mega-church. Think of those old big-tent revival meetings of days gone by dressed up in more slick and modern packaging, and you've got a pretty good idea of what Pastor Lon is selling. Do they actually try to fill some of the gaps in the social safety net that the government (forced to finance things like NCLB) can't get to these days? Yes, they do, and some not insignificant number of folks have benefitted from it. Do they also send funding off into right-wing channels that only the most religiously and politically conservative folks would necessarily want to be associated with? Yes, they do that, too. Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, Reed, et al? MBC is independent of all those, but still cast from the same mold. Membership estimates run in the ten to twelve thousand range, depending on whose numbers you want to believe...

Yeah, I was actually surprised yesterday or the day before when I did my search to see what it's like.

Is that the church that does the radio spots "not a ... just a ... " (sorry I am blanking on the terms, something like "not a lecture, just a message"). Anyhow, that's the one she went to, but she's not at all conservative.
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Old 11-28-2007, 11:04 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,366,503 times
Reputation: 4013
Not a sermon, just a thought. Yes, that would be Pastor Lon. If your friend really is not at all conservative, she might want to give some second thoughts to her recent choice in houses of worship...
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Old 11-29-2007, 05:14 AM
 
1,727 posts, read 1,981,958 times
Reputation: 388
Quote:
Originally Posted by saganista View Post
Not a sermon, just a thought. Yes, that would be Pastor Lon. If your friend really is not at all conservative, she might want to give some second thoughts to her recent choice in houses of worship...
Recent choice? Did I say that?

Edit: Sorry to get off topic, let's try to find her another church - I went to a funeral once at a very lively Baptist church in Vienna. My knowledge here is going to be kind of limited, so hopefully others can jump in with suggestions.

Last edited by goldenmom7500; 11-29-2007 at 05:28 AM..
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