[Sly Fox]

An LU alum got some run in the Philly fishwrap:

Casual Sundays, relaxed fit
A pastor fashions informal, entertaining services to better suit the spiritual needs of his congregation.

By Louise Harbach
Inquirer Suburban Staff

To the list of seven deadly sins - pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth - the Rev. Randy Smith would add another: It's a sin for church to be boring.

At the nondenominational Discovery Church where Smith is the lead pastor, the "eighth" sin is the subject of the church's motto.

What Smith does not like is a boring church service, and that is something he takes seriously during Sunday services at the church's two locations, one at the Voorhees Middle School and the other at the United Artists Theatre in Washington Township.

"There was no way Jesus was boring," said Smith, a minister for the last 25 years who feels more churches would be filled each Sunday if the services were more interesting and relevant to people's lives.

"When I look at the early church, it was anything but boring... . It turned Jerusalem and eventually the Roman Empire on its side," Smith said. "Today we need to be real to reach people."

With worship services heavy with drama, video, movie and news clips and contemporary music, both religious and secular, Smith is aiming for people who don't usually go to church but are looking for spiritual answers.

"I want people to walk in and go, 'Wow, this is church?' " said Smith, who lives in Washington Township and is a 1975 graduate of Edgewood Regional High School in Atco, a graduate of Liberty University in Virginia and an ordained Southern Baptist minister. "We want to create an up-to-date place for an age-old message."

Cherry Hill resident Fred Meserall has been a member of the Voorhees congregation since its beginnings, drawn by the church's casual style and its motto. Relevant teaching, great music and drama and a relaxed atmosphere keep him going to the church.

"We came not knowing anyone, wondering if we would fit in... . We quickly felt very comfortable [because] the teaching is relevant to how we live in the 21st century," Meserall said. "Randy is a true visionary... a very real person who is extremely approachable. He's just what he appears to be, a real guy with no phony religious facade, a seeker who has found what he's looking for and wants to share it with others."

Finding a church home was a top priority for Amy and Michael Pickering, transplants from Denver who moved to Winslow Township a year and a half ago.

"We were attracted to Discovery Church for the people and service-style," Michael Pickering said. "You could drink an entire bottle of NyQuil before coming to Discovery and still not doze off during a service."

Three and a half years ago, Smith, who had been an associate pastor at Gloucester County Community Church in Washington Township, started Discovery Church at the Voorhees Middle School and shortly after that started another church, one that still meets at United Artists.

From 18 members, Discovery has grown to more than 500 at both locations. Now Discovery has plans to start a third church in Woolwich by the end of the year.

Woolwich was selected as the third site because it is one of the fastest growing municipalities on the East Coast. That is part of Discovery's multisite plan, said the Rev. Chris Gregas of Sewell, a Discovery pastor.

The idea, Gregas said, is a group of smaller churches at different sites, called campuses, all part of one church. There are about 1,400 multisite churches nationwide.

Saying that Discovery Church will never become a megachurch, one with a single location and thousands of members, Gregas explained, "We will always be getting smaller through effective small group ministry."

Nor are there plans in the immediate future of building a permanent site, said Meserall, who added, "We're here to communicate something, not to build million-dollar buildings."

A portable church - Smith calls Discovery a "church in a box" since all the equipment needed to set up each Sunday is rolled to the site in a large box - does have certain advantages, particularly worship services at the movie theater.

"It's a different feel," said Smith of the services at United Artists. "It's very casual, and we have the most comfortable 'church' seats I've ever been in. Best of all are the cupholders for the coffee!"

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