Founders Ben Lakin, Lindsay Keck and Joey Keck (from left) hope to bring a fresh perspective to the local church landscape. photo by Roland Dorsey‘High-energy' worship delivered by young founders
by Steve Matrazzo
In a small, sparsely appointed office on Commerce Street, Joey Keck, clad in a T-shirt and jeans, rubs the soul patch below his lip and leans back in his chair, his bare feet dangling just above the floor.
Next to him is his wife, Lindsay, with blond curls cascading over her shoulders and what just might be the hint of a tattoo peeking above the waistline of her low-rise jeans.
Across the room, the goateed Ben Lakin, with baggy shorts reaching below his knees, sits beneath the one item in the room that qualifies as decor: a painting bought at Ikea.
To look at the three 24-year-olds in their simple digs, one might think they were running one of those save-the-whales groups, or an independent record label, or perhaps an upstart Internet company.
They're not saving the whales, but they do have a cause. They're not a record label, but music is part of the equation. As for the Internet thing, well, they do have a Web site.
Their enterprise is called Harbor Christian Church.
High-energy service, relaxed format
The Kecks, who live in Essex but are planning a move to Dundalk at the end of this month, and Lakin, who already lives in the area, have been holding Sunday worship services since March, first at Dundalk Middle School and more recently at Patapsco High School, where services will be held at least until August.
In accordance with state law, the Baltimore County school system allows churches to use school facilities under the same rules that govern other nonprofit groups.
Mixing prayer and preaching with modern music, video, spiritually themed arts and crafts and a come-as-you-are dress code, “The Harbor” offers what is described as “a high-energy worship service in a relaxed format,” designed to appeal to those who find traditional churches stuffy and intimidating.
In glossy, eye-catching mailings sent out in recent months with the come-on “Church - there's no way I'd fit,” Harbor Christian seeks to attract those alienated by traditional “high church” modes of worship by promising services that “can be a lot of fun.” “The Bible does not give just one worship style,” says Joey Keck, the lead planter, or pastor, of the new church. “We're not afraid to try anything.”
Casually dressed churchgoers stand and clap as Lindsay Keck and Ben Lakin lead the Harbor Christian Church congregation in song. photo by Steve MatrazzoLindsay Keck, who runs the group's children's and creative arts ministries, cites as an example the church's Father's Day service. “We even sang that Queen song ‘We Are the Champions.' We want people to be able to relate to what we're doing.”
The modern music and multimedia presentations are part of an attempt to create an “irresistible environment” for churchgoers.
“We want it to be aesthetically pleasing,” says Lakin, who as the church's worship minister has primary responsibility for the services' musical content. “The idea of ‘irresistible environments' is to let people enjoy worship and want to keep coming back.”
‘A very welcoming environment'
A typical hourlong Sunday service begins with Lakin and the Kecks greeting the flock during what Lakin calls “hang-out time.” Churchgoers gather in the lobby outside Patapsco's auditorium, chatting and sampling the coffee and pastries laid out on a modest table.
Young children are shepherded to the “Harbor Babies” area, a brightly colored enclosure where tots too fidgety for grown-up church services can watch religiously themed children's videos.
The attendees are a diverse group. Some arrive singly, others in family groups. Senior citizens mingle with twentysomethings. While a few wear their Sunday best, others are dressed in shorts and sandals.
As the crowd moves into the auditorium, a large screen on the stage shows music videos and a timer that counts down the seconds as the start of the service approaches.
When “zero hour” arrives, Joey Keck greets the assemblage and leads them in a brief prayer before his wife and Lakin begin a series of songs. Lyrics are shown on the onstage screen as churchgoers stand and sing along, clapping to the beat or swaying with their hands in the air.
After several songs and the sharing of communal bread, Joey Keck delivers the sermon. In humorous reference to the cable television series E! True Hollywood Story, he entitles his remarks “E! True Biblical Story.” He speaks not in the grandiose language of traditional preaching but in a quiet, matter-of-fact style with a generous dose of humor, telling tales of Biblical characters whose deeds are cited as examples for the daily lives of believers.
Nikki Turner of Stanbrook, who has been attending the church's services since April, says the sermons are one of the reasons she keeps coming back.
“The lessons are applicable to daily life,” she says, cradling her 18-month-old son, Joshua. “The music is uplifting. The whole thing is rejuvenating. It's a very welcoming environment.”
She admits to being surprised by the youth of the church's founders, but says, “That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a fresh approach. They're not jaded.”
Darlene Clayton of Eastfield agrees. She thinks that “younger ones coming in is good for the community. They're doing a great job, and I think they're going to do great things here.”
After years of attending a larger, more traditional church, she says she was “looking for a more personal church” when she found Harbor Christian. “Here, I feel like I belong.”
Love, mercy, hope, joy
That welcoming spirit is expressed in the church's theological emphasis as well.
“The days of standing on the street corner and telling people they're going to hell are done,” Joey Keck says. “We're humans and we're going to screw up a lot. God is big enough to fix it for us.”
As for Scriptural teaching, Keck focuses on the moral and spiritual lessons of the Bible rather than factual assertions that he says “may be true or may be allegorical.”
“When Jesus comes, is there going to be a ram with seven horns and seven eyes? Maybe. I don't know,” he says. ”What's important is that Jesus is going to come.”
When Keck speaks of theological matters, he rarely mentions damnation and wrath but focuses on words like love, mercy, hope and joy.
“We want people to love life, not just endure it,” he says. “God likes us to have a good time.”
Old-fashioned faith
While the trio's casual affect and nontraditional worship style bring to mind the “emergent church” movement - criticized by many mainstream Christian leaders for its unorthodox and often speculative views on Christian theology - Joey Keck stresses that his church is founded upon an old-fashioned faith in the Bible.
“Nontraditional doesn't necessarily mean nonreverent,” he says. “We believe in the truth of the Scriptures, we believe that Jesus is our savior and we believe that he's going to come back.”
That viewpoint is not surprising when the backgrounds of the three are considered. All attended Johnson Bible College in Tennessee, well known for teaching a traditional theological perspective rooted in the Restorationist movement of the 1800s.
Moreover, they were rigorously screened and trained as a condition of receiving support from Stadia, a California-based national church planting group with ties to the theologically conservative Church of Christ movement.
Joey Keck, in fact, is an ordained minister, and Lakin, after completing a bit of remaining correspondence work through Johnson Bible College, soon will be. However, churchgoers shouldn't expect to hear the word Reverend often, according to Keck.
'You're the pastor?'
“I never use the title. I still get surprised when people call me ‘Pastor Joey,'” Keck says. “I tell them that I'm just Joey, and that's what they can call me.”
Surprise, of course, is a two-way street. “A lot of people come to the services and when they see me, their first reaction is, ‘You're the pastor?' But it's more surprise than skepticism,” he says. “People have been willing to accept me.”
Still, the three understand that their youth may cause some to question their readiness for their task or their seriousness in pursuing it.
Lindsay Keck points to the process they had to survive to get support from Stadia and its network of sponsoring churches.
“We had to go through personality tests, mock worship services, all kinds of stuff,” she recalls. “We had to prove that we were ready, and here we are.”
Big dreams
Having earned the opportunity, the three admit to having big dreams for their little church.
One hope is to help other new churches the way Stadia has helped in the founding of “the Harbor.”
“We'd like to be able to use this church to plant other churches in the Baltimore area,” says Joey Keck. “There could be a Harbor Church North, a Harbor Church South, and so on.”
Of course, the church, which now attracts about 100 worshipers to each Sunday service, hopes to grow large enough to merit a permanent home of its own. Lakin would like to see a large-scale music program. Lindsay Keck hopes to have after-school programs for local children. Her husband dreams of a church recreation center where people of all ages could participate in sports and other activities.
“We want to be a church that's involved in this community,” Joey Keck says. “We'd love to be able to provide a safe place for people to enjoy God and enjoy life.”
Such high hopes may seem far off for a church with a storefront office using borrowed facilities for Sunday worship, but the founders are confident.
“We're stepping out on faith, believing it's going to work,” says Joey Keck. “We're not going to be afraid to take the risk. We'd rather fail trying.”
The evidence of their hopes can be found on the church's Web site, www.theharborcc.com, where the “Missions” and “Ministries” pages read “Coming soon.”
Harbor Christian Church services are held Sundays at 11 a.m. at Patapsco High School. The church office is at 1 Commerce St. (410-686-1082).
Copyright © 2006 Dundalk Eagle - reprinted by permission.
