Hagen 1

Hunter Hagen

Walker

English 2010 11:00

4/23/2017

The Rock Church

In the year 1999, two families got together in a house in Colorado to play music together.

The group was amazed at how religious the experience proved to be, and brought friends to the

next gathering in hopes that they, too, would feel the power of music. More specifically, the

power of Christian Rock, including songs like Beauty, Give me Jesus, and Amazing grace. Week

by week, the group grew. At first, no more than five people were simply getting together playing

music together, but the group soon grew too large to fit in a house anymore. They recognized the

importance that music has for worship, and desired to share it with the rest of the world. What

started as just two families quickly became a weekly gathering of over a thousand people. The

movement, which originally started in Colorado, came to Utah, where it is now held in five

different locations. It is called The Rock Church (Home, experiencetherock.com).

When my stepsisters, Lindsey and Rachel Knudson, moved to a new neighborhood, they

were drawn to the church across the street. Not only did the name, The Rock Church catch

their eye due to their love of music, but the board outside which read, Interested in God but not

Religion? piqued their curiosity enough that they decided to, as Lindsey stated, try it one time,

just for something new- not knowing anything and not expecting anything. Nearly a year later,

Lindsey, Rachel, and many of their family members continue to participate in weekly meeting at

The Rock Church (TRC). They continue to attend because of the kind people, empowering

music, and uplifting messages that they receive.

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According to Lindsey and Rachel, the people at The Rock Church are very eager to get to

know you and care about who you personally are. Lindsey described the people who attend as

genuine and kind and inviting. I observed this to be true immediately upon walking into The

Rock Church. The door was opened for me by a tall man in an orange vest. He welcomed me

inside warmly, with a smile spread across his face. I walked into a large room where the strong

scent of coffee was present. Everyone was smiling and talking. Anybody I made eye contact with

said good morning to me, making what I thought would be an uncomfortable experience feel

more secure.

In my visit to the Rock Church, people would ask me about myself, and, upon finding out

it was my first time visiting, they were excited, and lead me to a welcome booth. Two women

were standing behind a table, where they gave me a DVD which highlighted what the church

was, a bible translated into modern language, a CD with some of their favorite Christian rock

originals, and pamphlets with the phone numbers and emails of each pastor.

The values and beliefs of TRC are similar to those of many other Christian faiths.

Interviewing different people taught me that the ranking of each value is an individual belief.

When asked what the most important thing they wish for people to know about The Rock

Church, each person had a different idea of what they thought was of the utmost importance.

Lindsey believes that it is crucial for people to know that you dont get to heaven through your

acts, but when you come to peace with God.

Rachel thinks that the most important concept can be found in the name of the church.

She told me that The Rock Church was not given that name because of the rock music that is

played (ironically so, because the idea of a church for rock music was initially what lead her to

attend). Rachel told me that [it] is called The Rock Church because you should be making Jesus
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your rock. Deuteronomy 32:4 reads, The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he (English Standard Bible, Deut.

32.4).

From another perspective, Megan Woodard, a new member of the church (and cousin to

Lindsey and Rachel), likes that she is welcome to be herself at TRC. She mentioned that you

dont have to feel guilty in your own skin, because no matter what you do, God loves you. Of

course you will be judged for your actions, but you can repent- not out of guilt but because its

what you want to do to become closer to God.

Walking into the church for the first time, and not knowing anything about it, I had a

different perspective on the focal point of the church. The people at the church seemed to put

emphasis on the treatment of others. They all show genuine respect and concern for one another

along with those who do not attend their church. After the first songs of the session were played,

an enthusiastic woman walked onto the stage to make church announcements. One of the

announcements she made was about a new program they made called The Rock Cares. A

video was shown explaining what that entailed. It was described as a large service project.

People volunteer to go to countries in need of aid and help them in any way possible. The video

talked about service being done in our own community as well.

On their website, it was even further explained, saying, we are committed to being the

hands and feet of Christ, and we want to do our best to connect to the greater body of believers

in our own church, our local community, and the world. They have many organizations that

they try to reach out to. They are categorized as foster/adoption/orphans, homeless/refugees,

international/missions, and family support. Each month, they pick one of the organizations from

one of the categories and highlight it. They encourage people to serve those organizations in any
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way they are able. When I attended their church services, they were highlighting a trip to

Romania. In the trip, they will build churches and a children's ministry at Casa Sperantei, or the

House of Hope in Azardu.

The Rock Church focuses a lot on service and helping other people. Megan Woodard

says that the people who attend TRC are all so welcoming, and always smiling, and giving.

They always want to help others with what they need. not because they feel like they have to.

They want to give and be kind because it's their choice.

Along those lines, all of the people interviewed believe that The Rock Church changes

people for the better. Lindsey saw the biggest change in her mom when they started going to

TRC as a family. She reports that her mom had not been religious since she left the LDS church

many years ago. Since coming to The Rock Church, her mom seems to be happier. She enjoys

having something to look forward to each week, and kind people to rely on when times get

difficult.

Since attending TRC, the Lindsey, Rachel, and Megans whole family claims to have

made positive changes in their lives, especially with relationships. Megan states that her family

get[s] along so much better because we see each other frequently, and we go to church as a

family, and then sometimes we go to lunch. It's a family bonding activity and I think the Rock

has definitely brought us closer together than at first. I had the opportunity to witness the

change in their family. Megan and her family moved away from their extended family for a few

years. Since it was nearly impossible to have the entire family together at one time, they did not

have very many family gatherings, aside from a summer barbeque and a Christmas party. They

now see one another at least once a week for church services. I accompanied them for breakfast
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after church one morning, and everyone at the table, from the teenagers to the grandparents, was

engaged in conversation and laughing.

The Rock Church studies the bible, but they teach and read from a different version than

most Christian religions. They read the English Standard Version. This is essentially the same as

the King James version as far as principals and teachings go, but it is translated and condensed

into a language that makes more sense to modern day people. For example, Deuteronomy 5:44 in

the King James version reads, but I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you,

do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you

(King James Bible, Deut. 5.44). In the Standard English Version, it is simplified to, but I say

unto you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (English Standard Bible,

Deut. 5.44). Since they use the bible as their foundation, members believe in following the ten

commandments. Rachel stated that the commandments are treated more lightly. They advise

you to follow them, but they are very forgiving and understand that people make mistakes. They

dont make you feel guilty when you do [make mistakes]. They just tell you to repent.

Along with the bible, music is used to portray their beliefs. They believe in the power of

music that the main musician is considered a pastor as well as the speakers, because he preaches

through music. Each service starts and ends with music. Megan believes that music has always

been something that can bring groups of people together because its a similarity that everyone

shares thats exactly how it is at The Rock. Everyone feels close and its spiritual, and I think

thats way cool. Walking into the room where the service takes place, you are presented with a

large stage, illuminated by colorful lights. There are several musicians (guitarist, drummer,

pianist, singers, etc.) who enter the stage. They play their instruments and sing their songs

passionately, gesturing to heaven occasionally.

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Each musician who plays at the rock church must agree with the mission statement, I

have been put on the earth to touch the world for God through music and to be part of the best

bands in the world known for loving Jesus Christ (Home, experiencetherock.com). When the

band comes out, everyone in attendance stands up. There are projections which show the lyrics

to every song so that people can join them in praising the Lord through song. I love their

songs you can tell that theyre genuinely happy when they sing and play music. That makes

me truly happy, stated Lindsey. Each song expresses their love of God with lyrics like, open

up our ears so that we might hear how your word it burns like fire your beauty, your glory,

your name alone, which is an original song by a pastor at TRC named Steele Croswhite

(Croswhite). Rachel recalls that her mother once held her hands up during a song and said she

felt pressure on her palms. She knows that that was the Spirit.

One of the most important beliefs was demonstrated to me during my visits. As

mentioned before, the rock church puts emphasis on the treatment of other people. The Rock

Church website has a description of what the church is, and one of the first thing it states is,

we're committed to loving our enemies, refusing to judge people, being kind, and treating others

as we wish to be treated. We seek to love as God loves (Home, experiencetherock.com).

Through music, The Rock reveals another, and perhaps the most important point of focus.

Every song they sing proudly exclaims their dedication to God. In each service, people join

together in singing Christian rock songs. Everyone comes together to worship The Lord with

beautiful melodies and lyrics. An example of this is the song Come Fill Me Up, and the lyrics

are, your strength like the mountains, your glory fills like the sea. Your Spirit covers like water,

youre moving inside of me (Croswhite). Every song mentions how great God is, and how

much they love him. The Rock Church has received judgement for the irreverence of their songs,
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but they all believe that since loving God makes them happy, their worship should represent that

happiness.

As for hot topic societal issues, Lindsey and Rachel say that TRC doesnt put a lot of

focus on them. They are seen as more of a personal belief. Ive always been for gay marriage. I

have nothing against it at all. I dont like the thought or idea of abortion. The baby deserves to

live, even if you dont like the situation you put yourself in. Dont punish someone else for your

own mistake or whatever. I think if youre drinking, you need to be responsible. Control

yourself. I dont like drugs. Just be responsible overall, no matter what youre doing. Remember

who you are, said Lindsey on her views of societal issues. Both Lindsey and Rachel appreciate

the unjudgmental attitude of the people who attend TRC. It allows them to have their own

opinions without fear of being cast out. It allows for individuality between people knowing the

only similarity needed is that they are Gods children.

The Rock Church is a wonderful place of worship, and a new take on Christianity/ how

worship should be approached. The people who attend have a genuine love for Christ and service

to others. Rachel says that since joining TRC, she looks forward to going to church [and]

hearing the lessons. For many people, this rowdy and informal way of worship is the perfect

display of love towards God. It is friendly and fun, just the way that they believe God intended it

to be.
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Works Cited

Home. The Rock Church, www.experiencetherock.com/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017.

Hagen, Hunter Moragan, and Lindsey Kay Knudson. The Rock Church Interview One. 25

March 2017.

Hagen, Hunter Moragan, and Megan Woodard. The Rock Church Interview Two. 12 Apr.

2017.

Hagen, Hunter Moragan, and Rachel Lyn Knudson. The Rock Church Interview Three. 25

March 2017.

Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL, Crossway Bibles, 2001.

The Bible: King James Version. Glasgow, Collins, 2008.

The Rock Church. Awakened by Hope. Los Angeles, California.