Church, Vegas Style

Jen and I were in Las Vegas last weekend for a conference, and we got to experience one of the more surreal church services ever. Each Sunday morning, the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay casino hosts the Gospel Brunch. For $35 and a short wait in line, you get access to a gigantic buffet full of soul food and Cajun dishes, and you also get to be part of an exuberant service of black-church style gospel music.

On the one hand, it was the coolest service I've ever attended. It just oozed with talent and style. And the musicians definitely weren't shy about calling on people to worship Jesus, either. From start to finish, the crowd was exhorted to raise their hands to testify to God's goodness and grace.

But about twenty minutes into it, I started to get the slightest bit uncomfortable. Interspersed among the trappings of a church service, there would be the occasional, "Are you having a good time?" And every so often there would be reminders that you were in a restaurant, not a house of worship. However sincere the performers were (and I was regularly reminded that they were entertainers), they were being paid to convey an illusion of worship. However sincere some of the audience was (and I do believe that many were earnest in their praises), we were all paying for food and an experience -- our money was going to profit a non-religious corporation, not to further any ministry.

So I ended up walking out of the House of Blues pretty conflicted. For as fantastic as the experience was, it was, like so many other things in Vegas, only an imitation of the real thing.