The Upstate Beat has a new feature I find intriguing. In the series "Houses of the Holy," one of the Beat’s reviewers (prophets) will anonymously visit a place of worship and report back.
There are thousands of houses of worship in the Upstate and our Prophets are sampling them. From time to time one of our reviewers (or Prophets) will visit one of these Houses of the Holy and share ten standard observations (The 10 Pronouncements) with our readers. Prophets are anonymous visitors, usually on a first-time visit. They are to be respectful at all times, as any visitor should, but we ask them to be candid in print. Our Prophets’ 10 Pronouncements are not set in stone. They’re just first impressions. But first impressions are usually the eternal, er, lasting ones.
I really like this idea, and if I weren’t now tied down with a church job, I might even think of hijacking it.
This week the Beat Prophet visited Brookwood Community Church, the huge megachurch south of town on I-385. The 10 Pronouncements pretty much matched what others have told me of the church. I’ll be curious to see what place they choose to visit next.