Church Review
Scriptural View: 5/5
Beliefs: 5/5
Community: 5/5
Preaching: Exegetical
Worship: Choruses
Service times: 10:00 am

Review: I attended a service at Portico in November. The meeting I attended was at the Ugly Mug coffee shop in downtown Orange where the church gathers on Sunday mornings. The Ugly Mug is a old-town house converted into a coffee shop and has sort of become the hip, indie, gypsy, artsy (and whatever other cool adjectives you want to fill in) hang out for many of the Chapman University students over the last few years. The main room packs out around 50 or more people on some nights when the coffee shop hosts poetry readings or live music.

Shortly after walking through the doors I was greeted by a couple of genuinely nice guys. They told me that they had just recently started having church together there at the Ugly Mug last month. We chatted for awhile and then the service began. Everyone took a seat and then one of the guys I had been talking to led us all in the singing of a couple popular worship choruses of petition while playing his guitar.

After the worship time in song, the Pastor, Jon Cochran explained that Portico believes in studying God's Word by going through the books of the Bible and dealing with each verse. This week's passage of study was Philippians 2:12-30. Pastor Jon passionately proclaimed that the command of verse 12, "to work out your salvation" is not a working for salvation but is rather the proper result of God's saving work in our lives. He showed how verse 13 clearly states this salvation is because it is "God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." Pastor Jon held out his forearms showing his tattoos which have the words "sola gratia" (grace alone) inscribed on one and the words "sola fide" (faith alone) inscribed on the other and explained that salvation is always by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus in Scripture. He was rigorous in pointing out that salvation is something God does in us and that the faith he gives us is shown true by the good works He enables us to perform. Pastor Jon followed the text closely teaching that good works are what enables us to shine like lights so that people might see Christ and be compelled to worship and love God through Him. As a group we looked at the three examples of such lights that this passage of Philippians refers to: Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. It was pointed out how each example challenges us as Christians to be more than just what Pastor Jon called, "the frozen chosen." Instead, he said we as Christians need to reach out and take the gospel to our neighbors and co-workers and everyone else with Christ's love and good deeds. Pastor Jon spoke many other encouraging words and concluded his sermon with the serving of the Lord's Supper. People intermittently walked up to partake of the elements while the guy I met at the beginning of the service led everyone in a few more songs of human petition and a couple of songs of declarative praise to God for who He is.

I would highly recommend this church as a great place to grow in your knowledge and love of God both because of their strong commitment to the study of God's Word and because of their strong commitment to reach out to the neo-pagan culture of our day.