Church Name:
New Hope Bible Fellowship
Church
Address: 1391 Rolling Oaks Dr. Carol Stream
Date
Attended: 2/16/14
Church
Category: Different Ethnic or Racial Demographic
Describe
the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your
regular context?
My church visit was
rather unique in the sense we met in a house. To further the sense or newness,
there were only about 12 people there, half of whom were not Anglo-Americans.
There was a Liberian family, a Chinese couple and their friend from law school
who had only been following Jesus for two weeks.
The basic structure of
the service was rather similar to my regular church context thought the order
was a little different. We read scripture, sang a few worship songs, listened
to a teaching that was based on a specific passage in Ephesians, had a giving
time and closed out with prayer.
What sis you find most interesting or appealing
about the worship service.
Things
got really different after the “service” ended. We moved into the living room,
tea and pastries in hand and had a bible study. The bible study ended
conveniently at dinner time. My church experience concluded with a community
meal.
What did
you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
This
church was extremely diverse. The age range ran from a nine-year-old girl to an
84 year-old man. The education levels span from lawyer to barely literate. There
were Liberians, Chinese, East Coaters and natives of Chicago land. Every one of
these people was welcomed into the conversation and every one of them had some
valuable perspective to contribute.
As you can imagine, I
felt rather out of place. This made me feel rather irrelevant. This was true
until I realized that this was exactly the point. The diversity street runs
both ways. Just as I had much to learn from these people by sheer virtue that
they were different from me, they could say the same of me. At the end of the
day, we had a rather holistic view of the God that we had all gathered to
worship.
What did
you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
Our sanctuary was a living
room. Everyone who was at the house church was there because they shared a
rather deep personal connection to the pastor and her husband. This obviously
fostered a rather familiar atmosphere. While this does come with a measure of
advantage, it did lead to a rather laid back atmosphere.
It
was not uncommon for someone to interrupt the pastor while she was mid-point.
There are definite advantages to fostering an atmosphere of feedback. However,
feedback does not come without costs. It was evident that the pastor had
intended to address many of the questions that people had later on in her
sermon.
At
the end of the day, it is probably a very helpful practice for such a small
church. To an outsider like me, it was rather uncomfortable. I am very unused
to church being interrupted by people’s opinions.
What
aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you
that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
Throughout the service, I was struck by God’s
nearness in suffering. This was never directly addressed, but rather pointed at
throughout my time at the house church. Even real suffering can be perceived as
a blessing because it is both an opportunity for an individual to allow God to
work in them and an opportunity for God to work in their circumstance.
The
pastor’s husband shared a testimony of his recent practice of breath prayer.
Every time he was faced with a new situation or circumstance, weather good or
bad, he would stop just long enough to remember to pray, say “Thank you Lord.”,
and tackle what was in front of him. He is not only rejoicing in the areas that
he is blessed in, but every aspect of life.
If
God is near even is suffering, it only makes sense that we rejoice with Him in
that.
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