McRoberts- Church Visit 1

Blog title: McRoberts- Church Visit 1

Church name: Willow Creek

Church address: 67 Algonquin Rd, South Barrington, Illinois 60010

Date attended: Februrary 8th

Church category: Significantly less liturgical

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

Willow Creek was incredibly different than the churches I attend at Wheaton and at home. Firstly, it was a mega-church. Both the churches I attend have either 400-0600 in attendance. Willow Creek houses at least 5,000 on any given Sunday. In fact, the congregation is so large that the church is divided into campuses. The actual worship was a production. While my church has a small choir, Willow Creek has a contemporary Christian concert. There is music, lights, video screens, and beautiful singers. The actual seating of the sanctuary divides the multi-thousand stadium seating into smaller sections to create a unified and personal church feel. The message was pretty typical of the churches I attend. Interestingly enough, I did not feel secluded or lost because of the immensity of the congregation. The pastor almost seemed trained in public speaking.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

I found the “group mentality” most appealing. There was something truly beautiful about a body of Christ followers that large. Although I go to Wheaton College, a fairly large group of Christians, Willow Creek possessed a huge passion that I really have not witnessed on such a large scale. My prediction was that I would really dislike the large congregation and the non-traditional atmosphere but I was pleasantly surprised. Although there were at least 3,000 in attendance, we still had to greet our neighbors and shake their hand. I really appreciated the intricate work that was done to create a unified and welcoming atmosphere. Perhaps if I attended longer, I would feel disappointed to my inability to know the majority of the church body. During this visit, however, I felt very cared for and significant to the members of the church that surrounded me. I truly applaud the administration and councils of the church for bringing the positives of a small church into the mega-church’s walls.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I was not impressed by the music. There seemed to be a distance between the singers and the congregation. The singers were dressed up in contemporary country/western clothes and really were dancing with the beat. Although the music was very impressive in itself, it did not seem to fit the reason behind the music. The lights were turned off and so you could better see the musicians but this seemed to separate those performing and those worshipping. There almost seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not the congregation should join the band or merely watch the production. I was distracted by the big screens behind the band that were projecting a music video. The songs were well known Christian pop songs but there were no hymns or traditional worship. Some of the elder members seemed a little confused on how to handle the overly contemporary production. Overall, it seemed to distracting to the true purpose of the music.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

The pastor was truly a talented speaker. I had expected to feel lost in the sea of people during the sermon. Despite my predictions, he had truly drawn all into his message. He spoke about belief and its vital importance to Christianity. He really emphasized the importance between beliefs and preferences. This was incredibly refreshing. I feel many churches try to convert everyone to their own preferences and “beliefs”. I thought the message spoke really well to its megachurch audience. Because it is an incredibly seeker friendly church, they really do need to emphasize the truths to Christianity. So often it is the preferences that give Christians their bad name. My father grew up in a church that “believed” (but really preferred) that movies, alchohol, blue jeans, and makeup were inherently wrong.  It was incredibly enlightening to me to hear that what matters most at the core is what Christians know is truth.