Austin Sahly - Church Visit 2

Church Name: Bethel Atlanta
Church Address: P.O. Box 656, Tyrone, GA. 30290
Date Attended: March 9, 2014
Church Category: Significantly Less Liturgical

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

Bethel Atlanta was the first pentecostal church service I have ever attended, and it stood out in sharp contrast to the traditional nature of the liturgically-based College Church service I am used to attending. At the outset of the service, the worship band invited the congregation to not only stand and sing, but also to join them at the front of the sanctuary for the remainder of worship through singing. Communion was offered off to the side of the sanctuary during this time, but this was not announced or delivered by leaders in the church; rather, you could go and receive communion yourself if you felt led. After worship, the congregation returned to their seats for a baby dedication done entirely through video. Then, the sermon was delivered by two different leaders—a man and a woman—each speaking for around ten minutes. In all, the basic structure of the service was familiar, but the actual means for worship were entirely different.

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

The thing I found most interesting about the worship service was the way that the church leaders and the congregation interacted with God. There were several occasions during corporate prayer and teaching when the speaker would refer to God as “Papa” and the congregation as his beloved children. The attitude towards God was that we are all dearly loved children of God. This attitude towards God in worship stood out to me as a contrast to the reverence I am accustomed to. If worship services were placed on a spectrum between outright reverence on one end and God as friend on the other, this service was refreshingly on latter end of the spectrum. And this attitude saturated every element of the worship service. From the way we prayed to the way we worshiped, from the way we were taught to the way we greeted one another, there was an overwhelmingly positive attitude about God and how he loves us, his children.

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

The most disorienting aspect of the worship service was the lack of Scripture present during the service. The bible was not opened once during the service, and this was frustrating to me as a worshiper. There were references to biblical stories and verses during the sermon, but neither of the pastors opened the bible, and the congregation was not given the opportunity to do so either. As a result, it seemed that the time of teaching more stemmed from personal interpretation, and this was challenging for me to receive as a worshipper. In a way, it put too much pressure on the teacher, in that they were the authority on God’s word, rather than God’s word itself being the authority. Resultantly, both sermons seemed vague and tended towards the protestant liberal assertion of “God loves us, so we love others”. In all, there was not much scriptural support for the claims and challenges during the time of teaching.

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

Participating in this worship service really opened my eyes to the presence of the Holy Spirit during a common Sunday service. Many times, it can be difficult to engage with the Holy Spirit in all of the liturgy and tradition I am used to, but witnessing a Pentecostal service like this one really enlightened me to the power the Holy Spirit has even in the most basic and seemingly monotonous areas of life. Each section of the service provided an experiential opportunity for the worshiper to engage personally with the Holy Spirit, and there was a common assumption among the congregation that God truly was present in the form of the Holy Spirit in the sanctuary. This attitude enlivens my understanding of the book of Acts in the way the Spirit was active among the first believers. Practically, I need to work to infuse this attitude towards God’s presence into my regular Sunday experience.