Julianna Mueller - Church Visit #2

Julianna Mueller - Church Visit #2

Church name: Wheaton Bible Church (Iglesia del Pueblo)

Church address: 27W500 North Avenue, West Chicago

Date attended: February 16, 2014

Church category: Different racial demographic

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

            I attended the Iglesia del Pueblo, which is a Spanish-speaking evangelical church within Wheaton Bible Church.  The service took place in a space across the hall from the main sanctuary where the Wheaton Bible Church service was being held at the same time.  I noticed that like my regular context, which is the First Baptist church of Geneva, the service began and ended with contemporary worship music presented by a band, with the song lyrics shown on projector screens.  There were also several differences between the Iglesia del Pueblo service and my regular context.  The most obvious differences were in language and racial demographic, in that the Iglesia del Pueblo service was in Spanish and the congregation was Hispanic, whereas English is spoken in the services at my home church and the majority of the congregation is Caucasian.  In addition, the speaking style that the Pastor Rodriguez used during his sermon was very different from what I am used to at my home church.  Pastor Rodriguez frequently raised his voice to yelling, pounded his fists on the lectern, and became choked up during the prayer after the sermon.  Coming from a context in which the pastor does none of these things, Pastor Rodriguez’s sermon seemed very emotional and intense to me.

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

            I found it interesting that Pastor Rodriguez addressed an issue that he believed was causing a problem within the congregation during his sermon.  He told the congregation to pay particular attention to the third verse of Psalm 15, which describes a person who is worthy to be in the presence of God as someone who does not slander others, because it applied to their interactions with one another.  Pastor Rodriguez went on to state that it is important not to exaggerate the truth when talking about someone else, and not to talk about the sins of others in order to make yourself feel superior.  I have never heard a pastor explicitly address an issue that his congregation was dealing with, but rather general statements about how Christians should live.  I think that some Christians, including myself, feel most comfortable when they can listen to the pastor’s message while remaining anonymous in regards to how they fall short personally and collectively.  I find what Pastor Rodriguez did during his sermon appealing because it put the issue out in the open and caused me, and likely others, to reflect on how Christians should treat one another.

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

            The service was over two hours long, whereas I am used to services that are an hour and fifteen minutes long at most.  As a result, I found it difficult to focus on the sermon towards the end of the service.  Also, Pastor Rodriguez’s intense speaking style during the sermon was a bit jarring and made me feel slightly uncomfortable.  At the end of the sermon, Pastor Rodriguez invited anyone in the congregation who had an impure heart and wanted to ask God to purify it to kneel at the front of the stage.  Around 20 people went up to the stage, and Pastor Rodriguez shed tears as he prayed over them.  This is something that would never happen at my home church and that I have never experienced firsthand, so I found it pretty disorienting.

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

            In his sermon, Pastor Rodriguez explained that one does not need to exhibit virtues to have faith.  Instead, virtues naturally result from one’s faith, and their purpose is to give glory to God.  I did not realize until I heard this explanation that I had been viewing virtuous behavior as something that I needed to exhibit to please God.  I also noticed that Pastor Rodriguez’s message reflected the theology of Luther in that faith alone, not works, is what God requires of us.