Church Visit #2

Church Visit #2 - David Burnham

Church name: DuPage AME Church

Church address: 4300 Yackley Ave, Lisle, IL 60532

Date attended: Sunday 3/31/2014

Church category: Different ethnic demographic

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

DuPage AME might have been the strangest service I have been a part of. There was absolutely no structure, and the audience was very involved and enthusiastic. I am familiar with, but have not attended, a charismatic church. Although DuPage is called Episcopal, it was far from that. There was no liturgy whatsoever, and the Bible was not really used so much. The most different part of the service was during the sermon when the organ played while the pastor was speaking, and played louder to provide emphasis. The audience was so loud at points that I could not hear what the pastor was saying; I wonder if they could hear him either, or if they just said “Amen!” because they were supposed to. Either way, it was very interesting to be a part of. At the end of the service, we did a prayer walk around the building to “claim the territory.” I have never seen that done, probably because I come from a church setting that is too large for that, but I thought it was really cool.

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

The most appealing part of the service was the level of enthusiasm by everyone involved in it. The pastor gave his sermon with incredible conviction, the worship leaders sang with great energy, and the audience received it very positively. The most interesting part of the service was the prayer walk around the building. The pastor brought up a time when the church was in need of $150,000 several years ago, the last time they performed a prayer walk. The money ended up coming in the very next day in a miraculous way! This got the audience very excited, and the prayer walk was a very enthusiastic time of petition to God for the needs of the church. They did not address any specific urgent needs, but I am sure each person had something in mind.

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

The most challenging aspect of the service was the level of enthusiasm. As I mentioned before, I am not from a charismatic background and do not worship God in that type of way; I felt very out of place during the music portion of the service when I was not dancing and singing loudly. Additionally, Wheaton students made up the only white people in the church. Granted, it was an African church, but I think having a white staff member would attract more white people to the church. I know a couple people who liked it, but have chosen not to become regular attenders simply because they feel ostracized as a white person in that community. They were very welcoming to us, but it was very clear that we were seen as outsiders.

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’s message was entitled, “The Offer is Still on the Table.” At the beginning of his message, he had each member of the congregation turn to a few people near them and say, “The offer is still on the table!” He brought up a time when he had received a job offer and put it on hold, only to return to the offer and find that it had been withdrawn. He talked to management, and the man who interviewed him informed him that “the offer is still on the table.” He worked in that company for about ten years, and he believes it is the reason he works in the church world today, instead of that previous job which was in the banking sector. His point was that no matter how far we run or whatever we do, God’s offer of salvation to us is still on the table. It was an encouraging reminder to me that despite my infinite shortcomings, God still has infinite grace.