Church Visit #3 - Anna George

Church Visit #3 - Anna George

Church name: Antioch Community Church

Church address: Longfellow Elementary, 311 Seminary Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: Sunday 4/6/2014

Church category: Different liturgical service

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

The service at Antioch Community Church was different from my regular context in Wheaton (All Souls' Anglican Church), but it was more similar to my family's church at home in Montana, Easthaven Baptist Church. In this way, it was special and enlightening to get to attend Antioch, especially as I am about to spend a summer at home, where I will be regularly attending my family's church. I attended Antioch with my friend Whitney, who has attended Antioch for about 3 years now, I believe. The location of the church, like Lawndale Community Church's (my last visit), was different than any church I have attended, as the church meets in a school's gym. Whitney and I had an interesting discussion about this after the service - she is an artist, and she has studied lots recently about the aesthetics of worshipful spaces throughout history. She was disappointed that despite all of the artists in the congregation, the decorations on the wall are jump-rope awards and other gym class memorabilia. However, she attributes this to the way the church chooses to spend its money, which is God-honoring and requires forgoing buying a church building; we both found this very encouraging and more important than the aesthetics of the space. The worship of the service is different (more contemporary) than All Souls', and the service is less liturgically based (there was one written prayer that was optional to pray during prayer time). Also, there was no celebration of communion, which is different from All Souls' weekly celebration.

 

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

I found that the way the church body worshiped was appealing. One of my struggles with the worship in my church at home is that it seems very individualized - the lights are dimmed low (no one really looks at each other), no one sits too close, and worshipers are encouraged to stand or sit as they see fit throughout the service. This is part of the reason why I am enjoying All Souls', a very liturgical church, during this season of my life - I am encouraged to say the liturgy with the whole church and all participate in the service very much together. That being said, the way that Antioch did worship in a contemporary was very encouraging (also Brian from class was leading worship, which was very fun to see). I felt that the church body was of the same mind and heart as they worshiped, and the worship in music seemed humble and authentic. I talked with my friend Whitney about Antioch's "Life Groups," small groups that meet every week. This seems like an essential part of worship at Antioch, and I think it is a wonderful and helpful thing to gather in small groups and discuss the sermon from the week and pray together. Also, this was a special Sunday because Dr. Root was the speaker, giving a sermon about evangelism that was very engaging and compelling.

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

 Participating fully in worship was a bit difficult for me, not because of the way Antioch worshiped, which I think was appropriate, humble, and enthusiastic, but because of the associations I have with the style of worship. For me, a contemporary style of worship has meant withdrawing from others to supposedly commune with God in a spiritual, emotional experience, as opposed to gathering with the body of Christ to acknowledge each other, our dependence on each other and God, and to communally worship God. Once again, I feel that Antioch does communal worship well, but I may need some time in such a setting for my motives to be in a better place. Also, I know a few people from Antioch and have seen true fruits of the Spirit in their lives; this makes me believe strongly that the Spirit is working in the church and in its worship.

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

Dr. Root's message on evangelism illuminated some Gospel truths - namely God's love for each of his people. I have a difficult time knowing what good evangelism looks like, but Dr. Root pared it down to consistently seeking connection with a person, praying for that person, listening when they speak, and extending an invitation for them to pray and give their life to Christ. Put in the relational, encouraging context that Dr. Root thrives in, this seems much more holistic and effective than something like street corner evangelism (I wasn't sure what was going to be meant by "evangelism" before the actual sermon). I appreciated Dr. Root's emphasis on God's love for each one of us and his genuine work in and through us, even though we are "pea-brained" or a "dufus" in our attempts to share the Gospel. I also appreciated the nuances of his message of God's love - it is a source of security, but it should be the foundation to move us on to often uncomfortable measures of sharing the Gospel and this love with others.