Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
Brotherly Love was quite different even before I walked in the door. It is located in a poor neighborhood on Chicago's west side, where parking is difficult and limited. We hit traffic on the way to church, so we were about ten minutes late, but interestingly never felt looked down upon or singled out. We were obviously the only white people in the church, but still felt very welcomed and at home. It made me wonder if the same would be true for a black person visiting a predominantly white church.
The worship style and service structure was very different as well. One of the first things I heard upon entering the church was, "We have an outline for this service but God can change that too!" Although it was structured and ordered, it did not feel that way. There was far more crowd participation as well; not planned participation, but scattered exclamations of praise to God in agreement with what was happening on stage. Even though it was very different, I loved it.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
The most interesting and most appealing part of the service was the emphasis on complete reliance on God, and giving thanks to Him. In a much wealthier congregation, one would assume that the people had more to be grateful to God for. That was far from the case. I heard the words “Thank you, Jesus!” at least a hundred times during the service, whether from the speaker or from the audience. At times it may have been a little redundant, but I don’t think you can give too much thanks to God. It was fascinating to see how a poorer congregation fully relied on God for everything, and in turn gave Him the thanks He deserves. Prayer was also highly emphasized. It seemed like this church had a better idea of the purpose of prayer; even though God knows our requests, it is important to still bring them to Him over and over again, putting our trust in Him for whatever we desire or need.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
The most disorienting part of the service was the lack of education of the leaders. Granted, they are in the process of looking for a pastor, but the speakers had trouble finding passages of Scripture on multiple occasions and made lots of grammar errors. It was not a barrier to my learning from what they had to say, but for others it could have been a distraction. It was also somewhat uncomfortable for me to be in a service consisting mostly of women, with women leading the service. I see nothing wrong with it - in fact, I appreciated it - but it was something that I am unaccustomed to.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
There were three speakers that each preached about a ten-minute sermon; the second speaker was outstanding. She talked about how everything we do is ordained by God for a purpose; each person in attendance was there for a reason, and each of the leaders were “anointed and appointed.” It showed me that everything has a purpose; I entered the service quite frustrated with a number of things that had not gone my way recently, but it was encouraging to hear that each failure, disappointment or trial has a purpose and is in God’s control. I also was glad to be reminded of the importance of prayer, even when it seems like they are not being answered. It is still necessary to bring requests to God and put them at the altar.
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