Sarah Antioho - Church Visit #3

Sarah Antioho – Church Visit #3

Blog Title:  Sarah Antioho – 3

Church Name:  Concord MB (Missionary Baptist) Church

Church Address:  6319 South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637

Date attended: 3/23/14

Lower socioeconomic demographic

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

This church service is pretty much completely opposite of what I am used to.  The service is very interactive between the preacher and the congregation.  There were shouts and cries of “Amen,” “Yes,” “Hallelujah,” and laughter throughout the whole service.  At the beginning of the message, the organ was playing “in response” to the preacher.  It was very interesting, and I thought it enhanced the service and encouraged the congregation to also respond to the service.  The preacher was very animated and enthusiastic.  He was intentional in when to pause and let the congregation respond.  Because of this, the service was very long—at least an hour long.  The music was very enthusiastic.  There was dancing and a lot of repetition in the verses and lyrics of the songs.  This was an all black church. 

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

I loved how interactive the service was.  The response to the preacher during the message was a kind of liturgy in itself.  At my home church there is not response at all.  Only during baptisms does the congregation respond with “We will” to the prompts of the pastor.  We say the creeds and Lord’s Prayer together, but otherwise, no one speaks.  The practice of interacting in the service and with the pastor helped me have a posture of worship instead of a “what can I get from this service” mindset.

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

It was difficult to listen to a service for an hour.  I usually like to take notes during the service, and I found that I couldn’t take notes during the service because I felt the preacher jumped around too much.  There wasn’t much of an order or an outline to his message. 

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

This church setting emphasized the importance of worshiping and not just learning.  We should not go to church only for ourselves and for enhancing our own spiritual state.  We should also remember that at church we are meant to worship God and serve others.  I think that this service emphasizes the community aspect of the church and not the individual nature of its members.