Timothy Chung – Church Visit #2

Timothy Chung – Church Visit #2

Church name: Lawndale Christian Community Church

Church address: 3860 W. Ogden Ave. Chicago, IL 60623

Date attended: 3/16/14

Church Category: Significantly lower socioeconomic demographic, more than ten miles away from Wheaton College

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

            The worship service at Lawndale Christian Community Church (LCCC) was similar to my regular non-denominational worship service in many ways. There was a distinct order to the service, which included a time of praise, greeting one another, and a sermon. Moreover, the style of praise at LCCC was a mix of gospel and contemporary Christian music, which I am used to. However, the service at LCCC was also very different from my regular worship context. It took place in a gym, with simple sound equipment, and no extravagant decorations. In order not to shame the poor, collecting offerings was not part of the service. Instead, attendees could place their offerings into a simple, inconspicuous offering box near the rear of the gym. The most striking difference between my regular church context and LCCC was that the majority of the attendees were low income African Americans.

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

            The most appealing aspect of participating in the service at LCCC was worshipping in a church that exemplifies the Gospel. I was captivated by the history of LCCC, being a church with humble beginnings that has grown into an established, well-known multifaceted ministry. With health clinics, a fitness center, legal services, and rehabilitation programs, LCCC has become a ministry committed to investing in the holistic betterment of Lawndale. Worshipping at LCCC gave me the opportunity to participate in and learn about how an effective church operates. Many of the attendees work or are involved in the ministries of the church. In this way, they are able to live the gospel in a different, deeper manner than I have ever witnessed before. Being at LCCC encouraged and pushed me to stop simply learning about Christianity, but to truly understand it through practice.

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

            LCCC is composed of members who have diverse testimonies, many of which contain extremely broken pasts relating to drug abuse and crime. Growing up in an affluent suburban Christian family, my parents had always told me to stay away from African American men and would always lock the car doors when stopped at traffic lights in the city with beggars. The most challenging aspect of the worship service for me was fighting the cognitive dissonance between what I have been taught as a child and the fact that the gospel is for everyone. Being uncomfortable at LCCC helped me to realize that I had been living in fear of people instead of in obedience to the Lord. I realized that living in fear of people had significantly limited my ability to practice the gospel and that I need to overcome it in order to be a more whole and effective Christian.

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

Growing up in Naperville, a rich suburb of Chicago, I was ignorant to and able to avoid dealing with the issues plaguing those in the city. However, being in Lawndale and worshipping with its residents brought me face to face with these issues and a view of the Gospel that I had not experienced in my suburban context. My visit to LCCC illuminated the aspect of the Gospel that claims forgiveness for the sins of all who believe in Christ and calls for Christians to forgive those who sin against them. As the speaker was preaching on forgiveness, he shared a story of his own journey to forgiving the people who had beat him up and thrown him into the trunk of a car, landing him in the hospital. I was humbled, realizing that the speaker experienced the true struggle and power of forgiveness that I have yet to understand.