Church name: Second Baptist Church of Wheaton
Church address: 1520 Avery Avenue, Wheaton, IL 60187
Date attended: March 23, 2014
Church category: Different racial/ethnic demographic
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
Second Baptist is an African-American church and the worship service differed from my regular context in many ways. In the Asian churches that I've grown up in and regularly attend, the worship is more reflective and structured so that you always know what's coming next and when to sit/stand. The entire service at Second Baptist was quite energetic and worshipful from the worship through song to the altar call prayer and the sermon. It has been a while since I attended a service where the pastor gave an invitation at the end of his sermon for people to come forward if they want to make a decision for Christ. I also noticed that there wasn't a projection of the words for the worship songs or the Scripture passage or points for the sermon. It was refreshing to worship simply and in a context that had such a tight community praising God together. This was also one of the very few times where I have felt awkward and uncomfortable being the minority. But after being introduced and welcomed, I felt more comfortable and was reminded of the beauty of diversity in the body of Christ.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
I liked how the service involved many young people- making announcements, leading worship, and singing in a youth choir. The congregation was very involved during the entire service- even as a visitor, I didn't feel like I could just be a spectator. The congregants would constantly be moving from postures of sitting to standing and engaging with what was being said with verbal affirmations. Even the offering collection required the people to walk down the aisles to the front, rather than passing the offering plates through the rows. I appreciated how welcoming the people in the church were as they greeted guests with handshakes and hugs. The greeting portion of the service was more than the usual "turn and greet the people around you," but a very intentional time for people to greet others across the room and exchange a few words of conversation in the aisles.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
During the sermon, I was most distracted by the responses from the congregation and the additions from the organ and percussionist. In my regular context, there are the occasional "Amens" from a few people in the congregation during the pastor's sermon, but it is a lot more sporadic and intentional in affirming the speaker's strong points. But at Second Baptist, the verbal affirmations from the congregation came quite frequently throughout the entire service, sometimes at parts that were least expected. The pastor also spoke loudly, yelling at times, which was distracting for me and even made it hard for me to understand what he was saying at times.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
I appreciated the emphasis on prayer that the service and the church seemed to embody. I had never experienced an Altar Call prayer where people came up to the front to receive prayer. I thought it was a quite powerful gesture and reminder of humility in coming before the Lord in prayer. Requests for healing and daily provision were acknowledged and prayed over. It was a very Spirit-filled place and had a celebratory atmosphere, which I feel that I often to forget on Sunday mornings when I'm tired or have a lot on my mind. But as the sermon highlighted, the declaration of choosing to follow and serve God is life-changing - and that is something to celebrate and praise God for and to live out in the context of community with other brothers and sisters.
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