Jack Lyons - Church Visit #2

Church name: Willow Chicago
Church address: 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60605
Date attended: March 23, 2014
Church category: different socioeconomic demographic

Describe.
The first most obvious difference that I noticed between Willow Chicago and my home church is that the service took place in Auditorium Theater in downtown Chicago which is a big concert hall auditorium. Much different than the small sanctuary with wooden pews and plain white walls that I'm used to at home. Another big difference was that the person giving the message was not present, it was being done via satellite which was something that I had never experienced. There was hardly any liturgy, just a lot of singing. A lot of different styles of singing that involved several different groups and choirs and leaders. I happened to be there on a Sunday when they were having baptisms, so that was a part of the service and the people being baptized had the chance to speak a little bit about how they came to the place they are at now (they were adults not infants...).

Most appealing.
The most appealing part of the experience was when we got to hear the testimonies of the baptismal candidates. Without going into too much detail, all three of the persons stories were very powerful because they involved drugs or gangs or abuse and usually homelessness for some period. All of them had come to Willow Chicago because they were at a low point in their lives, and after returning several times and slowly becoming involved with the community and programs, they decided to be baptized. It was neat because it spoke to the powerful impact that the congregation is having on the Chicago community in an urban 2014 way. It was also great to be able to hear Bill Hybels speak because he is a very good speaker and has a lot of great stuff to say. It would be cool if he would be able to speak to this congregation in person and deliver a message that is more pointed toward their urban lifestyle.

Most disorienting.
I thought being in the auditorium was a little bit disorienting. It is such a big space that you could sit wherever you wanted and not have to be anywhere near any other people. It seemed like this created a lack of feeling of being apart of a body and a congregation. When you can go in and sit four seats away from the other couple or person in your row then it could happen that you go to the church service on Sunday morning and never even have to talk to anybody. What kind of escalates this a little more is that they make it so dark during the worship and sermon. It seemed very individualistic and maybe that's what attracts some people to it but I thought it was a little strange. I also think this feel may have something to do with it being a satellite church--the person delivering the message isn't even there. Everyone's just watching a screen like they're at the movie theater. Just different than what I am used to.

Illuminated.
This worship experience illuminated the diversity of the body of Christ. This church service came to mind as we were recently talking in class about the need for sacrifice and compromise within the church. There was music of so many different types of genres it was amazing. I was surprised at first by the diversity of the worship but after thinking about it, it really makes sense because they (the worship leaders or whoever) are serving a very diverse group of people. As it is in any urban setting, there is such a broad range of people there--each with their particular tastes and styles. But it seemed that they had moved beyond that and accepted that they are a diverse group which calls for diversity in worship and acceptance (or tolerance) of many types of music and mediums. Seemed like there was an understanding of compromise that was refreshing.