Lisa Moore - Church Visit #3

Church name: Lawndale Christian Community Church

Church address: 3827 W. Ogden Avenue, Chicago, IL 60623

Date attended: March 30^th 2014

Church category: Low SES

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

Once I entered Lawndale, I knew that this would be a different service than what I am used to.  Being from a wealthy neighborhood and attending a college in a wealthy area, Lawndale was very different socioeconomically. Another difference was the racial diversity within the congregation.  I visited Lawndale Christian Community Church the same week lots of other Wheaton students did, so that may have added to the racial diversity.  However, I believe I saw many different families of different races throughout the congregation. Compared to most churches I have visited or attended, this church seemed to be a better racial representation of the body of Christ. The church building was also very different from what I am used to.  Instead of a typical church building with a stained glass sanctuary, LCCC meets in an old gym in the health center.  It was difficult for my car full of friends to find it! Instead of a pulpit, there was a stage in the middle of the gym with seats circling around it on all sides.  There were no pews; there were folding chairs.  It was definitely a less formal setting.

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

What I found most interesting and appealing did not actually occur in the worship service, although I definitely found the service to be worshipful.  I was impressed and intrigued by the community outreach part of Lawndale Christian Community Church and the presence of the church in the neighborhood.  The entire main street was covered with posters, signs, and buildings dedicated to LCCC.  People in the community definitely know about the church and all that it has to offer the community members. The church has a legal center, medical center, fitness, and youth center (at least, those are the different ministries I heard about).  This church makes their neighbors know that they can find aid at the church.  They make other people feel welcome.  They really seem to value redeeming others’ physical needs and spiritual needs.    

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

The service was definitely divided into two sections: one hour of music and one hour of the sermon.  The long length of the service was unusual to me.  The most challenging part of the service was listening to the sermon.  He had a lot of wonderful, biblical things to say; however, he would go on tangents that did not always relate to the biblical text.  Sometimes it seemed like he was prioritizing the biblical text and it’s context, but then he would go off on a personal tangent that had to do with his own agenda.  For instance, at one point he mentioned parenting and how if you bring your kids up in the church right, they will not stray from the faith.  First of all, I believe that is a very dangerous statement to make.  Secondly, that point does not relate to Luke 23:46.  His sermon seemed convoluted and confusing to me due to my not understanding his organization.  The songs were also different for me.  Their repetitiveness were very meditative, but I missed the theological depth that other worship songs possess.

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

Even if the songs were repetitive, the congregations’ true joy was so apparent.  They could have sung his praises unendingly.  I loved being a part of that, and it was a little view of heaven as we were joyfully singing his praises.  I also admired Lawndale Christian Community Church’s obvious hospitality.  They gave us Wheaton students a warm welcome, and the make LCCC a known place in the neighborhood that has big open doors in the community.  The church member’s love for one another was also obvious.  They all seemed to know each other and care for one another deeply.  I loved seeing the church family function.  Church members made each other feel known, and they were encouraging of one another.  The pastor was calling out different people throughout his sermon! He definitely appeared to know his congregation well.  God calls us to love him and to love others, and I believe that LCCC does that very well.  (I also believe that that is their mission statement!)  They definitely took those important commandments to heart.