Jonathan Griffin - Church Visit #2

Church name: Lawndale Community Church

Church address: 3827 W Ogden, Chicago, IL 60623

Date attended: 25-Oct-2015

Church category: Lower Socioeconomic Demographic

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

My visit to Lawndale Community Church began as I entered into a lively gymnasium filled with people ready to praise the Lord. Shortly after, a few people began to lead worship on the main platform and everyone eventually found their seats. There was a passage from the Bible read in unison just before the choir took the stage. Later on, another passage from Scripture was read, there was a “Prayer and Praise” time, and the service transitioned into the sermon. Just before Coach began speaking, he led a small lesson for the children of the church on the main stage, much like I remember participating in when I was younger at my own church. As far as the structure of the service, not much was strikingly different than my normal Sunday morning experience. However, many differences did become visible through the style of worship, the prayer and praise time, and the areas targeted by the sermon being preached.

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

The most interesting and appealing part of this worship service was most definitely the singing by the choir and as a congregation. Rarely, if at all, do I see people really getting into and feeling the music. At Lawndale however, the congregation was clapping, dancing, singing, and giving praise to God. Truly, it was a remarkable experience and one I wish happened more at my normal church. The room possessed a freeing atmosphere as a product of the genuine and real praises to God from the people of the church. There was no element of recitation or going through the motions, as I commonly witness at my own church. People were just praising the Lord, as they felt led to. I also loved the Prayer and Praise portion of the service. By having an open microphone for people of the church, their needs and praises can be presented to the congregation in a more personal way than just reading prayer requests from a church bulletin. Both the style of worship and the Prayer and Praise aspects of Lawndale are the things I found most interesting and appealing.

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

Although there were many similarities between LCC and my normal church, there were some striking differences that were challenging for me to work through. Specifically, the style of Coach’s sermon was different than what I was used to. I actually really liked how application-based the message was, but the experiences to which Coach was preaching to were drastically different than anything I had ever experienced. The main passage of Scripture from which he preached spoke about taming the tongue and how practicing self-control of our initial verbal reactions can thwart the escalation into a violent response. Coming from my personal background, the rise of violence out of verbal conflict is uncommon and not something I am used to experiencing. Because of this, the specific areas of application to which Coach preached were not areas I of commonality. On the other hand, this sermon brought awareness of the different perspectives of Scripture and I appreciated hearing the text taught from a different point of view.

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

This worship service was a testament of how connected the church needs to be to all communities. Throughout the entirety of the service, the unity among the church and the community was made evident through how connected the church is to the community members of Lawndale, how active LCC is towards overcoming substantial problems within the community, and how supportive the church is of institutions put in place to protect society. During my typical church services, there rarely seems to be significant programs feeding back into the community in meaningful ways. Upon entering Lawndale, the programs and services offered are made evident. Specifically, I enjoyed how the church coordinated with the local police department to work together in decreasing the violent tension between the community of Lawndale and the police force. As a whole, I have learned how important and beautiful it is to see the people of God working together and pouring into a community. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in Unity” – Psalm 133:1 (ESV)