Kira Dittman – Church Visit #3

Church name: Second Baptist Church—Wheaton

Church address: 1520 Avery Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: 11/1/15

Church category: Different racial demographic

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

Liturgically, this worship service was very similar to the order of service at my childhood Lutheran church. We opened with a few worship songs and then proceeded through a scripture reading, announcements, greetings, the sermon, communion, and the benediction, all interspersed with more times of worship. What stood out at the service was the time they took to welcome us as visitors along with a few other guests and the long stretch of time allowed for people to walk around and greet one another. I greeted at least a dozen people and still felt rather anti-social compared to the rest of the congregants. The main difference was, of course, that this church’s congregation is virtually entirely African American while my regular church contexts are mostly white. The service’s mood, music selections, and length all reflected the racial demographic of the congregation and made them stand out from my usual experience. 

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

What I liked most about the service was the engaged attitude of the congregation. I have always loved sitting in services with lots of what I call response-style listening (such as yelling “preach!”) going on even though I would be extremely conspicuous if I did such a thing in my regular churches. I loved the shared love and experience that I could sense flowing from the choir to the pastor to the old woman in the pew in front of me. The constant proclamations of blessedness and songs of thanksgiving also touched me. So easily, I think, white Protestant church services can take the tone of a bunch of naughty children having been gathered to realize what they did wrong, to repent, and to walk out feeling mildly assured and hopeful. But at Second Baptist, you can tell the primary reason for gathering is simply to worship God, and that includes giving thanks for things most people take for granted like a roof over your head and clothes on your back. Forgiveness is, miraculously, part of the deal, but God is due his glory no matter what he chooses to do or not do for us.

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

The worship and prayer style was a little beyond my potential for enjoyment, simply in terms of volume and unfamiliarity, though obviously the second factor would change over time. The simple, repetitive lyrics of African-style worship songs can be powerful, but I will admit that I prefer the well-formed lyrics of classic hymns and more “white” melody lines. The loud, exclamatory preaching style also disoriented me a bit though I did really enjoy the pastor’s line of thought and how he made Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians come alive to the congregation. Also, since the message was geared towards convincing Christians to rise up and tackle the evil principalities of our contemporary America, I felt myself being implicitly included in the “other” group of our society. This feeling was certainly due more to my cultural preconceptions about racial communities than anything the pastor said, but it was hard to overcome nonetheless.

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

The first aspect of theology that I saw more clearly today than I ever did growing up was the communal nature God intends our faith to have. Israel was not just a bunch of chosen individuals, but a chosen nation. Similarly, the body of Christ as a whole are now chosen for faith together. I think that the long greeting time at the church and the team-led worship really illuminated this for me. So much emphasis is put on developing a personal relationship with God in my typical settings that it is easy to forget how God wills for us to live and share the gospel in community and how much easier it is to do so when you are not walking alone. Second, the sermon and songs identified God as provider and defender in a very concrete way. Hearing worshippers exclaim their blessedness for having things like a house and a job was really refreshing and reminded me that all good gifts really are from God, not things we have secured for ourselves. Also, the message that if we fight for justice, we will surely win in the end because God is on our side clearly struck a chord in the audience, and I wish I lived out this belief more wholeheartedly in my own life.