Lauren Graham - Visit #2

Church of the Beloved Streeterville

375 E. Chicago Ave. Chicago IL 60611

3/1/15

Different ethnic or racial demographic

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

            The worship service I attended was different from my church in ways, but it was similar to other churches I have visited and I am familiar with.  It was similar to my church in its doctrine and denomination.  The message was similar to something I would hear in my church.  However, it was different in that it is much more contemporary than what I am used to in the main service at my church.  I attend the main service which is very traditional, and then I also attend the college group, which is much more informal and has a contemporary style of worship.  It reminded me of my college group service.  In addition, the demographic is different--it appeared to be about 85% Asian and 15% Caucasian.  We sang, there was a testimony given, the pastor gave the message and we ended with communion.

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

            I found the church’s intentionality after the service to be appealing.  Everyone was invited to stay for a meal in order to have time to talk and meet each other.  They do this each week.  This was new to me; I have been invited to stay after to talk and build community, but for the church to provide food for everyone was amazing.  The church is a lot smaller than my church, but it was still very cool to see a body care so much about the time spent together afterwards.  I also really enjoyed Dave Choi.  He did a wonderful job of being engaging, real, and passionate about God’s Word.  I think he does a lot for the church.           

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

            One small thing that was a little challenging for me personally was the location.  The church meets in an auditorium that was pretty dark and dismal.  I realize this does not really matter, but it created a very different feel.  In addition, I did not feel extremely welcome or comfortable which surprised me since I went with some people who attend the church regularly.  During the worship service, I felt fine.  But during the time afterwards when people were talking and eating together, I felt pretty uncomfortable.  I did not necessarily feel out of place, just not welcomed by the body.  It was not terrible; I just thought some of the people might have tried to get to know me during lunch.

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

            Pastor Dave spoke about how they often have new believers give their testimonies in front of the church each month.  He went on to explain that the purpose is to encourage those who are not believers yet.  But the other part of the purpose is to remind those Christians how amazing the love of God is.  He explained that he wonders why the new believer is the one who is the most in awe of Christ.  Shouldn’t believers who have known Jesus for years be even more excited and in awe of Christ?  I had never thought of it that way.  I think the testimony did both.  I would hope that it encouraged the non-believers, but it also encouraged me.  Hearing testimonies of new believers brings me back to the amazing love and grace of God.  I appreciated his thoughts on this; it made me view testimonies in a new way.