Joanne Kim – Church Visit #1

Church name: Armitage Baptist Church

Church address: 2451 N. Kedzie Ave.

Date attended: September 28, 2014 (evening service)

Church category: Multiracial Baptist church, diverse socioeconomic demographic

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

The service started out with the worship team leading hymns and contemporary worship songs. The team was composed of one male vocal, bass, drums, and keyboard. The male vocal spoke personal prayers in between the songs with “I” and “me”, yet inviting the church members to join together in his prayers. This style of worship was different from the way of worship that I am familiar, since I am used to participating in a worship session that usually have more vocals and prayers that use corporate pronouns. Though because it was personal, it was powerful. The setting of the church service too added to this impact. The pews were set in the chapel in a semi-circular format around the podium, engaging the members to the message and worship being led by an individual on stage. The announcements, offering, sermon, and benediction followed with prayers and worship songs in between to let the flow of the service to run smoothly. NASB Bibles were set on the pew – I am more familiar with ESV or NIV. (word count: 174)

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

I was impressed with how the church attracted diverse group of members, both racially and socioeconomically. The service implicitly recited different struggles that both of high income and low income Christians go through. During the announcement, I was informed that the church is offering a financial training session to the members and encourages building disciples who can live out Christian doctrine in their daily routines. This was my first time attending a church that offered such training. Not to mention, the pastor’s sermon was approachable and engaging, regardless of how he didn’t forget to go in-depth on analyzing just four verses (Colossians 1:9-12). He explained the origins of certain words from the text, which could sound esoteric at times, but in an accessible way with using simple vocabularies for the attendees to understand. He also didn’t forget to emphasize the importance of the Word by stating “We know God through this book!” (152)

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

One thing I wished to know better and thought the church may be lacking was the elders and the deacons’ (or other members) partaking in the service. Except for the worship led by the worship team and the announcement led by one of the staff, the lead pastor single-handedly led the rest of the service, including the reading of the Scripture. The leadership of the elders and the deacons of the church were not noticeable to me, which I am sure could have been more indirectly involved on the backstage of the service. This could have been more so because I attended the evening service. After the service, a lady approached me for a brief introductory conversation and mentioned that the evening service is more sermon-focused. Later I found out through the church’s website that she was actually also one of the staff members, not a regular church member. (149)

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 pastor explained much about Gnosticism and how the text, Colossians 1:9-12, was written by Paul in against it. I learned how Gnosticism thinks ethical experience is above virtue and how this is contrary to how Christians are to live out the Bible. The pastor also specifically talked about the word “filled” in the text, emphasizing on its significance in relation to the meaning of surrender. He explained that the word was used in alluding to meaning “permeation to the point of domination” for the Spirit to work in our lives. I was challenged by these ideas that the sermon laid out for me. If this same passage was preached in a Korean church context, I believe the pastor would have possibly considered more on how Paul prays without ceasing. It was refreshing to be at a service where the pastor focused on a single word on the text that I didn’t give much thought before. (156)