Church address: Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway Chicago, IL 60605
Date attended: September 21st, 2014
Church category: Higher economic status, more than ten miles away from Wheaton
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
Willow Chicago church holds service in a large, grand theater. The worship is on a larger scale than I am used to and the worship songs we sang were a lot gospel and soul that I am used to. Though I feel like the congregation itself was more mixed up in terms of diversity in economic status, the leadership and the church itself had a higher scale feel to it- I don't know how to explain it, I guess it's simply a mega church. My church is a congregation of 100 people.They were ambitious with the songs they led, and it didn't seem to matter that people didn't necessarily keep up and sing along. They were free with their vocal riffs and solos with the instruments-different from the Chris Tomlin, Hillsong song choices that are usual in the Korean American Church. The worship leaders and associate pastors on the stage were Black, White, Latino- much more diverse than the leadership I would be used to seeing in Korean American worship context. The general order of service and non-liturgical setting was similar to my general church context.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
The pastor, Bill Hybels, had spoken at the main Willow Creek location in South Barrington and so his sermon was replayed during service at Willow Chicago. After worship, one of the associate pastor did a short segway about Hybel's message before directing our attention to the screen- that definitely was a surprise! It was interesting that so many people gathered at this opera house/ theater to hear a sermon from a pastor who wasn't actually physically present with them. Though I felt like the church "responded" less and service felt less connected and engaging that it would have in a regular pastor to church setting, I felt grateful that this community was still receiving the Word in some way and that they were there more for the message than for the luxury of having a speaker on stage.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
The worship style was definitely a challenge. I didn't know how to sing along and I felt like I couldn't worship because I wasn't singing, and because I didn't get the chance to sing the words. I kind of did feel odd about the absence on a pastor physically delivering the sermon. We did have that segway that made things smoother and more natural and a short debrief/reflection/sending out after the sermon too but, like I said earlier, it was hard, personally, to stay engaged and present because I was constantly aware that the speaker wasn't there with us. What threw me off at the end too was that they played "Halo" by Rihanna right after service to send us out after prayer. Playing secular music as a part of a Sunday morning service at the church was pretty confusing and disorienting, but it seemed to be normal for the rest of the church because they stood around and talked to one another while the music played.
The worship style was definitely a challenge. I didn't know how to sing along and I felt like I couldn't worship because I wasn't singing, and because I didn't get the chance to sing the words. I kind of did feel odd about the absence on a pastor physically delivering the sermon. We did have that segway that made things smoother and more natural and a short debrief/reflection/sending out after the sermon too but, like I said earlier, it was hard, personally, to stay engaged and present because I was constantly aware that the speaker wasn't there with us. What threw me off at the end too was that they played "Halo" by Rihanna right after service to send us out after prayer. Playing secular music as a part of a Sunday morning service at the church was pretty confusing and disorienting, but it seemed to be normal for the rest of the church because they stood around and talked to one another while the music played.
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 main feel of service in general had a very "come as you are" invitation into worship, which was very different from the setting I am used to. The theatre was dark and it was hard to see but I could tell from the smells that there were homeless people in the auditorium. It was beautiful to see a church that constantly welcomed and verbally included people from all backgrounds, race, and classes through the service. It was an environment really based on caring for the people and meeting their needs in every stage of their faith. Service at Willow Chicago showed me even more just how single-minded and single-people serving the Asian-American church, or any ethnic-specific church, can be. At my home church of 400 adults, we never ever see or even care to invite people who are different from us. If they aren't middle class, Korean, or already relatively Christian, they probably don't go to our church. A sermon along the lines of diversity of the kingdom, reaching out to the poor and marginalized, or on living incarnationally, would never come up in my church. There is a great need for the church to reach out and serve those in the broader community, and from what I saw Willow was very active in that respect. I do take into account that Willow is a mega church with a lot of leaders and resources, and so they almost have it easier doing things that serve the needs and people beyond just their church body, but I did see a heart of service and outreach that I feel my church at home could engage in on a smaller level as well.
The main feel of service in general had a very "come as you are" invitation into worship, which was very different from the setting I am used to. The theatre was dark and it was hard to see but I could tell from the smells that there were homeless people in the auditorium. It was beautiful to see a church that constantly welcomed and verbally included people from all backgrounds, race, and classes through the service. It was an environment really based on caring for the people and meeting their needs in every stage of their faith. Service at Willow Chicago showed me even more just how single-minded and single-people serving the Asian-American church, or any ethnic-specific church, can be. At my home church of 400 adults, we never ever see or even care to invite people who are different from us. If they aren't middle class, Korean, or already relatively Christian, they probably don't go to our church. A sermon along the lines of diversity of the kingdom, reaching out to the poor and marginalized, or on living incarnationally, would never come up in my church. There is a great need for the church to reach out and serve those in the broader community, and from what I saw Willow was very active in that respect. I do take into account that Willow is a mega church with a lot of leaders and resources, and so they almost have it easier doing things that serve the needs and people beyond just their church body, but I did see a heart of service and outreach that I feel my church at home could engage in on a smaller level as well.
