Church of the
Beloved
Northwestern
University
375 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
9/18/2016
Different Racial or Ethnic Demographic
1.
Describe
the worship service. How was it similar or different to your regular context?
First off, the congregation at Beloved is
heavily made up of Asian and Asian American attendees. My regular context,
coming from a loosely Baptist, more non-denominational all-white church in
Geneva, Illinois does not compare to the ethnic makeup of Beloved. Other than
this noticeable difference, the service was incredibly similar to my own back
home. We arrived late to the service due to train delays so we did not
participate in worship, but the sermon and relations between congregants was a
similar feel. The congregation is primarily college-aged students who are
single, and the sermon was on dating. A lot of Wheaton students and alum attend
Beloved, so it was interesting to be a part of that culture again even though I
live in the city right now. There was a tithe taken and a moment for greeting
one another, similar to my church. Overall, it was a pretty similar feel apart
from differences in the congregation.
2.
What
did you find most interesting or appealing about the service?
What was most interesting to me about the
service is how youthful the congregation is and how hip the pastor, Dave Choi
acts. As a single man, speaking on dating, he had a lot to say to the
millennials in the crowd. There was a panel of speakers, consisting of two
couples. One of the couples was from Wheaton while the other was not; one
couple had been married for 10 years while the other was newlywed. It was
incredibly refreshing to hear the perspective of couples coming form different
experiences on their dating lives leading up to marrying their spouses. Dating
was strongly encouraged, and the couples touched on what a Godly courtship
looks like and how their relationships developed as they strived to place God
at the center of their intentions. Discussion of how beautiful the union
between a man and a woman is and how it parallels the Church’s union with
Christ really struck me. What a powerful image and model to be lived out
between two imperfect people working to glorify the Almighty with their union.
3.
What
did you find most challenging or disorienting about the service?
What was challenging for me throughout
the service was how impatient I got. And I mean that in the sense that
everything Dave and the panelists were saying made me want to get out there and
work toward growing a relationship with someone because of how powerfully I,
and I’m sure most people in that room, crave a partner to experience that with.
Because I strongly affirm what Dave and the panelists said, and I believe in
timing and no better than to rush into something as fragile as a relationship
with someone, I refrain. However, Dave has an inspiring presence and will drive
any point he is trying to make home. The man knows his stuff.
4.
What
aspects of scripture or theology did the service illuminate that you had not
perceived as clearly in your regular context?
The idea of what a good, Godly
relationship between a man and a woman looks like is something that I’m sure
most, if not all Christians think a lot about. Coming from Wheaton, where
casual dating, surprise, is not a common practice for a majority of the campus,
it was refreshing to hear a Wheaton grad encourage dating. Not everything has
to be overwhelmingly thought-out beforehand. As Dr. Lee has stated, stop; over
spiritualizing dating. Yes, we want to guard our hearts, yes we want to make
the right decisions and lean on the Lord in what our intentions look like for
this relationship. However, we must not let our fear or insecurity prevent us
from trusting God to guide us through this season. There is a lot to learn from
being in a relationship with someone, and while a romantic one is not for
everyone necessarily, this form of bond is incredibly powerful and a wonderful representation
of the love of the Lord and how it impacts us.
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