I have chosen you out of the world, that is why

Yesterday evening I visited a church here in Macul. So far, I've only been to one other church, the one that the people I live with are part of, but it's something I'm planning to do once each month. This church (which I think was Metodista) is the church of the lady who each Wednesday comes and cleans our house, so one day I asked if I could come along. She picked me up from my place, which meant we all got to meet her daughter and she got to meet Felipe and Emy's Mum, so that alone was good. My friend who I disciple came along too.

It was a Pentecostal church so I didn't know what to expect. My aim was to observe and be respectful, and only if something was clearly anti-Gospel to make a stand. We had walked much of the way there, through the dodgy part 'of town', when a gentleman from the church very kindly stopped to give us a lift the rest of the way. The church is in a pretty building and we were warmly welcomed. We got there early, so sat and watched it slowly fill-up. My friend is in the choir, so when the service started, she left us with her daughter and son (her husband had to work). The seats for the choir and band ran along one side of the building, at right angles to the rest. There were a million mandolins, half a million guitars, a couple of saxophones and a piano. It sounded a lot like this, only on a much smaller scale...

Throughout the service there were a fair few songs, sometimes lengthy, which was good. The main pastor was an elderly man, who looked pretty tired. They had a few traditions I hadn't come across before, like kneeling down to pray at a couple of points (I have of course done this in formal Anglican services at highschool, but never in a more casual setting) and frequent raising of hands to say "Glory to God, glory to God!". These things are unusual but unusual can be good if it says something about the identity of God. The only thing I felt a bit uncomfortable about was the number of times people called out "Amen!" or "Praise his Name!" or whatever throughout the service. It felt a little chaotic to me, and the cries seemed to bear little connection to what was being said from the front. The sermon began with the preacher saying that he had prepared another message, but this morning God directed him to change - never a good sign, in my book. His new talk was based on John 15:18-25, about the persecution that came to Jesus, and that we must also expect - and it was good. He didn't really spend much time helping us understand that particular passage, but he spoke about the Gospel and about evangelism and everything he said was true and with a right emphasis and good.

There was only one real down-point in the whole service and it may be a major one - it's hard to know from only one visit - the 'Prosperity Gospel'. There were two offerings - a regular one, and another for the upkeep of the church. The song we sung before the first offering was pure Prosperity Gospel (if I give generously to God he will bless me with health and wealth). And the words that were said (and the public nature of the giving - people walked up to the front so everyone saw who was and wasn't giving) during the time to give, to me, were pressure-filled and, at the very least, strongly suggestive of the reciporical nature of this offering. And this in a church with a lot of poorer people, who are no doubt struggling to afford anything like decent healthcare :/. So I was left wondering if this is a big part of church life, if people might be coming along with false hopes and for what in the end are small blessings. But I hope not!! I hope that the true Gospel of reconciliation with God and eternal hope that I did hear proclaimed and celebrated in the rest of the service is what rings out!! Please join me in praying for this church and others like it.