My Visit on Sunday, September 30

I did my homework before visiting this week's church. I went to Edge-of-Downtown Baptist Church's website on Saturday to find out what to expect.

I downloaded the newsletter and checked the calendar and was disappointed to not see anything about the upcoming sermon. (Usually in churches, when the upcoming sermon isn't publicized, it means there is a guest preacher. Its a little trick we preachers pull because we generally assume that attendance will be lighter if people know in advance that there will be a guest in the pulpit. I did, however, make the painful discovery at my last church that that rule doesn't really hold up. On several occasions, MORE people would come to hear the guest preachers! I don't get it. . . what could that POSSIBLY mean?!!)

Well anyway, I had heard of Edge-of-Downtown's fantastic music program, so I figured it was worth it to make the trip anyway. The church is all of about 6 blocks from my house, so in the event that the guest preacher was horrible, I could still make it home in time for the Texans noon kickoff and the morning would be recovered.

Turns out, the preacher WAS there after all -- and it was a wonderful sermon -- and I didn't need to make the embarrassing "11:45 kickoff sneak-away." The sermon was gracious and relevant, and I could tell he was saying some things that his particular congregation needed to hear. (Hearing a sermon as a "congregational outsider" is like reading one of Paul's letters and trying to diagnose the "issues" Paul was trying to address at Corinth, or Galatia, etc. I'm always wondering what the congregational concern is: budget? outreach? lack of vision? lack of identity?)

I think my only significant disappointment with worship was what happened at the very beginning. After a beautiful organ prelude, a kindly older gentleman, who I think was on staff, walked to the pulpit. The stage was set, a beautiful old sanctuary, deep blue stained glass windows, a hushed congregation, hungry for a word. "Here it comes," I thought, "the opening words of worship -- an invitation, a blessing, a challenge, a prayer. . ." Instead, he delivered the announcements.

Sad. He had such a great presence and a beautiful voice. And I imagine he was just doing what had been done in that worship service for years: starting the hour with the "business of the family." He thanked a family for a memorial gift, he mentioned the church's apartment ministry, he pointed out the roses on the chancel. All of this could have been written in the bulletin -- all I wanted to hear him say was "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!"

How important those first few spoken words are in worship! Whoever says them -- they are breaking a week's worth of congregational silence to offer the first words of delight and praise to the Creator. There is surely a place for announcements (a couple of them maybe!), but not as the first words of praise that form on the lips.

We did recover and I was delighted to be soon be singing some old favorites (hymns by Fanny Crosby and Charles Wesley) with a congregation that enjoys its singing. We were led by a spirited man (probably the music minister) in the front of the church who I could only assume was a man who deeply loved his job (his enormous grin gave that away). He was loving every minute of it -- and why shouldn't he? His joy seemed contagious and my worshiping companions and I sang all louder and more gleefully because of it.

The highlight was at the end of the hour. When some new members joined, there was a quick introduction of them: one was a boy making his public pledge of trust, two others were soon to be married. But after they were introduced, I listened as the congregation spoke in unison a few words that were printed in the bulletin. It began with, "We pledge ourselves to be the family of God for you. . ."

I love that! Walking down the aisle to join a church is a very hard decision, and so it makes sense for that tough moment to be met with an equally-challenging pledge for the congregation. They may not have realized, but that church is pledging to do something very difficult. "To pledge ourselves to be the family of God for you..." Wow! Those new members are in for a treat!

This church knows grace. They were welcoming of me and (more importantly) as I looked around, they welcomed with open arms the people of various races, socio-economic classes and life situations. In their geographic setting at the edge of downtown, that is extremely important.

A final word: in a couple of places on their website, I noticed what this church says about how to dress on Sunday morning. Its something to the effect of: We honor God by wearing our best. I think the main reason for that is to manage my expectations as a visitor . . . so that when I arrive and see everyone dressed-up, I am not surprised. But I wish they wouldn't do that. I think it is making a big deal (OK, a "moderate deal") out of nothing.

I have visited several churches in the last few weeks and out of all of them, this church was the most casual in terms of how people dressed. And it works -- people look comfortable. They might dress up, but for some people, even their nicest suit isn't brand new or the latest fashion. Of all the churches I have visited on this blog, the people at this church (refreshingly) had the least pretension about how they were dressed and how they appeared to other people.

Now if they can just find a way to communicate THAT on their website. . .