Home » Politics/News

The Pageantry of the Church

Submitted by Sincero14 on Monday, 7 December 20098 Comments

church_worldchange2

So those who know me know I looooooove my church. I am on the Dance Ministry (currently on Hiatus) and I rant and rave about my church all the time. It’s a big church, but it’s got that good southern feeling to it. The choppy foot dance is in effect every now and then. Matter of fact, I was once in service where my Pastor TAUGHT the choppy foot dance. That made me feel special. This is what I’ve grown up with and what I thought I was most comfortable with. Back in high school when I was the Token Negro I would go to a Bible Study with my non-black friends and get my folksy praise and Joel Osteen worship on. But that wasn’t my typical Sunday move.

So anyway, the “Black Church Experience” is what I know best yet, I am not sure it’s what I want to embrace anymore. Last night I went to Buckhead Church and since I had never heard of it before I had no clue what to expect. I just know that when we got there I realized it was HUGE, and not the crowd I was used to. I typically shy away from big churches because it seems there’s a lot of flashing lights and smoke and mirrors. Too much going on. I must say I was surprised. While the church is clearly huge and paid there was a…. vibe. Like people just coming in to worship. That’s all. No politics, no frontin, just there for God. The service started with one of the most amazing musical introductions I have EVER seen in a church, maybe anywhere. Then we did a few songs of praise and worship. When it was time to take up the offering it happened so fast. The pastor said “while we take up the offering, here’s a little video to watch”. It was a cute little film pertaining to their theme this month. There was no begging, no reminding you of why you should tithe, no prosperity message of “give and you shall receive… we PROMISE.” Interesting seeing as though they probably get people that give far more because they do so with a cheerful heart. The Pastor’s sermon was GREAT. His delivery was awesome without getting hyper and yelling, and he told an amazing story right out of the Word that resonated with me, and had me enthralled. I LOVED IT. The service lasted an hour. #WDDDA?

Here’s the thing that made me think. Everyone knows that Black Church lasts a close to or longer than two hours. There’s always an entire agenda that you have to go through and I think we feel that’s necessary to feel like we’re “Good Christians”. I think that however is what keeps a lot of people from attending. Having to be there all day. And I know that back in Biblical days they would sit and hear the “Good News” for hours, but I’d venture to say that that’s not particularly the reason Black Church lasts forever. As I was noticing the difference in this church and the others that I have frequented I made a special note of the celebrity of the Pastor. At my church the Pastor, while very laid back, is REVERED! He is put up on a high pedestal and treated as the King of the Church. At Buckhead Church, I wasn’t sure he was the Pastor until he began his sermon. I think this is a good thing. I related to him. If he did something human, I wouldn’t feel as let down, because it wouldn’t seem as large of a betrayal. I think it’s common in the Black Church to elevate the clergy. The Pastors are doing it all, motivational speaking, book deals, concerts, etc. They are celebrities. While they are messengers they are still human. We blur the lines with them a lot.

Then there’s the actual service. You have Praise & Worship in which if you are not jumping up and down you are looked at with the o_O. Then the choir sings and depending on how good the Holy Ghost is circulating, that may take a while. Prayer, announcements, prayer, offering that takes 15 minutes, prayer, Sermons in which the Pastor implores you to respond with Amens and “Preach Pastor!” and “that’s right!”, prayer, the Church doors are open, prayer, now you can leave.  Taking a look on it, I can see how some people are intimidated, and why many choose to just not come and miss out on the most important thing. The word of God. Somewhere I think we got too caught up in entertaining and lost sight of the real goal, The Word. A lot of people have issues with the Black Church (really, HUGE churches in general, but for the majority of my audience I’ll stay on the B.C.) because they are skeptical. I think that all the pageantry has a lot to do with it. Believe it or not, I think the people that are looking to come to religion really want to come to Christ not because of the glitz and glam but because of his message. How did we get so far off track?

So to my readers I ask, do you go to Church? What kind, mixed, black, white, etc? How do your experience enrich or hinder your relationship with God?

P.S. I really liked Buckhead Church, if any of my ATLiens would like to visit again with me, just let me know.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Post to Twitter Post to Digg Post to Facebook

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

8 Comments »

  • Ty said:

    Amen!! Preach!! Come on in here!! *does quick 2 step, then fixes hair*

    Ok, for real though lol. I agree 100%. I recently had this conversation with a friend. I grew up in a church similar to your second example. I also attended one for a short time during undergrad then I realized I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted a place where I could simply worship and receive a good word. I didn’t want to worry about whether or not I would get called out over the pulpit for not being able to pay my entire “building fund assessment.” Christians have gotten so caught up in the doxology, who’s on the ministerial staff and whether or not you missed last week’s bible study, that they’ve forgotten the sole purpose of church…love.

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 11:27 am
  • Alissa said:

    I go to a fairly big church (I say “fairly” cause it’s the biggest one in Columbus, but nothin like a Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes or Joel Osteen. I grew up at my church and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it but I feel where you’re coming from. Like most mega-churches mine is racially mixed (the pastor is white though). I like how energetic and crazy it gets but my pastor is definitely a celebrity — entourage, TV appearances, and don’t even try to get a meeting with him. That part gets on my nerves. But, I even think he is over himself as a celebrity. LOL.

    It’s hard though because with mega-churches the pastor is just not going to be friends with everyone. And if he’s visiting every sick and shut-in, counseling every new couple, going to birthday parties and housewarmings then my goodness WHEN is he preparing a sermon? Haha. So, in that instance his (what I call) inaccessibility is necessary. But there is a balance and I think after 30yrs of pastoring (complete with death threats, stalkers, lawsuits, and public rejection of his endorsement of John McCain in ‘08) he is trying to find it.

    I’m not a big fan of the offering beg either. Joel Osteen noticeably doesn’t do that. BUT, if every person put a dollar in his offering bucket, that’s 40-grand a Sunday.If everyone puts in 10 dollars that’s 400-grand A SUNDAY. Who needs an offering sermon? LOL.

    I like mega-churches and energetic pastors. But I’m not a fan of “the black church” with all their gossip and “mothers” looking down their nose at the length of my skirt. (I had some bad experiences). I just wish churches in general would abandon the racial divisions on Sunday morning, but that’s a blog all by itself :-)

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 11:55 am
  • N.I.A. naturally said:

    Your church sounds just like my home baptist church back in South Carolina. And when you include Sunday School, we would be in church from 9:45 to at least 1:30pm. And don’t let it be one of the auxilaries anniversary which added an extra hour to an already long day. SMH. LOL!! When I went to college, I was determined to find a church that didn’t have all of that going on. Praise & worship, one song, sermon, altar call, benediction. Didn’t find it, I did find a church that made the time bearable with great music and an awesome sermon. Thinking back on it, I preferred bible study over the Sunday service at that church.

    I agree that we have gotten caught up in the glitz & glamour and the entertainment aspect of church service… so much so that the church is scaring people away and pushing believers away from the assembly.

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 12:14 pm
  • aceklub said:

    Yea, this post brings up a very interesting issue wit me. I will first say tht I am not as active in attending as I use to be. I was raised Catholic and while the church has had their own issues that we can discuss at another time, the one thing that I always respected was that the pastor was 100% commited to being a servant of God. Pastors are not trying to secure deals and people were not attending b/c it was the next 40/40 spot to be seen at. Of course, this does not apply to all or most people but that is the feeling that I get when I do visit a BC.
    I struggle b/c while I was raised Catholic, I feel that I need to find a new home to praise. However, when I hear about churches asking for tax returns to determine your 10%, it just doesn’t feel right.

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 1:21 pm
  • ASmith said:

    I grew up in a multicultural church that, since I left, has grown closer to a black church, but we’ll focus on the type of church it was when I was growing up:

    It mixed elements of the black church and elements of the white church (I speak in stereotypes and generalities here for the purpose of being concise). We take offering at the end, and there’s no production for it. They use technology including short video clips, putting the words to songs and bible verses up on a screen behind the pulpit; there is no choir just a praise team that, when I was growing up, rotated so people could join and feel like they were apart of something.

    The best part, to me, was that we didn’t have to get dressed up. Jeans? Every Sunday. T-shirt? Sure, if you wanted. No one gives the side-eye, no one judges you for that. Full out tuxedo? That’s fine as well, but you might feel a tidge overdressed. The Pastor wanted to cut out all that middle stuff that interferes with worship. Is the choir on key this morning? Did they remember me in the morning announcements? What’s that lady over there wearing?? Doesn’t she know this is church? All that foolishness that I think open up people to miss the entire point of church was, as much as possible, completely gone.

    No church is perfect or without flaws and the church I remember has changed significantly, but I know that the way it used to be run helped me understand what Sunday mornings are supposed to be about (if you’re sitting in a church congregation, anyway) worship. That’s all. We let the politics of life interfere too much, I think.

    As a side-note: I respect people who are members of mega-churches, but I can’t. I need the personalness (made it up) of a slightly smaller church. :)

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 4:25 pm
  • Streetz: Mr Write Now said:

    His delivery was awesome without getting hyper and yelling, and he told an amazing story right out of the Word that resonated with me, and had me enthralled. I LOVED IT. The service lasted an hour. #WDDDA?

    ^^

    Catholic Church. =) That’s where I worship and I love it. At times it may seem a lil too procedural, but I love the tradition and history that it portrays, and I have my own personal relationship with God aside from a Church environment, which I think we all should have.

    I’ve worshipped at other churches and love the change of pace, but I never got hyped about seeing people do harlem shakes and the jerk while catching the Holy Spirit. That’s doing too much for me, #noshots.

    Either way, all churches have their own beautiful experences. Respect ‘em all and love my own.

    [Reply]

    - 7 December 2009 at 6:02 pm
  • Kenny said:

    I go to a Black church, yet I wasn’t raised in one. I grew up going to a predominately white church, which is a SHARP CONTRAST to how we get down. I think I was about 13, when it just didn’t connect with me anymore. I went through a period from 13-17 when I just stopped going altogether. My best friend invited me to his church (my current church home now), and I fell in love with it. Everyone treats each other like family, and when the pastor preaches, it’s like family is talking to me. I honestly felt a renewed spirit within me, and this was when I was young. It’s done nothing but grow since then. In a case like this, I truly think it’s “to each is own.” Some people who were at my home church in the past have moved to mega-churches now. It’s still a Black church they attend; just one of the huge ones out in Dallas. Why is that? There’s no telling; some people say their spiritual growth became stagnant after being in one setting too long.

    [Reply]

    - 8 December 2009 at 1:41 pm
  • Sincero14 (author) said:

    Well let me say I have no plans to leave my current church home, but I may be spending time in both places on Sundays until I figure out where I am most comfortable.

    [Reply]

    - 8 December 2009 at 1:44 pm

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.