We had church last Sunday night in a small theatre. The minister was an actor and comedian. It was an unusual opportunity to meet and worship with fellow christians in town. We had a powerful time of worship led by the Ascension worship team followed by several stories and skits by Dennis Hassell. The audience was spellbound. There was much audience participation so it was hardly a typical church service. Each story or “parable” was filled with humour but also had a profound message that made you think. If you were unable to be there enjoy the video below to get a taste of Mr Hassell’s style.
One of his stories about St Hilaria church was filled with pathos and humour but also had a very relevant message about how we do church. St. Hilaria was 100 years old but it burned down one day. There was much sorrow and tears but the congregation kept meeting outdoors for the whole summer. The Church building was surrounded with apartment dwellers most of whom had never been in the church. However the tragic fire changed everything. Many came to help. The outdoor services allowed the people to stand on their balconies and for the first time in their lives see folks worshipping , praying and sharing. Seniors held bible studies in the local club before the ladies of the night took over. Relationshjips were developed and some of these ladies joined the seniors in the bible study. The council met in a restaurant. Sunday school was in a park across the road. Many adults and children were baptized and the church grew from 59 members to 425 that summer. When the insurance money came in the congregation had a special service and the oldest member of the congregation, a 99 year old lady wanted to say a few words and leave a gift to the church in a carefully crafted box. In the box? A small box of matches.
Dennis Hassell, you made us think!
The service ended with pastoral prayers and worship.
My observation is that any non christian would have felt comfortable( except maybe with the vibrant worship) and welcome last night. How do they feel if they come to our church? Do our church neighbours know what happens in our “sanctuary” and do they know who we are?
Do we “reformed” christians even know what happens in the other denominations in town?
What do you think?
5 responses so far ↓
Nick Stevens // February 3, 2010 at 2:09 pm |
Great questions John ….I was unable to go to the service but it looks like it was a meaningful time.
Norm // February 4, 2010 at 4:16 pm |
Hi John, thanks for posting these reflections. I especially like the story of St. Hilaria. In some ways, we are that church with no building surrounded by apartment buildings, meeting in restaurants. But I am encouraged to be more intentional about this. Its amazing how quickly we fall back to churchy ideas of church.
Well written, keep up the good work!
John // February 4, 2010 at 11:07 pm |
Hi Norm: I thought of your church right away when I heard the story of St Hilaria. But I do believe it is a challenge to all of us regarding how we do church. To be missional as your video stated means we need to be relevant and get out of our comfortable pews or chairs.
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
John Walhout // February 10, 2010 at 9:00 pm |
I listened to the play. The first thing that comes to mind are Jesus’s own words “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19) and “Go into all the all the world an preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The idea appears to be that we need to go out of the church. My thought is that the church could be making a mistake when it tries to be “seeker friendly” rather than focus on building up effective disciples to go out of the church to do their work. In the meanwhile, we risk feeding our church members a constant diet of milk when they need meat and should be teachers by now (Hebrews 5:12-14).
John // February 10, 2010 at 9:35 pm |
I agree John. I believe we need to make disciples in church so we can be Jesus followers in the world.