One of the benefits of the renewal is the opportunity to visit different churches is the area and see how they do worship and also see what role music plays in the worship service. Last Sunday, my dear, sweet wife and I visited CrossWalk Church, a church of the Wisconsin Evan. Lutheran Synod.
Not that you would know that this is a Lutheran Church. Except on an envelope found inside the church bulletin, there was no mention anywhere else that this was a Lutheran church. Many mission or start up churches do this kind of thing. The thinking is that if you identify yourself with a particular demonination, that will discourage people, who've had a bad prior experience with a church, to pass on yours. It is also felt that a church without demoninational ties will seem more open and welcoming to visitors.
I don't think the folks at CrossWalk should worry about that. The church meets in the auditorium of Cesar Chavez High School in South Phoenix. As Sherri and I walked on campus, we were met by 3 or 4 very friendly people at their Welcome Center. They greeted us very warmly and even laughed when I told them that "I was spying on them." Later we met Jeff Gunn, the pastor of CrossWalk. He also was warm and personable. In his message he explained that he and his wife had spent 14 years in Africa as missionaries. It's obvious that one of his core values, shared by the members of the church, is to be passionate about sharing the Gospel of Christ and making disciples for the Lord.
The service itself was not very Lutheran, following what one might call the praise and worship model for having church. The service consisted of:
Music - a Jeremy Camp song
A Greeting (a kind of passing the peace idea)
Music - a Chris Tomlin song
Announcements
Confession and Absolution (all of this was spoken by the pastor - no participation by the congregation)
The Lord's Prayer (with slightly revised words)
Message
Offering
Music - Matt Maher's great song, "Christ is Risen"
Benediction
Music - an original song by the CrossWalk band
The band sconsisted of seven members - three vocalists, two guitarists, a bass player and a drummer (using an electric drum kit). The vocalist were fine but the musicians were very good. Three of the four songs were recognizable and fairly easy to sing. I was especially glad to sing Matt Maher's song about the resurrection of Christ - very powerful lyrics and music.
The pastor was doing a sermon series, "Unreliable or Undeniable: Can I really count of God?' Jeff Gunn has a nice way of presenting God's Word. He spoke freely without notes although he did follow a sermon outline that was included in the bulletin. His message spoke about the reality of a changed life through faith in Christ. He emphasized the power of baptism. He drove home the point that because of God's grace, we do not live in fear but in hope. He told a story about the people who worked in fear on the Golden Gate Bridge because falling from the bridge meant certain death. Once a safety net was installed, the workers felt safe and worked faster and with greater efficiency. He then explained that God's grace is our safety net and through forgiveness and restoration, we can live a new life in Christ.
There were about 150 people in the 11 am service and the 9 am service has that many or more in attendance each Sunday. The church is starting a summer growth group ministry, kind of like our small groups, with 20 different groups for people to choose from.
One additional interesting thing: Jeff Gunn told us that he thought it might be a long time before the church purchased property and built their own building. He explained that at present the focus was to have a strong staff (they currently have 5 full time staff) so that they can get more people involved in ministry. It was an interesting observation for me. One criticism of staff-driven churches is that the congregation loses its place in leading and serving in the church. But Jeff Gunn's approach is to get people involved in the life of the church. But you have to have staff to help organize and lead others.
From my journal:"One might die for a truth, but one will never die for a lie." Max Lucado, speaking about the disciples unwavering testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
