Day #5: Rest on Sunday

This morning we went to the local Methodist church. It's a church that doesn't have a building quite yet, but they have a metal skeleton structure to worship in. It was pretty nice...outdoor church! The service reminded me a lot of the services at Christ's Gospel in Bemidji. VERY charismatic. VERY energetic. There was some people that walked up to the front and prostrated themsleves in the front. There were others that were slain in the spirit. There was a bunch of worship dancing. It was pretty cool. For the sermon they had someone translate it so we could understand. No translator for the worship, but honestly the message and experience was beyond language.

The sign over the front gate.

The metal frame chruch building.

The Sunday School building next to the church.

Inside the sanctuary.

The entrance to the sanctuary.  Yes, all of these seats are pretty well filled when the service starts.

Later tonight we had a discussion about the service after supper. Like expected, there were people that were very uncomfortable with the people that were slain in the spirit. A lot of people didn't like how loud the music was (and it was on the loud side...but I didn't think it was too loud). We started a discussion about the authenticity or not with those that were slain (and I only saw two, so it wasn't like people were falling all over the place). There were a lot of people that were skeptical and thought it was too much of a distraction. But they also thought that the people that were dancing were too distracting. A quote from one person, "I guess I'm just too German to worship like that." My thought is, sure it may make one uncomfortable. But that doesn't mean it's not authentic. In all honesty, we will never no how authentic it was, and it's none of our business. It's one very personal experience that is between the person and the Holy Spirit. Do I think that being slain or speaking in tongues brings salvation? No. But it IS one aspect of worship that cannot be denied if led by God to do so.
What was also frustrating was how there was a lot of people that enjoyed the energy that was running through the service and the church. They liked the freedom of worship that was there. But then they said something to the effect of, "But that'll never happen in my church." Basically, "I love what I experienced, but I'm not going to do anything to change things back home." When will people wake up? Does all worship have to be like this? No. But worship should always be as free as it was today. No matter what form it takes, we are called to worship freely.
Other than that, I played cribbage with Clyde and the Steves all afternoon. It was a good day of rest. Tomorrow we're back at it. I'm starting out in the classroom to see how far we can get with the sheet rock. Then we'll probably be ready to pour the cap for the wall in the afternoon where i'll move to the cement mixer. Hopefully it's not unbearable. But we'll make due.