8 :: Victory Christian Center

This evening I went to Victory Christian Center. It was a magnificent experience and... I ended up on TV. Overall, a great night.

I have been driving past VCC for years. It is a noteworthy location for many reasons, but first and foremost because of the sheer scale of the place. The sprawling grounds of VCC is made up of multiple campuses and buildings. It is on acres upon acres of land in a part of Charlotte that is very much "in the city" now. 

When VCC started 40 years ago, what is now the grounds of the church must have been a rural stretch of land.

The first thing you see when driving up to the main church at VCC is a massive dome. In fact, the biggest church on VCC's campus is affectionately named "The Dome."

As if the edifice itself wasn't impressive enough, the entrance definitely evoked feelings of awe. It really is a beautiful structure. As I walked up, I realized that I was walking into my first (but certainly not my last) "megachurch" of this spiritual shift.

As I walked into The Dome, I was greeted by great music and an enthusiastic crowd. VCC has had a TV program for years and still has a loyal following on TV. I used to watch the show now and again in the 1990s, but it has definitely been a while (mostly driven by my lack of a TV). 

With COVID-19, the option of watching the service on TV and this being Wednesday night church, the crowd was reduced in size. But what the congregation may have lacked in size was more than made up for by enthusiasm. 

This was true throughout. Here's some of the music:

When the musicians took a break, they showed a video from 1992 of Pastor Gool, the leader of Victory Christian Center, preaching in the early days of the congregation. He's a very engaging and energetic preacher. Since he wasn't at church tonight, this was the only Pastor Gool that I saw this evening.

At one point, there was a period of ecstatic prayer, during which the person praying thanked God for "President Trump and his wisdom," he prayed for ongoing support of Israel by the United States "being on the right side of that conflict," and he even asked for "a revival of the United States to be a nation for God." This church definitely seemed to have some conservative characteristics.

As the service progressed, a guest pastor (I came to learn he is the son-in-law of Pastor Gool) gave a solid sermon. It was about obedience, diligence and moving up in the world as you moved up with God, bolstered by the examples of Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jesus.

There was a great deal of interchange between the pastor and the people. Throughout the service, people were shouting "Amen!" and "That's right!" and "Preach!" This ensured that the sermon was more of a group experience than one person talking to a quiet crowd. 

This back-and-forth between pastor and congregation is proving to be a common part of worship in various places that I have visited, but certainly not one that I am used to. 

Overall, a great service.

Toward the end, they made a call for people to come to the front of the church. They gave four reasons why you would come up front - to get saved, to rededicate their lives to Christ, to receive the Holy Spirit, or if they were first time visitors. Since an usher named Reggie had been good enough to introduce himself to me when I arrived, he called me out and brought me to the front of the church. That meant I was standing in front of multiple television cameras. 

So, yes, I was on TV tonight. Not my first time, but the first time in a long while.

After they greeted us at the front of the church and with the congregation cheering, a group of us were brought to another TV studio inside the church and welcomed us individually.

They asked us to fill out a form about ourselves, then gave us a folder with some welcome materials, as well as let us pick out a small book to take home.

None of this felt at all familiar to me. In every way, this was a different experience. Most unlike the idea of church that I have known to-date.

So, in addition to what happened around me... what happened inside of me? How was I impacted? What did I feel?

That is best summarized through a small story.

In the TV studio where I had been brought as a first time visitor, I asked one of the guys there named Desmond to pray with me for guidance in my life. Just an open-ended request.

Desmond immediately gripped my hand with strength and held onto my shoulder, lifting up a prayer in which he asked for renewal in my life, health for my body, strength in my walk with God, prosperity in my financial life and a myriad of other things. As he spoke, I exhaled as I felt my psyche unravel. I was caught a moment of transcendent peace. 

When I opened my eyes, I saw the world slightly differently. With new eyes. For that I am grateful.

Having a chance to share time and thought and prayer with people who are so very like I am, but who are also different in other ways, felt fantastic. At a time when so much of our society is struggling with so many difficult issues, including around race and the painful history that we are all the inheritors of, it was an honor and a privilege to be in a place where unity and fellowship ruled the evening.

May there be more of this for me in the future... as well as for America.