This morning I worshiped at New City Church in SouthPark. This congregation is right around the corner from where I lived for many years, the Montibello neighborhood. Until 2018, this was the location of Church at Charlotte. During that year, Church at Charlotte and New Church merged into a new church named New City. New City has multiple campuses, including Matthews, SouthPark, Idlewild and an "online campus" (a new concept that is, of course, growing in the current environment).
If that all sounded like a great deal of detail and an egregious overuse of the word "new," suffice it to say I worshiped at New City Church at the 8:15 service this morning. The church holds two contemporary services after the 8:15 is over.
I had seen the sign change names in recent years during one of my infrequent visits back into South Charlotte, my erstwhile stomping grounds. Now I have more context on this merger and why the name changed.
I'll start the details section of this post with a question for the reader - Do you know who Bill Gaither is? I did not, beyond some vague sense that he might be a gospel singer. But this morning I sang songs by Bill Gaither in a crowd that was filled with seasoned citizens. It spawned a great deal of thought.
First, a few observations on the physical campus, the initial impression of every church.
This place is really big. It sits at the base of some rolling hills and across Carmel Road for a pond. As such, it holds the characteristic lushness that characterizes so much of South Charlotte. You can see that the multiple buildings of this campus are infused with life and greenery. I believe my eyes see this in a new way because of my current domicile being in the urban center of Charlotte.
Here are some pics, inside and out:
An expansive and solid place, as you can see.
Because I went to the 8:15 service, I didn't experience the big sanctuary that you see above. I was brought into a smaller service in a rather small room that had a tiny group of worshipers (maybe twenty of us), virtually all of whom are slightly more seasoned than I. And thus I heard (and sang) some traditional hymns that I knew well, as well as some new songs by Bill Gaither.
We sang from a printed sheet, as well as had a chance to read the song from the screens at the front.
Gaither lyrics seen below:
There was a gentleman leading the group through the singing who was clearly classically trained and had a great baritone voice. He brought the rest of us through multiple songs. Then we transitioned into the section where the announcements and the sermon took place.
That came with a jarring rock and roll riff as the previously-black screens in the room burst into a nice color of blue and lit up at the same time. It was a moment of pivot, where the previous tone of worship shifted from traditional to modern. After the announcements, I picked up that I was in my first experience with a pastor being piped in, or perhaps on a taped sermon.
As the shift happened, the body language of the people in the room indicated that they may have had some discomfort in the context switching that is required to go from "old church format" to "new church format." I don't believe I imagined it and I was sitting in the back, so I could see everyone.
No living pastor. A pastor on video. Soothing hymns were immediately replaced by guitar riffs and words pulsating on a bright blue background.
Switch.
I had heard of being in a church watching a video sermon, but have never attended such a service before.
Here are some pictures from the switch and the sermon, which was from the Book of Nehemiah and explained the value of waiting for God's will:
It was a meaningful sermon and provoked thought. Patience in all things with God is essential to growth and I appreciated hearing that reiteration. The quality of the preaching was solid and I got something out of it. It provided a reflection on an idea that had been acknowledged in my mind before in a vague way, but it brought the idea of divine waiting into stark relief. Nice sermon from Chris Payne, Senior Pastor of New City.
That is what good sermons are meant to do - make you think. Mission accomplished.
And I got to learn something about the Medo-Persian Empire. Win, win.
Later in the morning, I went to Freedom House in South End. I experienced a very different worship experience, one I have become a bit more accustomed to and really enjoy. Top notch band, a place where the worship style vacillates between enthusiastic and ecstatic, and the sermon addressed themes that were powerfully relevant to the current state of the world (Diana Henderson nailed it today!).
When I attend an early church service, it is because I often hit Freedom House at 10:45, which I do with some frequency now. Additionally, I seem to have hit a cadence where I am in back-to-back Sundays that switch between traditional and non-traditional church (I would say "modern," but I am still at a loss for what to call Morningstar Ministries!).
And that brings me to my pondering for today that was stoked by my very enjoyable worship at New City this morning.
The global church is changing. Everywhere. And it needs to change. The world is on an accelerated trajectory to a new place and has been for a while. As the world itself changes so rapidly, the church needs to evolve in-kind. The church needs to be the institution that unleashes the Holy Spirit into the world and knocks its worshipers off their feet.
Yet we are also exhorted to be meek and mild.
The Holy Spirit can be a rush of mighty wind akin to a hurricane. It can bring an otherwise composed man to tears. It can crack boulders, cause the earth to shake, tear a thick veil in a temple in half and bring the dead to life (Matthew 27:51-52).
Yet God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12).
There are many such dichotomies in the romancing of our hearts by God. A great dichotomy that we are invited into is Yeshua urging Christians to be... "as shrewd as serpents and as gentle as doves" (Matthew 10:16).
The difference between the churches with the older format and those with the newer format evokes strong feelings and a substantial amount of debate. Regardless of what opinions we have on the matter, the imperative of the church is to be accessible to people and to be changing hearts in a world that desperately needs it.
Thus, the church needs to change and adapt. Not in message, but in format and style.
At the same time, we are a community exhorted to honor our fathers and our mothers. This includes our literal fathers and mothers, but also our spiritual fathers and mothers - those who kept the church alive during the time of their generation. Those who ensured the perpetuation of a two-millennia old community named the Christian Church. In the Southeast of the United States.... those are often people who love Bill Gaither hymns.
The church needs to ensure we have a place of community, appreciation and, indeed, honor for those people who are closer to the cusp of eternity. People that have no desire to rock out to Run to the Father (Freedom House absolutely crushed this song this morning, it's fresh on my mind). The church needs to ensure we create a space that is contextually familiar to people who are ingrained in the traditional format of worship. Their wisdom is the bedrock on which we are built. And we owe them a debt of gratitude!
This is where my head is this morning - pondering questions of a generational sort as the beautiful composition of Bill Gaithers still rings in my ears, blended in a confusing-yet-pleasing mélange with Run to the Father. And I am also resting on the larger dualism that is around and within all of us, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Before departing, I needed to talk to someone at length before departing New City Church. That's part of what I do. A gentleman named Martin stood at the side of the church in a mask, holding a sign that said "We're Glad to See You!"
Martin was making the inbound families for the second service feel welcomed.
In recent conversations about MBTI and the Enneagram, I have become more clear that people engage with the world in very, very different ways.
In Martin, I found someone who was my extrovert equal, at the very least. Martin told me about his career, the church he used to attend in Phoenix, the merger of Church at Charlotte and New City, as well as multiple things about his activities to keep himself busy in retirement.
All in about five minutes.
Simply awesome to meet someone who is quick to share and so friendly.
This morning was a great time at New City, where I saw a new worship format (video taped sermon) for the first time, enjoyed a blended worship style that felt slightly discordant in some way, as well as pondering with respect and awe the men and women upon whom the church of 2020 was carried forward.
Thanks, New City. Peace to you.
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