35 :: Calvary Chapel of Delaware County

Today I worshiped at Calvary Chapel of Delaware County. If you're familiar with the broader set of large, evangelical congregations in the US, you may know Calvary Chapel out in California. This church is one of many East Coast churches affiliated with Calvary Chapel. 

This was my third time worshiping outside of North Carolina and second time above the Mason Dixon line while on this spiritual pivot. It was a fantastic experience. Part of what made it special was the chance to worship with family. While my fiancée Beth and I have been going to church together, we may be called "impending family" at this time. The people with whom I worshiped are blood family and one is from my body. My Aunt Sara and Uncle Bill are longtime believers in Yeshua and they were accompanied by their son Peter and his wife Karla (who is expecting a child in a few months!). My eldest son Liam also attended, he lives in the Philly area now.

There were two services, one at 9 and one at 11. We went to the 9 am service.

I drove there with Liam and we arrived to a snowy and grey morning.

As you can see, this is a modern church, and it is in a place that is markedly colder than Charlotte. The alignment with the contemporary church ethos is not only reflected in the design of the building, but also in the format of the worship. 

You'll notice there is a restaurant/coffee house, a bookstore, as well as a great-looking layout of the church's interior:

Really a beautiful church!

The worship was equally upbeat and modern. The band was solid and emotional. In all the right ways, this church reflected where church is going in general - toward a modern look, a modern format and contemporary music. And it seems to be working for Calvary Chapel of Delaware County. The attendance at the early service was reasonably solid. As per the usual with earlier services, the age bracket of the attendees was skewed a bit toward a bit of an older crowd. After the music, the screens lit up and a representative from a local ministry came on the screen and spoke about how they are able to help meet the needs of Philadelphia's poor through significant help from Calvary Chapel.

This was meaningful, as the wealth disparities in the Philadelphia area are rather profound and it looks like the gap is widening. As I type these words, it occurs to me that this can be said of every part of the US right now. 

After the video bulletins, Senior Pastor Bob Guaglione came on stage and gave one of the more solid sermons I have heard on this journey. He dug deep into Exodus and explored the story, themes and symbolism of the Hebrews being led out of bondage by Moses.

Beth watched this service from Charlotte, and we talked about it later. It made an impact.

Here's a picture of Bob covering some essentials right before giving the sermon:

Of note is that Beth and I have both been coming across explorations of Exodus a great deal lately, including at Freedom House. I love when this happens, it causes me to pay closer attention than usual, as I take it as an indication that something is being driven deep for me.

This sermon was absolutely part of that process, where a theme was being driven deep.

One of the first points that Bob made that hit home was that each of the ten plagues that were visited on the Egyptians were exact points of divine invasiveness. YHVH was intent on dismantling the economic vitality of the Egyptians and surgically visited difficulties on those parts of their societal strength and power. 

Agriculture? Swarms of locusts.

Irrigation? A Nile of blood.

Animal husbandry? Boils on cattle.

And so on. 

This sounds familiar to me. Deeply familiar and currently relevant.

In addition, Bob made the point that Moses offered Pharaoh the chance to have the plagues cease, by letting the Hebrews go. Specifically, Moses asked Pharaoh when he would want to frog plague to cease - to which Pharaoh replied... "Tomorrow morning."

Bob pointed out that even in the midst of the systematic destruction of his society, Pharaoh was still attached to the pain of the known. The Devil that he could see, if you will. 

As Bob himself might be fond of saying - Brutal!

The next morning, Pharaoh changed his mind (the theology around the role of YHVH "hardening Pharaoh's heart" is myriad and interesting) and didn't permit the Hebrews their departure. As a result, the chaos continued, culminating in the Angel of Death slaughtering the legacy of the Egyptians, while passing over the homes of the Hebrews because their door lintels had the sign of the blood of an unblemished Lamb on it.

Death passing us by because the Blood of the Lamb saves us would also sound familiar to the reader. Yes, the Passover story itself declares and prefigures the story of the Gospel. When I pieced these thematic similarities together decades ago, my mind was blown. That is candidly still my reaction now, seeing the perfectly coherent whole of the Biblical narrative and how it all fits together.

Amazing.

Back to Pharaoh's words - "Tomorrow morning."

This can give us reason for pause. What is it about the human condition that prefers to hold tight to misery and pain, even destruction? What causes us to prefer to dwell with a known pain instead of stepping out and risking greater pain.... but also freedom? We all know people who seem to be defined by past trauma such that their present is shackled by it? 

Indeed, why do we consent to living in a pain prison?

The answer isn't easy and each is answer is very personal. In short this is complicated stuff. 

If I have any insight to give on it, it is this... People can become comfortable living with a known pain instead of risking a new pain. A new pain could also be called an additional pain. Perhaps it would be worse than the original suffering. And because of these unknowns, many people cling onto the pain that they know best. They accept slowly sipping poison from a bottle that they are deeply familiar with. 

But it is poison nonetheless.

What Bob touched on during his sermon was the idea that people that become sick and tired of being sick and tired can get on the road of wholeness and relief through hard emotional work... as well as the relentless pursuit of a loving God.

To these points, I can only say Amen and Amen.

One more note, Bob worked in a scene from The Brady Bunch into his sermon. This was a first for me and made me laugh.

Toward the end of the service, the band knocked out O Holy Night, which was fantastic.

After service, we all had lunch at The Table, the embedded restaurant near the entrance to the church. It was delicious and I met Pastor John Clifford, who joined us at the table for some conversation. He is working on behalf of Calvary Chapel to build community in the Chester, Pennsylvania, which is one of the poorest zip codes in the US. John explained that Calvary is building five homes in and around Chester to help meet the needs of people in that community, including spiritual needs.

Profoundly important stuff and clearly evidence that this congregation is doing the work and walking the walk.

That my Aunt and Uncle have found this place makes me very happy. This is a place where they can worship, enjoy community, get solid teaching and live out their faith into the uncertainty that lays ahead for all of us.

But let's be honest - how the story ends is already known. Right?

Sincere thanks for this awesome church and very positive experience with my family around Christmas. It felt amazing to have this as my thirty-fifth church!