Wednesday, February 3, 2021

42 :: Relentless Church


On Wednesday night I worshiped at Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina. I was returning back from Atlanta and decided to see where I might go to church on Wednesday night. I found Relentless Church on DuckDuckGo and decided to take part in their Pursuit Night service, which happens on the first Wednesday of every month. I was deeply moved by this experience.

This. Is. How. We. Are. Meant. To. Worship.

Or, at the very least, this is one of the primary ways we are meant to worship. Active. Cathartic. Free flowing. Spirit-filled. Healing. Redemptive.

I sense living at a monastery for a week under a vow of silence may be deeply transformative and profound, as well (a new goal?). With that said, this is clearly another way that one can commune with the Spirit.

Yes, this was that kind of experience. Charismatic. Pentecostal. Potent.

I loved it and found it fascinating.

As I pulled into the church, I saw how a large number of outer buildings. This is indeed a huge campus, right near the Greenville airport. The main church, pictured above, is a grand building that can seat thousands of worshipers. 

I was greeted warmly upon entering. My temperature was taken as they used the touchless thermometer on the forehead of my masked face. I was good to go and I entered the church.

I sat in the sanctuary as the Wednesday night faithful gathered. The crowd size was only a few hundred people in a sanctuary that holds thousands. Many people were tuning in online.

As per the norm in contemporary churches, there were many things to watch on the screens at the front, as well as a clock countdown for the start of worship.





The anticipation grew as the small (and I was soon to discover, mighty) crowd streamed in. There were two guys up front doing the job of emcee'ing the online video feed.

Then a multi-person group of singers came out. The place lit up and we all started to move. Hands were in the air. This was the highlight, as we were all welcomed into the act of lifting each other up as the song moved mightily over all of us.


They sang a mixture of modern gospel ballads, as well as contemporary tunes from the praise and worship fare. I knew some very well and was introduced to a couple songs that I enjoyed deeply.

Here is some of that. Please spend some time with these videos and put them in full screen mode, they are very powerful:



Then the music continued and the singing turned into ecstatic verbalism, where the lead singer shifted into praise and exhortation. 


This part of the worship ran for well over an hour. Music, dancing, movement and all forms of enthusiasm were evident as the Spirit was welcomed into the sanctuary. It was heady and exhilarating stuff! As has happened a couple of times before, I felt something move within me that manifested one of the spiritual gifts.

Eventually, Senior Pastors John & Aventer Gray came on the stage and kept the momentum going. This included more singing, for sure. It also included a section where Aventer lifted John up in front of the crowd and called him a "General" for God. In addition, one of the more junior Pastors came on the stage and continued to lift up the crowd up.

We were making a transition toward the part of the event where we would hear the sermon. This was about an hour and a half into the event.



Then things slowed down, albeit ever-so-slightly. Enthusiasm remained high as Pastor John took his place at the front of the stage and started his sermon - "Intentional Pursuit."




So much to say about this message. The big take away for me was the narrative of Lucifer's fall from heaven, which was described as happening like a "bolt of lightning." Also, one third of the angelic hosts accompanied Lucifer. These are the angels who became adversaries of humanity - demons. And Pastor John reminded us that we, mere humans created from the dust of the Earth, have dominion that has us above our adversaries. The Satan and demons are actually beneath us in God's Creation.

In addition to being thoughtful and theologically robust, his sermon helped me understand that he is also a very funny guy. There was an undercurrent of humor through so much of this message. Great orator.

Pastor John's message reminded me of how CS Lewis's short novel The Great Divorce ends. Without being too much of a spoiler, the full weight of sin and death are but a fragment of a pebble when seen in their full clarity. The Cross and Empty Grave are as much about shattering illusions as they are about redeeming us from the curses of decay and death.

Fantastic sermon. This man and his wife are anointed in a way that is evident and powerful.

We finished well beyond the two-hour mark. I felt that slight exhaustion that is accompanied by a high degree of exhilaration. Such worship events are like that. Lifted up and ready for some rest. We were dismissed and filed out of the church in a socially distanced way. Everyone and everything was crackling with divine energy.

A placid and quiet encounter with God can be transformational and redemptive. That is perhaps one form of essential worship.

Another is the kind of worship that shifts a crowd mightily through a charismatic engagement with the Holy Spirit. And I certainly, certainly experienced this latter type of experience at Relentless Church.

I thank them deeply for such a relentlessly inspiring worship experience.


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