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Florida International University *
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2011
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Religion
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Christianity, a major and popular religion, is traced back to the region of Judea. The
religion was derived from Jesus and followers of the religion believe that he is the Messiah.
Attending church can help and mean something in a variety of ways to people. Some believe that
it helps trace the path of morality and ethics while worshipping God and their Messiah, Jesus.
Today I attended a church service virtually the church's name is Central Church. I delved into the
service in search of an experience that garnered some questions and interest about the religion
and its practices.
Many know the basics of the popular religion Christianity, but do they know the
background? Christianity is a religion that was not formed in the Western world but was formed
in Judea and it follows the teachings of Jesus. A Jewish-born man who was born in seven B.C.
and identified as Jesus Savior of the world. Christians believe that if they believe in “God and
accept Jesus as the Christ,” they “Will attain salvation and eternal life” (Gale 1). The term church
has a broad definition. Ultimately, one may define it as a group of believers who share one
belief, and that is a belief in Jesus Christ. However, nowadays we know that the mention of a
“church” refers to a place of worship, and worshippers are referred to as “churchgoers”. A
church service is led by a pastor and helps others worship. The service may also include a band
that sings during some parts of the service. One popular song that is sung during the service is
“Hallelujah”. Many have found that creating a ritual of attending church service and for
ming a
connection with the community helps them with keeping their morals in check. It provides them
with explicit and implicit moral teaching on specific issues and may act as a means of
communicating and set of moral and ethical principles.
The Central Church is a non-denominational Christian Church. It was founded by Lori
Wilhite, and her husband Hud Wilhite who is the senior pastor. Central Church has many
locations across America. They strive to complete a mission of introducing people to Jesus and
helping them follow him. The ultimate vision for them is to “Facilitate a movement of God's
grace through central locations where the good news of Jesus is shared, life change Is
experienced, and God's light shines brightly around the world.” The
y believe that God is the
Creator and ruler of the universe and that He exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is equal to the Father and the Son as God, and that He lives in every Christian. That
the Bible is God's word and is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Lastly,
they believe that the church is the body of Christ on earth.
The Central church’s service lasts to about an hour and includes live worship and Bible
-based
teaching. From what I have seen, the church consists of two sections. One section is for
baptizing, and the other consists of a stage with lights and a band that has a big wooden cross
standing tall in the middle of the stage. Surrounding the stage are seats set up for church goes
like a concert. Central Church starts the service with a beautiful song about Jesus. The singers
are captured with joy and praise while the churchgoers sing along and clap with them. I feel that
it's smart to set up church service that way. Because it captures modern people alongside kids
and teenagers and connects them to Jesus in a fun way while still capturing its spirituality. After
both songs are done, a pastor comes out and talks about helping people grow in their faith. He
talks about three things that are needed in order to achieve that. The pastor mentions; faith,
community, to be challenged to grow in their faith, and to ask yours
elf, “How do we make a
difference in this world?” I noticed that the pastors and the churchgoers were all dressed up
pretty casually, in jeans, T-shirts, and flannels. Moving on, the pastor mentions that the
community of the church should know that they are family, and wants them to be able call
church, home.
The service moves onto a prayer, a prayer for peace, a prayer for kids and families who are
struggling and that they should struggle no longer. While observing, it is my belief that their
greatest strength is praying through song. Their songs consist of and are filled with awe-inspiring
dialect and soul-uplifting words. As mentioned before, the central church consists of two
sections during their service. So, during one part of the service, people were standing in line,
waiting to be baptized. Towards the end, Pastor Wilhite Comes onto stage and talks about many
complicated aspects of life while quoting the Bible. The power of belief, and how it influences
us. The pastor also talked about the current conflict in the Middle East, they later took time to
pray
for the innocents and peace. He ended his sermon with a saying that stuck to me, “You can
believe the best is yet to come.”
There were many questions running through my mind during a specific time of the
service, and that was during the baptism segment. Some of the questions were, isn't baptism done
once in a person's life? Where does baptism come from? And why do they do it? According to
the journal
Baptism as Death and Birth: A Psychological Interpretation of its Imagery
, “In the
past, baptism could function as a rite of passage for every newborn infant, inducting him or her
into a Christian society” (Bregman 27).
Moving on, baptism can be seen as mentioned in the
article
The Baptism of Jesus in Light of Jewish Ritual Practice
quotes a proverb from the Gospel
of Mark, “At the time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan” (Gruenwald 302). When I was watching the baptism, it reminded me of a ritual that
Jewish people do to purify themselves. I was not shocked when I read that baptism may have
been taken from a Jewish ritual that we call “Mikavah”. In addition, when a person converts to
Judaism their last step in the conversion process is to submerge themselves in water with a
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witness present, very similar to the main reason of baptizing in Christianity. However, there are
major differences that distinguish both of these rituals as different. Jewish people do it once a
week or once a month, whilst Christians usually do it once or twice in their lifetime.
Another question that plagued me while watching this church service was “How is this a real
church service?” I always pictured church services very differently. To me, the interior would be
lined up with wooden benches, with the pastor at the forefront and the band on the side. Also, it
would have stained glass as windows and several worshipping arts. However, this church service
was set up more as a concert event that sang church songs with the occasional words of wisdom.
In no way am I criticizing the church service, but it begs the question, is this what a real church
service considered these days? Are they trying to modernize an ancient service, to gain more
followers? Because I understand the draw most people would have to do it. Growing up, I didn't
en
joy going to Synagogue and I didn’t participate in the service, but if my synagogue had a
service that was similar to this one, I would most likely participate and listen. Moving on, I
searched the internet to see if there was a trend in creating church services that were like the
Central Church, and I was surprised to see that it has become a trend across America these past
few years.
My personal experience watching this church service was great, insightful, and interesting. I
enjoyed watching the service and listening to the words they used in their songs and the Pastor's
prayer for peace alongside life lessons that he connected to the Bible. I realized that if I was a
person who did not believe strongly in the faith she was raised in, I would've considered
converting to Christianity, and that’s a crazy thing to be able to say. I have met amazing people
in my life and some of them are Christians. My family has a lot of Christian friends who come
every Friday night for our Shabbat meal. They are respectful, nice, and peaceful people. From
what I have seen and heard in the video, it's true for the majority of people who follow
Christianity.
Witnessing the service at Central Church, a modern but holy flip on traditional church services
was vibrant, interesting, and insightful. The blending of spiritual music sung, scripture and
insightful sermons demonstrates an evolution in how faith is shared, worshipped, and celebrated
in a variety of ways. It shows how baptism is a ritual, deeply rooted in history and tradition, and
resonates with themes of purification and rebirth found in a different religion that has a belief
system that does not correlate with theirs in major ways. As churches adapt to contemporary
styles, showering their community with inclusivity, a right to be heard and understood through
all walks of life. The experience that is talked about reaffirms that Christianity, in its nature,
aspires to inspire goodness, peace, and a meaningful connection with the Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
Work Citation List:
“About.” Central Church, 15 Sept. 2023, centralchurch.online/about/.
Bregman, Lucy. “BAPTISM AS DEATH AND BIRTH: A PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF
ITS IMAGERY.” Journal of Ritual Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 1987, pp. 27–
41. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44368340. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.
Gruenwald, Ithamar. “The Baptism of Jesus in Light of Jewish Ritual Practice.” Neotestamentica, vol. 50,
no. 2, 2016, pp. 301
–
26. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26417639. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.
“I Believe in God.” Central Church, 15 Oct. 2023, https://centralchurch.online/series_experiences/i
-
believe-in-god/?ytLinkType=full. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.
Palmisano, Joseph M., editor. “Christianity.” World of Sociology, Gale, 1st ed., Gale, 2001. Credo
Reference, search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MTY5MDU4MQ==?aid=107350.
Accessed 21 Oct. 2023.
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