This month we visited a Free Methodist church, a Lutheran church, a Baptist church and a non-denominational church. Each one was unique, with it’s own atmosphere, traditions, and doctrinal emphasis. From what I’ve read and heard, the church today is getting more liberal, and straying away from the truth of the Word of God. As a general trend I suspect this to be true, however I did not sense this to be the case in any of these churches we had the great privileged of visiting. All were faithful churches, and all had their own distinct flavor.
The Free Methodists were a particularly friendly group. This was very noticeable in the Japanese language service which we attend once a month. My experience with Japanese people is that they are somewhat reserved. But as soon as the time came to greet each other everyone was out of their seats, walking around trying to shake hands with every last person in the place. Coming from a non-denominational church I was impressed by the strong support lent by the denomination to the church. The English speaking service had needed a new Pastor, so the denomination arranged for an interim to come and fill the void, and after a time of careful searching found a perfect match and sent him as a permanent replacement. The transition seems to be going really well.
The Lutheran service we attended was also in Japanese, it was the church my grandma attended before she passed away in February. Their service followed a rich Christian tradition rooted in doctrines cherished since the Reformation. There was much participation by the congregation; responsive readings and prayers, culminating with sharing communion. Communion was probably my favorite part of the service (granted it was again all in Japanese, so I had trouble following the rest of it). Everyone gathered around in a circle, kneeling at the alter while the Pastor brought the bread and the cup to each of us. It was a very intimate moment, kneeling there in a circle with all these believers as we shared in remembering Christ’s sacrifice for us.
The Baptists were perhaps the most conservative of the churches we visited, and in hindsight I probably should have worn a tie. Yet despite being slightly under dressed, we were immediately welcomed and accepted. What struck me most about this church was their passion to be faithful to God and the truth of His Word. They were painfully aware of the previously noted trend of Churches falling away from the truth and authority of scripture, and determined not to follow suit. Furthermore, missions was something that got these people excited, and we had a great time talking with many of them after the service.
The non-denominational church was more the style I’m used to, except that it was a church probably ten or twenty times larger than my own. The feeling of being lost in the crowd was offset by small groups. We spent the first service in a Bible Study that one of the small groups had. I observed the same closeness and friendship that my small church had among its members in among the members of the small group. And when we all migrated into the main service with hundreds of others, there were lots of people waving, and seeing other friends and mingling on the expansive patio afterwards. And the worship band was pretty amazing.
I went into each of these churches with a sense of apprehension, and left feeling like I had just visited long lost relatives. Despite the differences in styles of worship and traditions and customs, the distinguishing marks of Christians were present. These people had a love for God, a love for His word and a love for each other, a love which they almost immediately extended towards us. We were, as Paul said, members of one body, connected and drawn together by Christ, who is Lord of us all.