Church Stacking: Week One

Week One: Here we Go!

If you're confused about what I'm writing about or why I'm doing this, check out my original "church stacking" post HERE! ---> "Church Stacking Background & Explanation"

I'm going to rate each church service on three things. Doctrine, music and at home-ness (how comfortable I felt in that service). This MIGHT offend some people. Im going to try to be as objective as I can about what I saw so please don't take offense if you personally love one of these churches. All had great things about them! :)

Hosanna (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod)

Saturday evening service

I'd heard a lot of great things from people who go to Hosanna and I knew that it is a fairly large church with two buildings. Honestly, I wasn't quite sure what to expect! (I went to the main one, not the MSU campus one). If you're one of my friends that goes there, please don't be offended. It honestly just wasn't for me.

I had a really strange emotional reaction upon just walking into the sanctuary (worship center, as they call it). I pretty much cried all the way through the service and I'm not really sure why. The service started with a video about the youth mission trip and I just thought it was so cool. Then the worship songs were moving. They dimmed the lights, tears were streaming down my face, and it was just like me...and God...and

WAIT. I'm sorry. But that "worship song" didn't really say anything. All I was singing was "beautiful one I love, beautiful one I adore." Like, am I singing to my boyfriend? Ha. Cat? Excellent lesson plan?? I'm confused. Then when I started doing upper harmony, the guy a few chairs down from me gave me a dirty look. So much for just me and God.

One thing I did really appreciate about this church was the sacraments. I thought they did a great job presenting the Lord's Supper in the typical Lutheran viewpoint. There was also a baptism (infant, mind you). It was clear they believed this was more than just a dedication. They welcomed the young girl into the faith and it was really sweet. And...I cried.

I don't even believe that and I cried, so I really don't know what was going on that day.

Overall impressions:

Doctrine: 6

Music: 3.

At home-ness: 5

Mt. Olive- Evangelical Lutheran Synod

8:30 Sunday Morning

This church is ELS, meaning that it was one of the churches that originally I was very opposed to back when I started attending Bethany. Now I'm not sure why that was...

The hymns were fantastic.  I felt comfortable singing them loud and proud, knowing that they lined up with my beliefs, meaning I didn't have to analyze every verse for what it would have me sing. There was more content in just one verse of the hymn than in all of the worship songs from Hosanna...combined. Plus, everyone was singing, and I could sing whatever harmony I wanted without getting a dirty look. Win-win!

The sermon, which was challenging and definitely gospel centered, focused around Matthew 21. It was a fantastic sermon about how Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the harlots. It is with repentant hearts that we enter the kingdom of God, not with hearts that boast about how perfect we are.

I think if I spent more time here, I'd probably feel more at home. I'm giving that section a slightly lower rating than the doctrine/music ratings because the liturgy was unfamiliar to me. 

Overall Impressions: 

Doctrine; 10

Music: 10

At home-ness: 8

Grace Baptist

10:30 Sunday Morning

I have never heard hellfire and brimstone preached like it was here. 

I have never heard a sermon based so much on a person's own works. 

I have never wanted to get up and leave a church as much as I wanted to do with this one. 

I brought 3 of my Mount Olive attending friends to this church with me. I trust and value their opinions and wanted them to experience this church at the same time. I have never been so embarrassed to be a Baptist. 

This church was a polar opposite of  Mount Olive. Mount Olive preached hope and repentant hearts. The full gospel was apparent in the hymns. The point was clearly made that it was no work of ours that saves us, but solely Christ's death and resurrection.

Grace Baptist preached condemnation and the necessity of living a good life. He focused on the eternal consequences of sin, specifically adultery, with little focus on the hope that is in Christ. At one point he yelled at us all from the pulpit with hellfire-and-brimstone preaching. Yet, through all of this, the pastor hardly touched the Bible and mostly just told stories of his own life and how he did a great job in his marriage and managing money. I was so embarrassed, and kept telling my friends, "not all Baptists are like this! I promise!" 

I'm so glad I went to Mount Olive this morning as well as I was able to clearly see the stark differences in the two churches. One was ridden with shame and guilt, while the other convicted my heart with a message of hope and peace.

*EDIT 8/09* There WAS a guest speaker at this church. I have heard from several church attendees that this sermon was not the norm for them and they were irritated by it as well. I think I'll add it to next weekend, and go to the evening service. 

Overall Impressions: 

Doctrine: 2

Music: 4 (the hymns were really weak, doctrine wise. They didn't really say anything). 

At home-ness: 4 (only because the service type was familiar to me. I certainly didn't feel at home when told to NEVER COMMIT ADULTERY AND NEVER GO IN DEBT)

Our Savior's (LC-MS)

Sunday Night 6pm

Oops! Turns out that Our Savior's 6pm service is actually on Saturday's! Looks like I'll be going to this church next week on Saturday. :)
Next week's line up:

If you think of it, please pray for me as I try to find a regular church here in Mankato! :)