The definitive Baptist experience
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 29 March 2008 10:07:04
[disclaimer: I have attended a baptist church for about a year now. Prior to that I went to an Anglican church for 25 years or so. Hence any generalisations I make may be somewhat fanciful]
Most evangelical churches in Sydney with more than one service on a Sunday tend to have a family service in the morning, sometimes a traditional service early in the morning, and a contemporary service at night. At my previous church there were two evening services, one had become "young married couple"-central, the other was "trendy highschool/uni student"-central. I didn't really fit into either of these categories and objected to "the church" being so segmented (it wasn't the fault of the church, just how people gravitated). At my new church there is a good range of people at the evening service - old people, young people, single people, married people, people with kids, people without kids. I like it like that.
An interesting thing about Sydney churches is the similarity between Anglican, Baptist and Uniting (aka. Methodists, Presbyterians and various others) church services and theological bent. In the rest of Australia and the world there are significant differences between these traditions, but in Sydney (conservative theology and minimal tradition capital of the world) the practical differences are negligible. Hence there are large numbers of people who don't subscribe to any particular denomination but will happily belong to any.
At my church I am currently not eligible for membership as I have not been baptised by immersion. They are happy enough to do this (the church is across the road from a large lake), however at this point I'm not sure of the need to be baptised again. Although the pastor does agree with me that I should not have to be baptised again. It's a church constitution thing. And perhaps the constitution will change in the future. That said, there is nothing to stop me participating fully in the church - I can take communion, lead groups, be in the church directory, erm do other stuff... and they give me money to go to mission in summer. Apparently I am seen as a small m member. As are a large proportion of the congregation!
So a typical evening service at my church involves singing, prayers, sermon, announcements, sometimes communion and occasionally a variety segment. There are probably about 100 people present on a regular night (although I have never counted. Perhaps I will one week) in a building that comfortably fits that many without acres of empty space.
Building Layout
The building is of a funny shape. This picture does not really represent the shape. However that's how the seats are.
I have included co-ordinates in case I wish to point out any features. At the moment I don't wish to do that.
Music
We mainly use contemporary music. Common songwriters include Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, various Hillsong people... and some others. There is also commonly a sprinkling of hymns - either new hymns (eg. Stuart Townsend - How Deep the Father's Love, In Christ Alone) or old hymns, typically with a new tune (eg. When I Survey, May the Mind of Christ...).
Then occasionally someone throws in a Baptist classic. These sound like they're of 80s origin, some earlier. I can't really describe them. Both hearty AND cheesy. They usually make me giggle a bit. And I can't remember what any of them are called unfortunately.
The music team usually consists of a guitar or two, a bass guitar, drummer, piano, a few singers. These people are not projected onto a screen. However the words to the songs are.
Prayers
Usually someone asks if anyone has anything they want prayed for, then they throw in a few that haven't been mentioned. It's most common for the person at the front to then pray, but occasionally the front person says that anyone who wants to can pray out loud.
Communion
Grape juice and bread, open to all believers. Walk down to the front where there are two people at the head of each aisle, one armed with bread and the other with grape juice (apparently the younger generation of Baptists aren't so much into the teetotal thing, however we must respect our heritage). Pull off a bit off bread, dunk it in the juice.
Sermon
We are very lucky to have some excellent sermonisers at my church. These can be anything from 10-45 minutes. But the 45 minute ones are not a chore - there is no padding out with waffle, and it doesn't feel like 45 minutes.
Supper
Tea, coffee, cold drinks, whatever food the supper people have brought.
Everyone on their way by about 8.