The Chapel at Akron: Where it all Began

Without question, we can all look back at our walks with God and point not only to moments in time, but also to geographic locations that stand out as pivotal points therein. The Chapel at Akron is significant to my family, serving as the place my father-in-law began his walk with God many years ago. Since that time, Paul and his wife, Barbara, as well as their two children, Hannah Serafino, and Joe, have re-visited this church numerous times to remember and refresh the beginning of what's proven to be a lifelong faith journey. For that reason, I decided to end this exploration with a visit to The Chapel and I write this post not only as a final glimpse of my experience with the local church, but in honor of a godly man whose walk with God has had a direct and incalculable impact on my life. Thank you, Paul. You're a good man, no matter what they say!

The Chapel at Akron surprised me. First of all, pastoral transitions are awkward for everyone; regular attenders feel it, staff live it, visitors sense it. The tension from a pastoral search and the inevitable drama that accompanies it can be tricky. The staff that drove the 10:40a.m. service at The Chapel this past Sunday, though, weathered the service flawlessly, calling out the awkwardness of the uncertainty by requesting feedback in a brief survey, and moving on with the things that matter, like worshiping God.

There was a strange juxtaposition of emotions upon entering and seating myself, by myself. Looking around, I noticed the variety of dress, style, ages, and demographics all around me, clear up to the 'nosebleeds' of the balcony. Yet it seemed so familial, like everyone still knew mostly everyone. I never once felt like a face lost in translation, but knew I was a part of the body of believers at The Chapel, if only for one week. To put it another way, I suppose I knew I'd come to church, which is more than I can say for the other megachurches I've attended lately.

Worship was beautiful. Drew Belden led us into the throne room of God with several songs that were easy to learn, well-rehearsed yet not terribly over-produced. Simple choruses, acoustic versions of hymns, gentle vocals and effects all worked together to create an aesthetically-appealing and spiritually-refreshing worship environment.

My surprise was only heightened, then, by the kind of preaching I experienced. As has undoubtedly been made clear by the first several megachurches mentioned in this process, I'm skeptical as to the biblical depth of megachurch messages. But Pastor Jacob Ley walked us through Scripture in a way I've seen many megachurch pastors fail to do. His desire to delve into deep biblical truths was evident to me as he preached about our role in taking up the mantle of Jesus Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, continuing His work here on this earth, as recorded in John 14. When I left, I felt as though I'd been disclosed deeper insight into the will of God. I personally appreciated this depth; it's good to know that a church can grow to monstrous proportions without 'taking down the cross' from the stage (and thus, all-too-often, from the message as well).*

I was proud to finally experience the heritage into which I married, and prouder still to know the church that fostered the beginning of the spiritual walk of my father-in-law is still preaching the Word, loving its community, and changing live without apology or inhibition. 

*A snarky allusion to Rick Warren's Purpose Drive Church, where he suggests removing crosses to appear more accepting or to appeal to a sense of political-correctness. 

Resurrection Sunday; The Sequel

As many of you may know, this past weekend, was Easter Sunday for those within the Orthodox Tradition. This discrepancy in dates goes back to the difference in annual calendars used; Orthodoxy follows Julius Caesar's Julian calendar, from 46 B.C., whereas Catholics and western traditions align with the Gregorian calendar decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.* For whatever reason, these different calendars caused Easter (Passover, or Pascha) to fall five weeks apart this year. Following the somewhat disappointing Easter celebration (a term I use loosely) on March 31st, we decided to add May 5th to the schedule in hopes of redeeming 'Easter' for the year 2013.

And redeem it we did! Unfortunately, Hannah was sick and unable to join me. But per the invitation of some good friends, I ventured out into the cold Saturday night air to the Pascha service at Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, which began at 11:30p.m. and ended when the festivities for the night died down. 

For the sake of portrayal as accurate a picture as I can of my experience, I must first share with you that I have an eye condition that causes night-blindness; candlelit rooms, though reverent, are less-than-ideal for my having any clue what's going on. My friend Bailey took me by the arm and led me to a pew, where I met Matt, who said he would help me as needed throughout the Pascha service. How fitting, though! I was the perfect object lesson that night, standing there as a literal manifestation of what we were celebrating. The scent of the incense, the tonal worship and choral chanting wafted through the dark hall for more than a half an hour, until midnight. Candles were distributed, and the light past from hand-to-hand.

Once all candles were lit, we were led outside, where we marched in a processional around the church building. Once, twice, three times, with the bell tolling in front of us, and each stopping as they had need, to relight their candle from the night time wind. Following the processional, and short time of prayer outside, we moved back into the sanctuary, where I quite literally passed from blindness to sight, from darkness to light, and the celebration ensued!

Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen!

Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!

Cristo ha resucitado! En verdad ha resucitado!

Kristo amefufukka! Kweli amefufukka!

The priest circled the room countless times (most likely a multiple of three, if I were to make a guess), sprinkling water on us and blessing us with incense exclaiming in any language he could remember that Christ is risen! And as the members of the congregation crossed themselves and received the blessings, they replied, if the knew the given language, that "Indeed, Christ is risen!" Never before have I been among a group of believers so excited to remember that Christ was indeed alive. Laughter and joy filled that room as, for over an hour, we chanted "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life!"** 

The Divine Liturgy began around 1:30a.m. followed by communion, of which I was unable to partake (presumably because I am not a member of the Orthodox church, right?). Nonetheless, being present in that room during such a celebration is an experience and memory I will not soon forget. The priest ended the service by blessing the dozens of 'Easter baskets' on stage. I soon found out that these baskets were full of all of the foods and drinks from which the members of the church had been fasting for several weeks. And when the service was over, the feast began. Pork, steak, sausage, chili, bacon, cheeses, bread, beer and wine, chocolate, and countless other foods soon filled the tables of the fellowship hall, as we all gathered around to celebrate the resurrection of Christ our Lord. 

The selflessness that pervades the Orthodox tradition (from what I've experienced) is its defining factor. In American churches, we are free, and almost encouraged, to "have it your way." Find the worship and the preacher and the sermon time and the children's ministry that appeals most to you and go to that church. Orthodox Christians gather together at the same times, in the same manner, with the same liturgy and worship that they have for centuries, taking the human variable out of the equation and giving God was is God's, week after week, year after year, and again and again. They take fasting seriously. They gather at all hours of the night to bring in the resurrection of Christ. There is no room for "I don't get anything out of that" in these churches.

With this being one of my final posts in this blog, I would emphasize again the need for a renewed sense of reverence and sanctity within the American church. Orthodoxy recognizes God as God in a way I feel most protestant-evangelical churches fall short. If you're only exposure to the Orthodox church is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," I urge you to take a Sunday, empty yourself of preference and "getting anything out of" this or that, and go silence yourself in the halls of a great building where the Spirit of God moves like wafts of incense through the hearts of his worshipers.

*A quick answer I found here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070316053624AAoTlCC
** The Paschal Troparion, chanted in sets of three. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paschal_troparion

God's Two-Cents

Albeit late in the week, I’d like to briefly share the experience we had this past Sunday. From what I understand (please correct me if I’m wrong), New Pointe Community Church began in Dover, Ohio, and has since spread across Stark County to multiple campuses. We attended the Canton site this past week, where we were able to worship comfortably with three or four hundred other members of the body of Christ.

It’s a unique experience sitting in an auditorium watching a video screen, knowing that, somewhere, the speaker, Pastor Dwight Mason, was not only addressing a congregation directly in front of him, but three other congregations via similar video screens. Initially, it’s a weird feeling; I can get the same experience sitting in my underwear on the couch at home. And I’m certain this argument has been raised at board meetings and in critical reviews across the nation since this multi-campus church movement has taken off. However, the wonders of modern technology now allow for a multi-thousand member church to be ‘one,’ hearing the same vision, same teaching, from the same man simultaneously.

I would love to end my experience there, but, once again, I feel compelled to portray my experience and observations in its entirety, which has not always taken the form of positive niceties. As I shared after our first experience at a local megachurch, there seems to be a lack of biblical depth and foundation to the teaching. I’m concerned, personally, about what seems to be a trend in churches like this; we have begun watering down Sunday morning messages to appeal to those who might find biblical fundamentals too intimidating or overwhelming. The current series at New Pointe is Five Emotions That Will Destroy Your Life. This past week we learned about grief, and how improperly dealing with grief and loss will imminently erode your faith, your personal well-being, and your relationships. This is true, without question. But these kinds of psycho-emotional therapy lessons mirror the kind of well-being lessons taught by Dr. Phil and Oprah. Since we have stapled some Bible references to them, we can call it a ‘sermon’ (or ‘message,’ for those who find the word ‘sermon’ unpalatable).

Adding parenthetical Bible references to the outline of a college course on “Grief and Loss” doesn’t by default imply Biblical depth. I don’t at all want to imply that every sermon ever taught should be verse-by-verse exegesis, but there are certainly ways to approach issues like this from the Bible, instead of supplementing someone else’s material with God’s two-cents.