July 14, 2024
This morning I hiked toward the Shoppes of Knollwood in
south Champaign in search of New City Church. One of its site pages said start
time was 10 and another page listed services at both 9 and 11. Since it’s
really hot today, I decided to hope the 9 was correct. On my first pass of the Google-maps-indicated location there was no sign of a church, nor any collection
of cars. I wandered about the buildings and parking lot for a few minutes
before a couple of guys came out a door and put up a welcome sign. I’ve
been in enough churches with rented locations to realize that this was
probably the spot. Bingo. But where were all the cars? Turns out the double
service times are for during the school year, not summer. I was an hour early.
An engaging young man offered me water and showed me to the main room where I sat down to wait. Rather than leave me there, he struck up a conversation. When I asked his story, this Midwest Baptist seminary student was happy to pull up a chair and share it in enough detail that took us right up to start time.
In the meeting room, a large cross hangs behind a stage up front. Under the open ceiling are rows of cushioned chairs with QR codes on the back of each so that visitors can get more information, an innovation not surprising in a youthful church. Soundboard and coffee are in the back. Keyboard and guitar players and the lovely singer were getting set up and practiced a few songs. About half way into the hour of waiting, the pastor called his team to a huddle in the back in preparation for the morning’s event. He asked the speaker what today’s sermon would be. I could tell from what I overheard that it might be a difficult day because something tragic had just happened.
The service began with a couple of songs as people filtered in. The crowd of maybe 50 or 60 people was fairly young with only a few looking retirement age. Kids were down the hall in Sunday School. Pastor Nick came to the podium and told the group that one of their own had unexpectedly died last night. Soft sounds of grief were heard as we went into a time of prayer for this wife and children. The deceased man is worshiping in person with the Father today, Nick said, and he would want us to carry on even in sorrow. The pastor and others would be available after the service and all afternoon for anyone who wanted to process their pain and questions. “Whatever you’ve got, bring it.”
There followed about five minutes for people to greet and connect with each other. I made the acquaintance of a woman sitting behind me. We then sang the nineteenth-century hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus and couple of contemporary songs. One man raised a hand. At two stations set up in the front, we went to dip bread in juice in remembrance of the sacrifice of the cross.
Everyone seemed to be familiar with the speaker, Josh. We stood for the reading of the Word, II Peter 2, a timely
warning against false prophets. Here are a few of the points. False teachers
deny that God’s judgment is real. There aren’t so many prophets today (hmm). We
are more vulnerable now however. In the first century a person pretty much had
to be within earshot to hear someone’s message. Today we can speed through
multiple conflicting messages with a click. Who do we trust for information?
How do we know what is true? Look to the Bible and to Jesus, the God-man. Spend
more time there.
Pastor Nick took the stage again and reminded everyone of the annual Mission Trip to Campus which the church does when university students return in late summer. He closed with gratitude that the people of God can continue to sing songs of praise and hope even after such a sobering event as the church community is now experiencing. The benediction was from Hebrews 13.
