GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas, March 2, 2014 -- Located in a working class neighborhood in Grand
Prairie, the church has only small parking lots, and many of those arriving for
the service are forced to park on small neighborhood streets. The church holds multiple services in order
to accommodate its crowds, and it was of interest to realize when arriving for
the 9:00 a.m. service that the earlier service, which began at 7:00 a.m., was
relatively full.
Entering the front of the building, one finds himself
in a small, crowded lobby. As the 7:00 a.m. service was still ongoing, those
arriving were asked to line up along the right side so that those in the
earlier service would be able to file out. Other attendees waiting were
friendly. A woman standing near me struck up a conversation, asking if it were
my first time attending and telling me how much she liked coming to church
here. Several ministers wore clerical collars. When, after entering the
sanctuary, I asked one for help finding a restroom, he started to give
directions, realized it was getting difficult to follow, and took the time to
walk me in the required direction.
The sanctuary was by far the smallest of the churches
attended for this study, and at first I wondered if the attendance figures
reported by the Hartford Institute were inflated. However, the church has two
campuses, multiple services, and children meeting elsewhere for separate
services, making the claimed attendance possible. The pulpit area was also
relatively small, with a band and choir squeezed in behind a traditional pulpit
area that included a white marble podium. For some reason there were NFL
football pennants attached around the pulpit.
The facility is aging, but well-kept. Banners, which
appeared to be home (or church) made, hanging along the side walls contained
titles for Christ such as Lamb of God, King of Kings, and Lion of Judah.
The choir entered around ten minutes after the stated
starting time wearing white and navy choir robes. The service began with two energetic
songs, led by a song leader and praise team and an instrumental band of
guitarists, drummer, and keyboardist. The songs were repetitive, but contained
gospel content. One entitled “I Just Want to Bless your Name” included a verse
discussing being ransomed by the blood of Jesus. The song leader led in prayer.
After those songs, several announcements were
delivered via video. The St. John Bible Institute has the purpose of providing
more detailed Bible study for laymen. Other announcements concerned an upcoming
mission trip, a class for those planning on getting married, an upcoming
emphasis on fasting, discipleship groups, and a holy week revival featuring a
speaker from out of town. A short video highlighting the church’s singles
ministry talked about focusing less on who to marry than on why.
Another video featured the work of a scientist named
George Caruthers, who is a black Baptist and a renowned scientist. A prayer of
Thanksgiving was offered.
After one of the ministers made some additional announcements
not on video, visitors were asked to stand. Only a few did so. This was
followed by a fellowship time in which members milled about shaking hands while
music played.
At this point, the choir performed an animated anthem,
with much rhythmic clapping and swaying involved. Some in the congregation
stood and clapped along with the choir during the performance. After that,
Pastor Denny Davis came to the pulpit and asked for those having March
birthdays to stand. After leading the congregation in singing Happy Birthday,
he made some additional announcements about upcoming meetings. A soloist, along
with the choir, then sang a song entitled “God Is Real,” which claimed that
“God is real because I can feel Him in my soul.”
By the time Pastor Davis stood to preach, the service
was nearly an hour long. Wearing a Geneva gown, he announced after a prayer
that the title of his sermon was “Whatever it Takes,” taking for his text Luke
9:57-62, which reads as follows (ESV):
57
As they were going along the road,
someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes
have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to
lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first
go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus[a] said to him, “Leave
the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of
God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow
you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Rev. Davis pointed out that in the text Jesus was
exposing shallow commitments by some would be followers. After humorously
referencing some secular love songs that make verbal commitments to one’s love
that go well beyond what most men will actually follow through on, he pointedly
stated that many Christians will sing, “I surrender all,” when they mean: “I
surrender some.”
From this text, the pastor first talked about “the
cost of followship.” He contrasted Jesus’ promise of the possibility of
homelessness with the claims of modern prosperity preaching. He contended that
Christians should not expect prosperity, but hardship, but added that rather
than complain about our plight, Christians should remember the things that
Jesus endured for us.
Second, the pastor spoke about “the urgency of followship.”
Acknowledging that verses 59-60 appeared to be harsh, the pastor told the
congregation that he had relied on a book entitled The Hard Sayings of Jesus
(F.F. Bruce) to help explain the passage. Ultimately, he urged upon the
congregation that we must move beyond past pain and be ready to move forward to
the future in order to follow Jesus.
Finally, he spoke about the “commitment of
followship,” which is to the King. One cannot follow Jesus and follow self at
the same time. The pastor contended that no one can follow him and follow self
at the same time. He argued that Jesus is saying here, “I have developed the
rules. If you want to follow me, you have to live by the rules.”
From this point through the end of the sermon, the
pastor began to use a melodic delivery that was punctuated by chords played by
the organist. He closed by relating children’s games such as Simon Says to the
necessity of following the words of Jesus and praying for the congregation.
An invitation for people to come forward was then made
as the choir sang. The service concluded with an offering and communion taking
place simultaneously while the choir and a soloist sang “The Blood Will Never
Lose its Power.” Prayers were made both prior to and following the
offering/communion ceremony.
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