An Experience of a Sunday Service at LWCC
During my visit on January 16, 2011, I attended both Sunday services and estimated between 300 and 500 people at each. The enormous sanctuary felt quite empty even with those numbers. However, I was told that services are often less full during the winter months, particularly in a region as cold as Minnesota.
The service consisted of opening music, during which many congregants raised their arms in praise and worship, an initial prayer “in the spirit of the Lord,” or in tongues. This was followed by morning announcements, which were done in video format on the three enormous screens at the front of the sanctuary. Speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, is referenced in the New Testament books of Acts and 1 Corinthians, and is often associated with the Pentecostal tradition. It was difficult to ascertain how many in the audience were participating in this particular prayer, but Pastor Hammond kept his voice amplified while he prayed and spoke in the collection of sounds and syllables; though foreign from an outsider’s perspective, the utterances have deep meaning for many. At this particular service, it was acknowledged that some members might have found speaking in tongues a bit strange, but the point of praying “in the spirit of the Lord” was that one must follow all, not just some, of what the Bible says. Picking and choosing, for Pastor Hammond, represents one of the major problems with many modern Christian churches. A forty-minute sermon by Senior Pastor Mac Hammond, or “Pastor Mac,” further emphasized the importance of commitment to the Bible, of reaping what is sown, of stewardship, and of the tithe. Throughout the service, attendees raptly took notes, responded with “amen,” “yeah,” and “Hallelujah,” and leafed through their Bibles to read along with the sermon’s Scripture selection.
The service concluded with another song and prayer and the passing of a collection plate. A special exhortation was made to those in the audience who were not “born again,” and were thus invited to come to the altar after the service and “take Jesus into their lives,” or just to pray with the pastors. Around fifteen people took advantage of this invitation after the service, although it was unclear whether they were being “reborn” or simply praying with the pastors. Each week, different pastors lead the congregation and it seems that some pastors are more popular than others, as some received more cheering and clapping during the announcements about which pastors would be preaching in the upcoming weeks.
