Deb Visits 50 Churches in 52 Weeks: #11 A Political Sunday: Jesus, Trump, and Mark Harris

WHERE I WENT AND WHY:
You know how you develop a Plan A and a Plan B? I think this Sunday I was on Plan X,Y, or Z! Originally we were going camping, then closing on our Mountain House, then that got delayed, so we decided on a road trip with friends. Suddenly I was looking for an early service here in town. 1st Baptist uptown was on my list, and it had an 8am service. (Then as we were picking up our friends afterward, I got called to South Carolina to help with my Dad's care.)

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO:
1ST Baptist is located at 301 S. Davidson St. and there is parking in a lot off 3rd St. They have a nice portal on their website that says "New to FBC? Start Here." It gives helpful information about parking, nursery and worship for school age children, what to expect, etc. Dress was "church casual." at the 8 am. service. They also have a service at 10:30 am.

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD:

The Sanctuary is very modern and was built in 1971 replacing the Byzantine structure on Tryon St. now known as Spirit Square. What struck me was the modern stained glass windows around the perimeter of the sanctuary juxtaposed with the classic stained glass in the middle of the chancel. I am assuming that the traditional window may have been saved from Spirit Square. There is a huge pipe organ that is very pretty but the chancel is very cluttered with band instruments (2 keyboards, drums, etc.) and screens. This is a real dilemma for church architects and re-designers as churches transition to using media and different forms of music. Only about 60 folks (from my count) gathered for the 8 am. service and the church which must hold more than 1000 felt voluminous and sparse. I was greeted politely, but no one asked my name. Only as I was leaving did the 10:30 greeter genuinely welcome me (and was curious about my segway).

MUSIC:

The music was VERY traditional, with the hymns having a gospel, or revival tone to them. A soloist performed "He has been faithful to me" during the offertory. While she had a beautiful voice, it felt more like a performance than worship to me. I think it was the contrast of the taped music (vs. the organ used during hymns) and the hand held mike that made me feel that way. A music leader led the hymns, but with such a sparse crowd, it was difficult to feel their power.

MESSAGE:

Dr. Mark Harris gave the message based on Matthew 11:7-24 where Jesus praises John the Baptist and condemns the surrounding cities for not accepting his deeds nor repenting. An outline of his sermon without comments or pictures appeared on the screen behind him. The nugget I got from his message was that complacency and indifference are sinful. It's easy to "slide" and say "I get it, but we have busy lives." Am I really putting my faith first?

Then he implored the congregation to leave their complacency behind and to "get out the vote". This he declared is "Freedom Sunday" where many pastors choose to skirt the Johnson Amendment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Amendment) which bars pastors from endorsing candidates from the pulpit at risk of their tax exempt status. He was very clear to preface his remarks with "I'm not telling you how to vote, but this is what I am doing."

In addressing the recent disclosure of Trump's indiscretions with women, he said that neither of the candidates have the character, consistency or courage that he would want in high office. Therefore he must choose who he votes for on the issues. The issues important to him were the sanctity of life (anti-abortion), traditional marriage, religious freedom (repeal of the Johnson Amendment), and future Supreme Court appointees. He believes that Trump is most aligned with these values.

In state offices he seemed to contradict himself when he said that HB2 was not about bathrooms. His main point was "we are under attack to create a genderless society". But then he said that HB2 is not about discrimination but is about safety and privacy (bathrooms?). After highlighting an information session in the social hall by the Culture Impact Team to further discuss voting choices, he dramatically ended by saying "I don't want to stand before you in November to share with you that the nation has fallen. Matthew 11 is about responsibility and judgement." ("And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades." v.23)

OUTREACH AND OBSERVATIONS

Wow! OK, I truly got the message not to be complacent or indifferent. But somehow I cannot believe that I am going to Hell if I do not vote for Trump or McCrory. (And likewise, I do not believe that he will go to Hell if he does.) And while that is not a direct quote, the implication was surely there. And I definitely do not believe that the nation will have "fallen" if Clinton is elected. While I am a big advocate of the separation of church and state, I do believe that pastors have a right and duty to be politically active, just as we all do. I just disagree with his politics and theology, especially regarding the LBGT community and same sex marriage. (See blog #8)
Announcements were given on the video screen at the beginning of the service. Several social events were highlighted along with a food drive so that they could serve a meals to needy folks on Thanksgiving: Operation Turkey Blessing. They are also participating in Operation Christmas Child.

1st Baptist, AKA Spirit Square, and the Library from an old post card

When reading the church history, I found it interesting that when they were building the structure on Tryon St. in 1906 (now Spirit Square and one of our few historical "saves"), Andrew Carnegie donated $5000 to the organ fund if they would architecturally complement the Carnegie Library being built next door.
I am continually encouraged to see that race is not a barrier on Sunday morning. According to the website, their staff is integrated and there was at least one African American couple in the congregation this morning.
I am sure my experience would have been different at the 10:30 service, for I am sure it is better attended.
My general routine is to write my blog on Sunday or Monday and then send a rough draft to the worship leader. Then I let it "marinate" a day or 2 for editing. I receive a response from the pastor a little more than 1/2 the time, but never one as thoughtful as the one I received this evening from Dr. Harris. While we still will have to "agree to disagree" on both points of politics and theology, I appreciate his thorough reading and responding to my blog. Here are his comments:
Hey Deb,

Thank you so much for your email. I find your effort to visit all these churches, and to write your impressions amazingly interesting. I would share a couple of things that you may want to correct before posting.

First, the sanctuary you were in was built in 1988, rather than the early 70s. I think the confusion is in the fact that the church relocated to Third and Davidson in the early 70s, building education space and a temporary sanctuary first. The "final sanctuary" was built in 1988, and the temporary sanctuary was converted to more Sunday School space.

You were correct in the difference between our 8am and 10:30am service. The 8am service, which is about 18 months old, is a very "traditional service" with hymns and the pipe organ. We do typically have a choir in both services, but our Worship Pastor was out Sunday, leading the music for Will Graham's Crusade in Scotland. While we did have a choir in the 10:30am service, we did not as observed in the 8am. That service had 118 people in attendance Sunday, by the time I got up to preach about 8:20am. But that service, with its traditional hymns and music, is very important to the overall culture of FBC's diversity.

I am grateful also you noted the diversity in our church. In fact, we are very grateful for the work, including our housing of Brookstone Schools, which is about 90% African-American, 5% HIspanic, 3% Asian, and 2% white.

I appreciate you sharing the point of the message being that where much has been given, much will be required. We have been blessed so much in this nation by God's gracious Hand, and it cannot be denied. My great concern is that in the midst of His blessings we choose to ignore His Word and His principles.

I also appreciate your candor, and hope you did understand that I said more than once that we may very well disagree, and I was only sharing my perspective, and how I had drawn my conclusions. I certainly do not think one's salvation rides on a vote or a political party. I will say, I did not, from my perspective, contradict myself, but perhaps was not as clear as I had hoped in that service. HB2, I believe, and the firestorm some have created over it, is about far more than simply bathrooms. It is about moving our society to a "genderless society." This would be, again from my perspective, a very different, and frankly, dangerous change for western civilization.

I hope you will feel welcome, and free to come and visit with us again. And, I hope you will visit our 10:30am service, as you are seeking to get a flavor of the different churches in Charlotte. I am sorry that I did not get a chance to meet you or talk further, but I do hope you will feel free to let me know if there are any other questions or anything I can clarify for you. Thanks again for writing me, and may God's blessings be yours in the days to come!

In Him,

Mark Harris

ADDENDUM TO BLOG #7:
This must be my week for responses! I got this interesting letter from Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Charlotte. I can't believe that they took the time and effort to write such a nice and informative letter! What really floored me was the return of my offering: "only Baha'is can contribute to the Baha'i Fund".