A trip to Willow Creek

Sometimes I really do take a lot of the things I have for granted. I complain about all of the things that I haven't been able to do yet, and all of the places I have yet to see. I don't stop to realize and thank God for all of the amazing things that I have been able to do in my life.
This last summer I was able to attend a worship service at Lakewood Church in Houston Texas while on a mission trip with the Mountain View youth group. It was a neat experience to see a church that large, and to feel a community of that size worship God all together. When I worked at Group I had a chart of the top 100 congregations taped to my cubicle just as sort of a fun reference piece, and I got to know of some of the other more influential megachurch congregations and their pastors. I also had the chance, however briefly to cruise by and admire the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California a couple years back.
A little over a year ago, I was feeling a little burned out by the lack of people at my home church back in Colorado. I loved the people at the church, but I wanted something more, something different, something that would allow me to experience worship in a new way. I started going to Timberline Church; a large congregation, with 5000 in attendance week, Assemblies of God Church (with a very very nondenominational feel). While I had attended megachurch programs in the past and been turned off by the simple seeker message, and feeling that everything was a show, this church felt different. I felt God present in my worship for maybe the very first time. Worship became fun, and meaningful. Through my experience I learned that any worship service anywhere can be just as meaningful as well if I let it. It's not about the fancy lights and great music, but instead about how I am in direct communication with God. I am praising and praying to him, but there is also a two way experience where I can feel him move in me as well. This new experience of worship was accentuated when I decided to return to Mountain View and prepare for seminary. Worship became something that became meaningful not only in Sunday worship, but also in the youth program each week. It became something that I truly looked forward to each week. I also began to see worship in other setting and appreciate how other people worship. I went to a service with a friend of mine, and while his church was much more charismatic and Pentecostal in feel, I loved it. I would never want to worship there every week, but watching people worship in a way that was true to them was beautiful. One year earlier I would have felt uncomfortable and unsure in this type of place, but I was completely at ease, and could see the face of Christ in the people present at the moment.
While there were things about Lakewood Church this summer that really turned me off, it also kindled in me a desire to "pilgrimage" to two other large famous churches in this country.
I was able to cross one of those locations off of my list tonight as I was able to attend worship tonight at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington Illinois this evening. I have learned that anyplace can give me a true authentic worship experience, but I also know that sometimes when I have a lot going on, a trip to a high energy, lights and sounds type worship can give me a bit of a renewal on life, and can refresh me. With the last few weeks of the semester approaching, I've been feeling the need for this for a little while. It's a three hour drive to Willow Creek, so after eating a late lunch, my roommate Gabriel and I took off on our pilgrimage. The service was both what I expected and needed. I was able to just relax and enjoy worship as an anonymous figure in a large room. I was able to enjoy a simpler message that was thought provoking, but not overly challenging. I was able to feel God present with me. More enjoyable though was being able to watch a pastor who regularly speaks to a church that can seat 1000 in Africa, be blown away by an experience that while refreshing to me, was not unexpected. I tried to prepare him of what to expect by telling him a little about the church, and showing him photos, but his reaction was fun. On the way home, he spoke over and over about how this was a life changing experience for him, and having him thank me for allowing him the opportunity to experience a new way to approach ministry back in his home nation. Something that is, while not the norm, at least normal, was an event to remember for a lifetime for another individual. Like I say, sometimes I really do take things for granted.