Worship in London

One of the things we've really enjoyed as a family is going to different churches when we are not enjoying our home church.  We've felt it was important that our kids understand the importance of weekly "assembling together" as the Scripture commands, and we have always been blessed to see a different configuration of the church in other places we've been.

That is especially true when worshipping cross- culturally.  As a Christian, it is remarkable how when you are in the presence of God's people gathered, there is so much that we have in common even though the practices and/or languages may be different.  It is especially touching to see people worshipping the Lord in a genuine manner in a different culture.

That has been especially true in London.  I was worried that when my kids came to Europe, they would experience a dead church.  That's what I've read about most churches here.  But what we discovered, at least in London, is that there is a vibrant body of Christ operating here.  Young people, long tired of the outdated and lifeless institutional churches they have seen growing up, are turning the Lord in droves.

We decided to go to Hillsong London today.  You may have heard of Hillsong, which is based in Australia, as we sing many of their songs in our church.  They are known for vibrant worship and we certainly experienced that.  You could tell the English influence on the music as it almost had a punk feel to it.  It was edgy and felt desperate, but it was incredibly moving to see people connecting with God here, especially after all I'd read about the church being extinct by-and-large in England. 

The church we met in worshipped in a large theatre and Stacy and I were the old folks.  Everyone on stage was in their 20s or under and seemed like the kind of people who would be very good at step aerobics.  Lots of dancing... skinny jeans... high tops... holes in the knees.  All very hip and cool.  And even though I couldn't pull it off (skinny jeans make me look fat) can I tell you, I loved seeing God at work in the young people in London.  It gives me a lot of hope for those places in the world where people are saying that God is going out of business. 

And I was also very proud of my kids.  I wanted us to go to church.  They WANTED to be there.  They were excited to go to Hillsong Church.  That's a huge blessing!  I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to give them this experience.  I guess you could say that I'm excited to see any place were God is at work--in a country, or even in the lives of my own kids.