Awakening in the News:The News-Leader writes about our Bible Belt alternative...
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Awaken your spirit
The Awakening service at Brentwood Christian Church
focuses on a global, socially aware message.
Linda Leicht
News-Leader
Do you need a more open and inclusive approach to the Christian faith? Do
you want to further the causes of justice and peace? Do you think the church
should be a place where all are welcome?
If you answered yes to these questions, Phil Snider thinks the Awakening
may be just what you are looking for.
The Awakening is an alternative worship program of Brentwood Christian Church, where Snider serves as senior pastor. The concept started two years ago when Snider and associate pastor Emily Bowen decided that Springfield lacked innovative, non-traditional worship opportunities with an emphasis on social justice.
"We wanted to combine social justice and inclusivity with a more casual setting," Snider said.
The result is a dynamic worship style, where those attending can tap into "the God within us and outside of us," said Kevin Burgess, who with his wife, Tracy, has been attending the Awakening for the past year.
Finding God in one's self and in others is part of the challenge of the Awakening. Last Sunday, the theme of the service was religious pluralism, opening up discussion about the differences and the concepts shared by all faiths.
Snider said the service encouraged people to "think about who we are as Christians on this journey with those who are not."
For Jon Schmidt of Warsaw, a medical social worker for Benton County Hospice, "it brought everything together. I work with people of various religions in my profession."
On June 24, the service will focus on diversity with the theme "Welcoming the Stranger," in conjunction to National Hispanic and Bilingual Fellowship Day.
Upcoming themes include St. Benedict Day July 11, with a focus on caring for the sick, Simplicity Sunday in August and Peace Sunday in September.
Prophetic voice
Burgess, 37, finds a biblical "prophetic voice," which he believes the church is called to have, in the Awakening.
"That's the hard stuff," he said of the issues being addressed. "It's uncomfortable."
Taking on those difficult topics is something that attracted 19-year-old Rebecca Shuler to the Awakening.
The Drury University student said she hadn't been attending church since she was a middle schooler.
"The people that attend the Awakening are the people who were looking for something ... and weren't finding it," she said. "Once I got there I realized this was a really cool thing they were doing."
She found people who share her views and ideals and discovered ways to look squarely at world issues and talk about ways to change things. She just completed a Wednesday night class — Amazing Grace: Christians in the Global Slave Trade — that gave her insights into modern-day slavery.
"I think it's really important to be globally minded," she said.
Schmidt, 41, agrees. "I think there is a yearning to address more social issues," he said. "That's what's intriguing about Brentwood."
Bible belt alternative
Snider, 33, said he hopes the church will be seen as "Springfield's Bible Belt alternative" by providing a progressive point of view.
"We want to engage people from a biblical perspective," while encouraging open dialogue, he said.
"God isn't confined to one way of thinking," added Bowen, 29.
Brentwood Christian Church has a regular base attendance of about (215) at two Sunday morning services. The Awakening has attracted about 75 more people, about a third of them college students.
Shuler and her boyfriend, Nathaniel Carroll, represent that demographic. They enjoy the progressive service and the diverse congregation that includes older and younger people, families and students.
"People are always bringing new people in," said Shuler, who was introduced to the church through another friend. She invites friends all the time.
So does Burgess, who says he is "the last person who would ever be a churchy kind of guy."
He invites friends he knows are "looking for something," because he is confident that they will feel welcome.
The service starts with an invitation. "Whether you are a man or a woman, black or white, believe all of the time or just some of the time, you are welcome," Burgess repeated.
"We don't feel that we're the only ones in the world that are right."
Snider says the goal of the Awakening is to offer a place for people who may have been hurt or alienated by religion to feel loved and embraced "as a child of God."
Opening the doors of the church to people who are willing to wrestle with faith issues, such as helping the poor, encountering Christ and furthering peace should not be controversial, he said.
"Our culture is dying for lack of conversation."
1900 E. Barataria • Springfield, MO 65804
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