Worship is not just something you think.
We work extra hard to create an environment that’s conducive to these sorts of connections. We believe that authentic worship can involve all of the senses … sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
We often experiment with all of them, if for no other reason than to remind ourselves that we are not simply rational beings, but that we encounter God holistically, as human beings. So we try to pay as much attention to the soul and the body as we do to the mind.
“We are not simply rational beings. We encounter God holistically, as human beings.”
Even the way we set up the room means something.
Everything we include in our services is there for a reason. If you visit on a Sunday, here’s some of what you’ll notice, and why it is the way it is.
The chairs sit in a half circle
So we can always see each other as we worship. It reminds us that we are connected to one another, and that our faith is not meant to be merely private.
You can hardly see the band
There is no stage in the room. Nothing lifts the musicians above anyone else or sets them apart, so once the congregation stands to sing you barely see them at all. It guards against the big-show mentality and keeps the singing ours rather than theirs.
The cross, the bread, and the cup are at the center
Not the music, not the message, not the people leading either one. Everything else in the room points back toward the table.
The preacher speaks from the floor
On the same level as everyone else. Pastors are not super-Christians. They are a genuine part of this community, the ones we have chosen as a church to lead us and to give their lives, vocationally, to the service of the church. First among equals.
Communion comes last, not the sermon
Instead of exalting the singing or the message, we try to make communion the pinnacle of our time together. It is the last thing we do before the benediction.
We end by being sent out
The benediction reminds us that we do not gather for self-enhancement. We are sent into the world as salt and light, to take part in the mission of God as God puts the world back together again.
You shouldn’t have to leave behind what you love to come to church.
Music is a big deal in our culture. Everyone has their favorite songs, songwriters, and musicians they love to listen to. The music at Redemption reflects our belief that you shouldn’t have to disengage from the things you enjoy just to walk through our doors.
You’ll generally find a band at our Sunday services leading the singing, playing songs that glorify God and stir the imagination. That’s intentional, so that the people who come can feel some connection to the music from the very start.
This isn’t to say we leave out the ancient forms. Hardly a Sunday goes by that we don’t sing some of the great hymns of the church.
“We just do the old hymns more like Wilco might do them than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”
The table is the center of everything.
Communion is a sacrament, a means of grace whereby the people of God can experience the reality of Christ Jesus. The practice is ancient, instituted by Jesus at the last supper and kept at the heart of Christian worship from the very beginning of the early church.
In our commitment to maintain continuity with that ancient church, communion is the center of worship at Redemption as well. It is the last thing we do together before the benediction sends us home.
You don’t have to be a member to partake with us. Our hope is that every person who is trying to follow Jesus feels welcome at this table.
Intinction
We come up row by row. Each person takes the bread, dips it into the cup, and eats.
It’s meant to inspire a sense of mystery and reverence at how the body and blood of Christ provide grace for the whole person.
That’s completely okay
No one should ever feel like they have to take part in communion. If you’re not ready yet, or simply don’t feel comfortable, we’d encourage you to use the time for quiet reflection instead.
Learning to see yourself in the story of God.
One of the most important gifts a human being can ever receive is the ability to see themselves in the story of God … to embrace the reality that God is with us, and that we’ve been invited to participate in a life with God through Jesus Christ.
Each week we tell and re-tell that story, hoping we can all begin to see our own place in it. We encounter the scripture together. We read it out loud. We talk about what it might have meant to the people who wrote it and first received it, as well as what it can mean to us right here and now, in our lives.
All of this is aimed not so much at educating ourselves about what the Bible says. Our intention is to reflect together and discover what it means to follow Jesus, and then to actually attempt to do it. You can listen to recent teachings here.
Money is a great indicator of where the heart is.
Jesus knew this, which is why he talked about it so often. At Redemption we’re trying to learn how to follow Jesus in every aspect of our lives, and that includes our finances.
We try never to approach money in a coercive fashion, but we are careful to offer a chance to worship God through giving to the church as part of our service each and every week. If you’re our guest, you’re welcome to take part if you wish, and you should never feel obligated to give.
Our hope is that every gift offered to God on a Sunday comes from a grateful heart, given as an act of worship. If you’d like to know more, here’s how giving works at Redemption.
Don’t just hustle in and out.
Some people see the atrium before and after the service as a buffer between the car and the sanctuary. At Redemption we see that time as a vital life-blood of our community. It is not uncommon for people to linger an hour or more, enjoying each other’s company.
Our atrium is set up to help people engage in real relationships. Grab some coffee and a donut, pull up a chair, and make a few new friends.
Our hope is that the atrium becomes the place where you first get connected to other people here, and where a lot of rich conversation happens over the course of time.