Houston Report #8: Chapelwood Contemplative Service instead of Joel O'Steen and Lakewood Church

On Sunday morning the Beesonites allowed me to stay behind in suburbia while they went Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in downtown Houston. This church, for those who don't watch such things on television, occupies the space formerly known as "The Summit," which was the home of the Houston Rockets.Looks like I missed out on the front rooooooowwwwww! My classmates were recognized in the service and asked to stand (I suspect it will be edited out . . . man . . . I would love the power to edit my sermons after delivery . . . on second thought, I would wind up obsessing over the sermon I'm about to preach and the one I just finished. Better to leave well-enough alone.) I arrived after all of the fireworks and never got to see Osteen. His ushers were gracious and helpful, though, when I told them I was trying to catch up with the Beeson group.Here's where I was on Sunday morning, at the contemplative service. This turned out to be the worshiping highlight of my time in Houston. The best way I've been able to describe it is that this service came closer than any service I've ever attended to matching my prayer life (when my prayer life is at its best). There was no attempt to "pump" life or excitement into it, but I found myself experiencing the presence of God in wonderful ways.
This picture is from the day before, but it will do. I've just come to realize that while singing is the way some people connect with God's presence, I do better in silence (probably because I'm a tedious singer and find myself striving to hit something recognizable as a note). Led by Jerry Webber and Peter Johns, this service was started simply because some of the Chapelwood folks were previously Catholic or Episcopalian and were missing weekly communion. So . . . Jackson just hired a pastor to start a contemplative service that would have weekly communion and prayer over people who request it.

I'm sorry to have missed the Osteen experience. I hear so much about that guy (good and not as good) that I would have liked to have formed my own opinion. But maybe that's the point. Instead of forming an opinion about a person on Sunday morning, I was able to focus on the light of God in Jesus Christ--and it was a great joy.