The Great Worship
Two things up front: First, I’m sick with a bad cold. I am taking medicine and it makes me a little drowsy. So, please forgive me for a shorter post and overlook any scatterbrain. Second, I usually post a review of the church I visited over the past week, but this week I’d like to focus on something else: worship.
Spirituality in the Korean Methodist Church (and the Korean Protestant Church in general) focuses heavily on prayer, and specifically on a type of corporate prayer unique to Korea called tongsong gido. Every Methodist church I’m aware of holds a morning prayer service Monday through Friday at 5:30 AM. Most churches also hold a worship service on Friday evening with a longer time set aside for prayer. My experience is that Koreans are typically very quiet on public transport and in elevators, but Korean Christians are anything but quiet when they pray together. Tongsong gido is marked by a desperation for God to hear their cries and respond and you can tell when you hear it.
On Sunday, the congregations of the Seoul Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church gathered at Kumnan Methodist for a time of worship. People at my church referred to it as “The Great Worship Service.” There were thousands of people present. It was easily the most beautiful worship service I’ve ever attended; the sound of our singing and prayers moved me to tears. Our time of prayer was focused on dying to ourselves, living for Christ and others, and for revival. I hope you will join your prayers with our Korean siblings and ask God to revive Seoul and the nation of South Korea.
I mentioned that churches have Friday night worship. My church, Kkotjae, holds a service from 8-10 PM and it is the highlight of my week. The service is mostly singing and praying, with a very short sermon. Bishop Kim asked me to preach this past week. I still get a little nervous preaching at home and I hope I always do. I was more than a little nervous here, though! My sermon had to be very short to allow for Bishop to translate. I also had to be faithful to my manuscript, which is not as easy as you might thing. I use a manuscript at home, but I often find myself saying a few things unscripted. But, the experience was very good. I was grateful for the opportunity!
