Reflection 2/16

This past week in class we continued with our presentations of our readings. Being that I have no prior experience with organized religion, the teachings of the texts are ones that perplex and intrigue me. The idea of the new wave of churches is interesting in how they are attempting to appeal to a younger congregation. The tactic of bringing in popular music, art and a new presentation style of the church’s beliefs are interesting, and it makes me curious about how they came about. It is intriguing to me how almost every presentation has discussed how the congregations desire to bring in new members. It is conceptually obvious when looking at the necessity of the church to continue on but in almost every text it was presented in a business standpoint. I now understand that the organizations need to treat the church as a business but when first learning about this I was perplexed. It was almost shocking to hear that they are treated as a business, but I believe that this is due to my inexperience with churches and my idea of them as a whole.

This week has also been one of confusion due to the upcoming congregation visit. I have found myself worried about this visit due to my lack of experience with religion. I have found myself worried about things such as dress, how to behave and overall what to expect. I understand that I must go into the visit with a sociological mindset, which I presume will be easy due to my lack of understanding and lack of expectations of religion. Though this is true I also find myself worried about unintendedly being disrespectful or cold. Overall, this next week of class and experiences will be those of further understanding.