Champions!

Celebration Church, 6080 Foreland Garth, Columbia, MD 21045www.wininlife.com
(410) 997-2088
I had the absolute honor of visiting Celebration Church, in Columbia, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25. Let me tell you from firsthand account, this is a busy church community. When Pastor Robbie Davis, senior pastor of the faithful, ran down all the activities/ministries within Celebration Church, I couldn’t help myself but think of comedian and actor Steve Harvey on the Kings of Comedy tour and how he ran down all of the weekday ministries at the church he attended as a child with his parents. If you have not seen this routine – it’s a must see.

I attended the 10:30 a.m. service, the love and reverence in the “church” was impressive. The message of the day was the finale of a four-part series called, Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful. Pr. Robbie skillfully guided the congregation through a study of select scriptures that explained “what belongs to God.”

So many Christians have problems with giving [tithing] to the Church. But what they fail to understand is they are only returning to God (the church) what already belongs to our Lord, said Robbie.

Now I don’t make it a habit of quoting bible scripture/passages to look up, but I assure you that what the pastor’s teaching is in the good book, plain and simple, and not taken out of context.

God wants us to tithe with joy and enthusiasm, said Robbie.

During a stage play presented and acted by church members during the service, one of the characters upon receiving the news that he was awarded a monetarily lucrative contract, shouted out, “I can’t wait to tithe at church this Sunday!” During the same play, couples attending a celebration dinner discussed their passions for giving onto the Lord and the abundance of Grace they receive in return for their passion. It “is” a very powerful message.

I have visited many churches in my lifetime. As a Christian in the Catholic faith I am very attracted to the number three, as in Trinity.

Towards the end of the Celebration service I was witness to an absolutely beautiful moment. Many churches have Alter Calls as a part of their service. I have noted that most Alter Calls [I’ve seen] are best described as a uncontrolled praying chaos. I’ve mostly seen a mass of praying individuals with the church pastor and seniors attempting to minister and guide the faithful during this pandemonium. Not so at Celebration.

The pastor (1) called all the senior ministers forward to the front of the Alter (not on the Alter but rather to the front edge). He then (2) invited those with heavy-hearts in need of prayer to come forward to the Alter and pray “together” with "a" minister. The pastor (3) remained on the Alter watching over the flock of prayerful church members, and calling on other ministers if someone needed someone to pray with them. He never left the Alter. As I stood in prayer watching from the pews, the image of people praying one-on-one with ministers, and the pastor overlooking was truly a powerful one.

Why was this so powerful an image to me?

It was powerful because as a Christian in the Catholic faith I believe in the sacrament of confession - confession with a priest. The priest is simply the pastor, there solely to listen and pray together with the confessor to seek to ensure forgiveness of sin and guidance to sin no more. There is nothing more powerful than two human beings praying together for forgiveness of sins and guidance. Present at all confessions are “three,” the sinner, the pastor, and Christ. As it was with the powerful scene set at Celebration Church, the sinner – the ministers –and Christ. Pr. Robbie remaining on the Alter during this portion of the service reminded me of the priest in the Confessional, not there to interfere with the prayers for forgiveness, but rather overseeing it, ensuring that the faithful receives the fullness of the faith.

If I am not explaining this well enough for you to truly understand what I witnessed, well let me just write, you had to be there to really appreciate what I’m writing about.

It was such a reverent and beautiful service and Alter Call -- one I will not soon forget.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Thanks for visiting, thanks for reading.

Celebration Churchwww.wininlife.com
6080 Foreland Garth
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 997-2088