Belle Aire Baptist Church

Rating: Message – 3; Music – 3; Brotherly Love – 4; Overall – 3.3

On two consecutive Sundays I attended two of the largest Baptist churches in Murfreesboro: Belle Aire Baptist and New Vision Baptist.

The sanctuary of Belle Aire Baptist appears at first glance to be traditional with pews and a choir in traditional robes. Superimposed on top of this is a full praise and worship band of six lead singers with microphones. The songs at the beginning were a combination of more traditional hymns (“How Great Thou Art”) and praise and worship choral responses. My impression was that the worship was attempting to be both traditional and contemporary at the same time, but like a hybrid bicycle, which is neither a good road bike or a good mountain bike, the worship music became a watered down version of both.

Pastor Dean Sisk’s message “The Holy Prayer of the Great High Priest” came from John 17 where Jesus prays for his disciples and the believers who will follow them. Pastor Sisk emphasized the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life. Like Jesus, we should pray for others and their salvation, rather than only for ourselves.

Unlike Belle Aire Baptist, New Vision Baptist is fully a contemporary service. I even had the feeling of being at a sold-out movie waiting for the 9:30 a.m. service to end so I could sit down for the 11 o’clock service. This feeling of being an audience member intensified for the first half of the service while the congregation sat or sang in darkness.

The service began with no fewer than eight baptisms in an upper room window 30 feet high and stage left. The window was illuminated by a spotlight and broadcast on three large screens up front. For me, the theatrics took away somehow from the sacred.

After about 25 minutes of praise and worship music, Pastor Brady Cooper gave the second sermon in a series on growth entitled “Priority Giving.” Pastor Cooper spoke about money, stewardship and tithing as a reflection of faith. Because we do not give our first fruits to God, we “consume everything we have.” Pastor Cooper even maintained that “we’re the cause of high taxes,” because our government is forced to provide social services that were traditionally provided by churches.

Despite the fact that I was lost in the shuffle during the services of both of these Big Box Baptist churches, I was not disappointed in their follow-up. Both Belle Aire Baptist and New Vision Baptist sent men to visit my home, delivered a welcome pack, answered questions and encouraged me to come again.

I was told by one, “The way not to get lost in a big church is to join a small group.” That I can relate to.