Lord’s Supper as a meal in practice
I’ve mentioned before that I believe the Lord’s Supper should be eaten as a meal (see “The Lord’s Supper as a Meal?“). This is not a theoretical doctrine for me. Instead, this is something that we practice as a church.
Today, we did just that: we ate the Lord’s Supper as a meal. I’ve posted some pictures on our family blog in a post called “The Lord’s Supper and Mrs. Jenny’s Cross”.
The second part of that post title (“Mrs. Jenny’s Cross”) refers to the picture of a painting of a cross that Mrs. Jenny gave our family. I’ve written about Mrs. Jenny previously in posts called “I think we’ve been adopted” and “She said, ‘I’m very close’“.
By the way, for those who are interested, our Sunday church meeting started around 10:30 this morning, and ended around 3:30 this afternoon.
Pray without ceasing
I wrote this post almost one year ago as part of a synchroblog on prayer (“Pray without ceasing (synchroblog)“). In the last few years, as God has been teaching me about communicating with him, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (“Pray without ceasing”), has been both a troubling and an eye-opening passage for me. God has helped me understand how I can recognize that I am in a constant communal relationship with him, which includes communication. I am not claiming to be an expert on prayer. But, perhaps this post will help others as well.
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I have been taught many things about prayer. I’ve learned that some of these things have more to do with tradition than with communicating with God (i.e., bowing your head, closing your eyes). Other things that I have been taught or have learned have proven very beneficial. For example, a long fast once taught me how to rely on God instead of material things that I thought I needed to be happy or to survive. I’ve learned how to spend long times of quiet solitude talking and listening to God. I’ve learned how to rest in his presence.
I have gone through many seasons of prayer in my life. Some seasons were marked by times of long prayers in the mornings. In other seasons, I mostly prayed at night. There have been times when songs and psalms dominated my prayer. There have been times of lament, and other times of praise. In each of these seasons, I’ve learned more about prayer, more about myself, and more about God. More importantly, in each season, I have found that God is speaking and communicating whether or not I am listening.
A few years ago, a new friend (at that time – now a dear friend) began to remind me often of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing”. This is a verse that has scared me in the past. I never understood how I could pray without ceasing. I wanted to pray longer. I wanted to pray more often. But, there was always something that would interrupt my times of prayer – and that something was usually life. Life happens. And, when life happens, life interrupts prayer. Right?
At first, it was easier to simply mark up 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as an example of hyperbole – exaggeration. Paul did not really mean that we should pray without ceasing; he simply meant that we should pray as much and as often as we possibly could. This was a nice, clean, doable answer for me. And, there is the problem. It was doable. This means that I could pray more and longer and feel good about myself. Thus, in this vein, prayer becomes an effort to reach God instead of the grace of God communicating with me.
But, if “pray without ceasing” is not hyperbole, then how should I understand it? Not too long ago, I was reminded about a little book by Brother Lawrence (1610-1691) called The Practice of the Presence of God. In the “Fourth Conversation”, Brother Lawrence says:
[W]e might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity… [W]e need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.
In this short passage, I think Brother Lawrence hits on a key to prayer: recognizing God as intimately present. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon my activity or lack of activity. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon silence or lack of silence. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon solitude or lack of solitude. God is intimately present with his children through his Spirit at all times, in all places, in all circumstances and situations. Thus, prayer as communication and communion with God is possible at all times, in all places, in all circumstances and situations.
Through the short passage from Brother Lawrence, I learned about a misconception that I had about prayer. Prayer is not simply a two-way conversation between God and myself that can be interrupted by life. Instead, prayer is a two-way conversation between God and myself that, when life happens, turns into a three-way conversation between God, myself, and life. Thus, life does not interrupt God’s conversation with me; instead, life enters into God’s conversation with me as a third conversation partner. God does not stop communicating with me when life happens. It is possible that I stop listening to God when life happens, but that does not mean that God has stopped communicating with me or that I must stop communicating with God.
I love to sit in a group of friends as we talk with one another and listen to one another. I love the interaction and the symphony of many voices reaching understanding. I do not consider it an interruption when there is more than one other person present. In the same way, God is always a conversation partner – a constant, dependable, trustworthy, and true conversation partner. In fact, God is the only constant, dependable, trustworthy, and true conversation partner. The only difficulty in praying without ceasing is choosing to listen to God’s voice over the roar and den of the world as life happens. God is speaking. But we must listen.
Do I pray without ceasing? In some ways, yes, because God is always a part of my life and conversation whether I recognize it or not. But, in another way, I do not pray without ceasing because I do not always recognize and respond to God’s constant and intimate presence. Do you pray without ceasing?
Sharing in the Life
A few years ago, when our church started meeting together, we began to study through the book of 1 John. The first week we studied 1 John 1:1-4 –
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4 ESV)
In this passage, John says that he is writing about what he has experienced concerning the word or message of life – and not just any kind of life, but the eternal life that had been revealed through Jesus Christ. This was real life, abundant life. The kind of life that cannot be manufactured, but must be birthed anew from above by the Holy Spirit of God.
John also says that he is proclaiming this life so that his readers can have fellowship with him which is actually fellowship with the Father and the Son. Fellowship encompasses many things, but at its foundation it represents sharing. Just as the early church shared their possessions with one another as a demonstration their fellowship, the God shares eternal, abundant, real life with his children, so that they can share that life together.
As we discussed this passage over the next few weeks, the idea of sharing eternal life together began to mold who we were as children of God. We were not simply coming together for a meeting on Sunday, but much more than that, we were sharing life with one another and with God. As John says, as we fellowship with one another, we are actually fellowshiping with the Father and with the Son. Why? Because true fellowship with one another is a work and manifestation of the Spirit of God.
From these early discussions, someone suggested the phrase “sharing in the life” as a description of who we are as a church. That simple phrase stuck, and we have been using it for the past several years. A few days ago, I was talking with some brothers and sisters who were not part of those early discussions. They did not know why we used the phrase “sharing in the life”. They encouraged me to share this story with the church. I think that’s a good idea, and since I’ve never shared this on my blog either, I thought I would share it here as well.
But, what does “sharing in the life” mean? It means that we experience fellowship with God as we fellowship with one another. We share in the eternal life we have with God as we share in the normal, everyday life with our brothers and sisters and Christ. I am convinced that we will not find fellowship and community if we only look for it in our special events and big activities. We will not find community if we only look in our weekly church meetings. Community may be expressed in those meetings and in other special events, but community will not be built or maintained there.
Instead, we “share in the life” with one another when we truly spend time with one another in the common, everyday events of our lives – at our homes, in our workplaces, at school, in the marketplace, at sporting events, everywhere at every time and in every way. We will not find community as long as we only show people our “best faces” in those times and places where we can control what is going on. Instead, we will find community when we allow people to see us as we normally are – day in and day out – and when we allow people to see us at our worst.
“Sharing in the life” is more than a motto or catch phrase. It is a truly scary proposition – a recognition that our fellowship with one another is founded on the grace of God, just like our fellowship with God is founded on his grace. We trust one another to share our lives – even the mundane – because we trust God.
A great example of community
My friend, Renata, at “Nurturing Notes” has recalled an incident that is a great example of community in her post called “Two are better than one“. What was this great example? Two people processing vegetables. That’s right… processing vegetables. Renata had vegetables; here friend had a food processor. Between them, they processed vegetables and shared in community. Wouldn’t it have been better for Renata to get her own food processor? Couldn’t she get more vegetables processed if she had her own? This is what Renata said:
Sure, it was nice to have most of my vegetables in more usable condition, as well as tasting fresh salsa and hummus. But I must say, the highlight of the day was the sharing of resources, the conversation, and watching our kids have fun with one another. Although we didn’t really have much of a plan, we had a lot of fun. I also get energized interacting with people. Usually (like tonight) I am so ready to wind down, so I often want to put off cleaning the kitchen. Last night, however, was not the case. Cleaning my kitchen was an act of gratitude and appreciation for the generosity that was extended to us, as well as the opportunity to share with one another, without demanding or expecting anything else in return.
This was a great antidote to the pull of commercialism. And so often, we live lives in parallel with others, but not in community. By combining our resources, my friend and I were able to accomplish more than we could have individually, with the added bonus of the satisfaction that only comes from companionship.
I wouldn’t trade this for having a food processor any day.
We won’t find community as long as we only look in the special events of our lives – even in our weekly church meetings. Instead, we find community in the normal, everyday, sharing of our lives. I’ve written more about this, and will share it in a post that will be published for tomorrow. So, thank you Renata for a wonderful illustration for my blog post for tomorrow. And, thank you for “sharing in the life” with us as well.
Pastors and Persecution
No, this post is not about persecuting pastors nor is it about pastors persecuting others. Instead, I am linking to two very good blog posts: one about pastors and one about persecution.
First, my friend Lew at “The Pursuit” in a post called “The List” lays out the “qualifications” for elders from 1 Timothy 3:2-7. If this truly is a list of “qualifications” then who qualifies? According to Lew, very few of the people from the Old or New Testaments “qualifies”. Everyone that I know would drop off the list from the first words: above reproach. Oh, sure, we can explain that one away, but then what good is it? Perhaps this is not a “qualification” list after all? (I’ve talked about this previously in a post called “Qualifications and examples“.)
Second, Lawrence from “Agonizingly Honest Christianity” asks some very good questions in his post called “Agonizing over church membership/fellowship“. You should read this post. He asks if we would be as picky who we would pray with if we were facing persecution and perhaps imminent execution. Would we care how they prayed, or what they emphasized about salvation, or their views on eschatology? Or, would we only care that the person was a brother or sister in Christ? Why is different when we’re not facing persecution? (HT: Lionel)
I think we’ve been adopted
I few weeks ago, in a post called “Missional without the label“, I wrote about some friends of our who have been going to a nursing home every week for the past year or so. They meet with these dear men and women on Monday mornings. While class is in session, I cannot meet with them. But, since its summer, and classes are not in session, I’ve been able to take an early lunch hour and get to know some of the residents. My family has joined us as well.
During these times of meeting with the nursing home residents, we’ve met one person in particular. Her name is Jenny (see my post “Faces, Names, Lives” where I mention Jenny along with a few other people that God has placed in our lives). We’ve visited Jenny a few times on Saturdays (we’ll probably visit her the day this is published).
I’ve learned so much from talking to Jenny. She grew up in New York City – quite different from rural Alabama where I grew up. She was not introduced to God at an early age the way that I was – although she says that she was never an atheist. She does not know much about the Bible, and has only recently started reading it. She lost both of her sons when they were in their early twenties. She’s now living in a nursing home – in a wheelchair. She recently hurt both of her legs in an accident. Very few people come to visit her. The staff of the nursing home take her out to dinner once a month, and they take her shopping once a month.
So, what does Jenny say about all this? What does she say about her life? What does she say about living in a nursing home and rarely leaving?
Jenny says, “I’m blessed”. She crocheted butterflies for the children who meet with her and the other residents on Monday mornings as a way of saying, “Thank you”. She makes blankets for children with cancer and sends them to a local hospital. Jenny doesn’t know alot about God, but she recognizes that God is doing something in her life, and she is responding to God and demonstrating the love of God – even in her situation.
Jenny says, “I’m blessed”. Yes, she is blessed. And, my family is blessed to know her, and I’m looking forward to learning more from her. Yes, a young (relatively) man who grew up “in church”, graduated from a seminary, and is studying for a PhD in biblical theology can learn about God from Mrs. Jenny.
Who are learning about God from?
Wait for one another
To me, one of the most interesting passages of Scripture is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. In that passage, Paul deals with issues surrounding the “Lord’s Supper” at Corinth. In fact, the problems are so great that Paul says that the believers are coming together for the worse, not for the better.
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another – if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home- so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34 ESV)
Most of the time, when people teach from this passage, they grab the verses out of the middle which deal with Jesus’ words during his last supper with his disciples. Usually, the teachers will also talk about “examining himself” and also the possibility of becoming sick or dying because of improper eating and drinking. Thus, we are encouraged to search our hearts for sin and to ensure that we have asked God for forgiveness before we partake of the Lord’s Supper.
That would be a nice and tidy sermon if it wasn’t for the surrounding context. You see, Paul was not writing to the Corinthians because of personal, spiritual sin issues. He was writing to them because of corporate, social sin issues.
There are a few items in particular that we should notice. First, the Corinthians were eating and drinking. Paul does not attempt to correct their meal activities. However, Paul tells them that the act of eating and drinking does not constitute the “Lord’s Supper”. The believers in Corinth were not partaking of the Lord’s Supper because of their attitudes toward one another. They could eat bread and drink wine all they wanted, but it would not be the Lord’s Supper as long as they were not relating properly to their brothers and sisters – even those who could not afford to provide their own food.
(This is somewhat off the subject, but I believe that Christians today should consider this passage very carefully. Even if we are participating in certain activities – singing, reading Scripture, praying, baptizing, taking the Lord’s Supper, etc. – our activities in and of themselves does not indicate that we are obeying God and meeting together in the way that he wants us to meet.)
For Paul, the bread and the cup represented the new covenant in Christ – a covenant that included all of the believers in Corinth. As fellow partakers in the new covenant, the believers in Corinth should relate to one another differently – not in the social, cultural, political, racial, ethnic, and class structures of their day – but as equal fellow citizens of the kingdom of God. This new covenant relationship affects every part of a believer’s life – including, but not limited to, eating and drinking. Because of this new covenant relationship, the people no longer simply looked out for themselves and their own interest, they cared for one another, even to the point of sharing their food with those who did not have food.
Paul’s call for examination and judgment in this context deals primarily with our relationships with other believers – not simply our own personal sin struggles – which we all have. But, if our sin is manifesting itself in our relationships with other believers, then we need to take steps to reconcile those relationships. And, as fellow family members, we need to “judge” others in a way that helps them reconcile broken relationships as well.
When we come together as new covenant family members – under what James calls the royal law – we will love one another. And, that love will demonstrate itself in the way that we act toward one another. Specifically, we will “wait” for one another. “Wait” in 1 Cor 11:34 is not simply biding our time, but a sense of expectation. We will look forward to our time eating together, recognizing that God is working through our relationships to mature us in Christ.
We can eat a piece of bread and drink from a cup all we want. But, if our eating and drinking is not tied to a new covenant relationship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are not eating the Lord’s Supper. If our thoughts are not on our family – how to help each other mature in Christ and in our relationships with one another – then we are not partaking of the Lord’s Supper. If our meditation on God does not lead us toward caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are not taking the Lord’s Supper. If we are sitting with a group of people that we don’t know – that we don’t care about – that we don’t want to spend more time with – then we are not eating the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus invites us to gather around his table with his family, and he serves us a common loaf and a common cup. He does not serve us alone. If we attempt to dine alone – even in a crowd – then we can be certain that the host of our dinner is not Jesus Christ.
Family love
I’m very proud of Margaret (my wife) and my children. They have given of themselves in order to love others this week so many times that it has been very challenging and very encouraging to me.
On Monday morning, they joined some friends at a nursing home to love on some of the residents. Besides reading and singing with them, they also spent time talking individually with many of the men and women.
On Monday evening, they rode with me and some friends two hours south of our house to love on a young couple because the husband’s grandmother had passed away. This couple is very special to us, and we are so thankful to God for this new relationship.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, they kept the three year old son of a friend while she was having tests run. On Wednesday, while they were keeping this precious boy, they also kept the daughter of some of our friends so the wife could visit a friend in the hospital.
On Saturday (the day this is scheduled to be published), my family is planning to spend time serving in a friend’s neighborhood, then they are planning to keep the children of some friends so that they can work on their house.
I’ve told Margaret how much their service has encouraged me. She acted like their service was “no big deal”. I don’t think she sees it as service, since she was caring for family. But, I think that’s awesome! That is what it means to see the church as a family.
I’m not suggesting that Margaret, Jeremy, and Miranda are the only believers that I know who are serving. In fact, that would be far from the truth. God has placed us with a group of brothers and sisters who spend time with one another and care for one another. Again… we recognize that we are family, and we actually treat one another as family. “Family” is more than a title for us… it is a call to love and action.
The church meets here…
I recently had a coversation with a brother that was very thought-provoking. Many churches have “Wednesday night services”. What would happen if those churches actually served their communities on Wednesday nights? Our conversation reminded me of a blog post that I wrote just over a year ago called “The church meets here“. I’m copying it here to remind myself and my readers of what the church meeting could look like, if it actually involved service and wasn’t just called a “service”.
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I live six miles from my work place. As I drive to work, I pass at least seven church buildings. Each building has a sign out front announcing the name of the church that meets in the building. (To be literal, the signs actually name the building, but I’m assuming that the people who erected the signs actually meant to name the group of believers that meet in the buildings.) On Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings, temporary signs pop up around the downtown area announcing several other churches that meet in downtown businesses. Each of these signs is intended to announce the meeting place for a church.
I’ve been wondering lately what would happen if we started finding signs saying “The church meets here” in more diverse locations. For example, we know from the New Testament that many times the church met in homes. What would happen if someone put a sign in their front yard that said, “The church meets here”? Or, even better, Acts 2 says the church met from house to house. What if that sign followed the believers from one house to another as they met together in different locations?
Taking it one step further, we know that God intends for his children to love and serve others. What if the church met in the most dilapidated house in the community? No, not the most dilapidated house owned by a member of the church, but the most dilapidated house in the community. What would happen if the church met in that run-down house and renovated it as they met together? After remodelling that house, the church could begin meeting in another house in need of repairs.
Some of you may be thinking, how would anyone know where the church was meeting? Isn’t it interesting that the church in the first century was able to meet from house to house, but, in the the twenty-first century – with twenty-first century communication – we don’t think we could meet in different locations. (I have a theory… I wonder if the desire to have one meeting location has less to do with whether or not other believers know where the church is meeting. Instead, we want others to know where the church is meeting so that they will come to the meeting, and we can call ourselves evangelistic, without ever communicating the gospel to anyone. It’s just a theory.)
Similarly, some may be wondering how the church can meet without a stage, sound system, microphone, instruments, pulpit, etc. Well, I think it might just work anyway. While it is good to use modern innovations (such as communication), it is not good to be dependent on those innovations. Which of these are necessary for the church to meet?
Also, some may wonder about teaching and preaching. I think that if the church meets together in a run-down house, and over the course of several weeks the church renovates that house, there will be plenty of teaching and preaching. In fact, I think there will be plenty of friends and neighbors who come to see who these fools are who would give up their time and money to help someone that cannot pay them back. Oh, it might not happen after the first or second meeting. But, what about going into the second year, after the church has renovated fifteen or twenty homes around the community. I wonder if the church wouldn’t find a much more receptive and interested audience for their preaching and teaching.
But, let’s not stop at dilapidated houses. What if the church met in prisons or hospitals? What if the church met in an area frequented by the homeless or prostitutes? What if the church met in a nursing home or retirement center? What if the church met in an orphanage? Now, I’m not talking about going to visit once per year. I’m talking about the church continually meeting in these locations. Wouldn’t it be easier to take care of those whom God wants the church to care for?
I wonder, if the church began to meet in places like this, would a sign even be necessary? Can you think of other interesting locations where the church could meet and serve people at the same time?
One of us
I’ve been in conversations (both here and on other blogs) concerning pastors/elders and whether or not they are “one of us”. That is, often leaders feel separated from other believers, and believers feel separated from leaders.
This separation and the lack of real relationships between leaders and other believers has been listed as one of the causes of fatigue and “burn-out” for pastors/elders. Most leaders that I talk with today do not subscribe to the “wisdom” that pastors should not have friends among the church – although that has been taught and still is taught in some circles. Instead, most believers now recognize the need to have real, authentic relationships with other believers – including leaders.
So, why does the church in general often find it difficult to form relationships with pastors/elders? Why do pastors/elders feel isolated from other believers?
I believe there are many reasons for this separation. The first reason that leaders feel separated from other believers is that there is an ongoing practice and belief of clergy/laity division. Yes, most would deny that there is a ontological difference between leaders and other believers, but in our words and practices we often veto our denial. Usually, when the church meets, leaders have a special place to sit, a special place to stand, and speak at special times when others are not allowed to speak. Leaders decide who does what, when, and how. Leaders baptize and serve the Lord’s Supper. Leaders pray at special times and officiate special ceremonies. By our actions we demonstrate that we really thing that leaders are different than other believers.
However, some leaders refuse to separate themselves from other believers by these actions. In other words, leaders sit and stand with everyone else. Other believers speak and make decisions and baptize and serve the Lord’s Supper and pray and officiate special ceremonies. Many times, this does not completely overcome the separation between leaders and other believers.
Sometimes this separation persists because of special titles. Sometimes this separation continues because the leaders are considered “short-timers” – they came from another location and will probably move again. Sometimes leaders and other believers cannot form relationships because the people see them as “hirelings” – paid to do religious work for them. Similarly, leaders sometimes project or are perceived to project the image that they are perfect – or near perfect, since no one will claim to be perfect – which hinders other believers from forming relationships with them. This will probably be a very controversial point – it usually is – but it is my opinion that being a paid religious professional (pastor/elder as a job) also separates leaders from other believers.
Any time leaders see themselves as “special” or any time other believers see leaders as “special”, then they will find it difficult to form relationships with one another. Whenever the interaction moves away from leaders being “among” the body to the leaders being “over” the body, then leaders will be separated from other believers.
In reality, leaders are more mature believers – more consistent in their walk with Christ (supposedly) – but they are not “special”. They are not holy men doing holy work in holy places. All of God’s children are holy – set apart by God for service – and all of God’s children are ministers (servants). When we understand this – and when we live and act accordingly – we will find that our leaders are actually “one of us”.
Do you know of other beliefs or practices that would hinder pastors/elders from forming relationships with other believers?