I skipped Back to Church Sunday… or did I?
So, my family did not “go to church” Sunday morning… and, before you get all technical on me, we didn’t gather with the church Sunday morning either.
Now, I found out last Friday (I think), that yesterday (Sunday) was “Back to Church Sunday” when, apparently, I was supposed to invite someone to go to church with me. Of course, since we didn’t gather together with the church ourselves, we didn’t invite anyone either.
Or, did we gather with the church…
Friday night, at a high school soccer game, Margaret (my wife) and I had a great conversation with a friend about discipling others. She had been struggling with several questions about helping others grow in maturity and what her role should be in that. It was a encouraging and challenging conversation.
Saturday night, a couple had invited us to have dinner with them and their daughter. Margaret and I began discipling this couple just before their wedding. (Some would call this “marriage counseling”, but as we told our friends, we don’t do “marriage counseling”. Instead, we simply try to help people walk in Christ in whatever situation of life they find themselves.) We had such a great time with this family!
Sunday morning, we were tired and, to be honest, I was discouraged by some news I had received recently. So, we stayed home and rested as a family.
Sunday evening, we joined some of our brothers and sisters at a park for exercise and fellowship. Again, we had such a great time talking about life as we walked around the track.
So, we didn’t take part in “Back to Church Sunday” on Sunday morning… but I definitely think we gathered with the church last weekend.
Now, I wonder how we’ll gather with the church during this week…
The Ekklesia: the assembling of those in Christ
I enjoy reading John’s blog. His posts are always encouraging and usually stretch me in thinking about Jesus Christ. His latest post is no different: “Getting Reacquainted with the Ekklesia.”
At the beginning of the post, John explains why he has decided not to use the English term “church,” and instead to use the transliteration “ekklesia.” While I do continue to use the word “church,” I can certainly understand and appreciate his reasoning and decision.
The remainder of the post is a “fleshing” out, if you will, of the ekklesia, primarily as it refers to the body of Christ. For example, consider this excellent paragraph:
Another wonderful picture is given to us of this assembling of those in Christ, a picture of a body with a Head. The brothers and sisters have the living God by the Spirit dwelling in them and are “hidden with Christ in God” and not only that but Christ is now our life! (Col. 3:3-4) This body, when it gathers together with Christ as Head, is in truth assembling our Lord together. “Christ is the head of the ekklesia, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Eph. 5:23) Every brother and sister must live by the life of Christ in the gathering, the ekklesia, in order for the fullness of the Lord to be assembled, for Christ to be made manifest in glory. He must be the Head, the Source, the King in her midst. The brothers and sisters “gather to eat” (1 Cor. 11:33) to feed on Christ, who is life. For “the Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” (John 6:57,63) When “the whole ekklesia comes together” it is for the purpose of being “built up” to “be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” (1 Cor. 14:23,26; Rom. 1:12). This is following “the way of love.” (1 Cor. 14:1) It is loving one another by the life of Christ, according to the measure of the gift given to each. Each brother and sister freely functioning by the Spirit in them to one another, through one another; that is to say through Christ in them, to Christ in them, and for Christ in them. “In all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Cor. 12:6) So like a body which is assembled and works organically, hidden as it were, by the source of its head so to the body of Christ when it assembles functions organically by the spiritual life of Christ, its Source, its Head. And what is amazing is that the Father already sees the ekklesia already assembled with the Son as Head! The Father has already “placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the ekklesia, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Eph. 1:22-23) So as the body assembles together we are in reality manifesting what the Father already sees assembled in His Son. As we assemble together may “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13) Brothers and sisters the Lord has an assembled body in view not a disassembled body of believers. May we have such a view of the ekkelsia, His body.
I would echo John’s wish/prayer, “May we have such a view of the ekklesia, His body,” and then add, “And may we live among one another and the world as the ekklesia, His body.”
Thanks, John!
The church and our role among the brothers and sisters
Jonathan at “Jon’s Journey” has written many good posts. But, his last two posts are right on the mark.
In the first post, “Recognize Church,” he lists various common misconceptions concerning what defines the church… things like buildings, Sunday morning events, organization… and you could add leadership, or membership, or many other things.
So, what does define the church? What makes a group the church?
This is Jonathan’s answer:
Jesus talks simply of when two or three are gathered in His name. Church (ecclesia) was a word used to refer to an assembly or democratic gathering. We see in other New Testament passages the early believers also used the term church to refer to all the believers in a geographical area. So in my mind church is simply believers and whenever they get together.
The question then becomes: As the church, what do we do when we gather together with other brothers and sisters in Christ?
Jonathan answers this question in his next post “My Role with Church.”
He looks at several different passages of Scripture and concludes with this:
That the whole body works together, to build up the body to become mature and more like Christ. So that we can be Christ’s living body in our world today.
And I think that is the role for each of us as we get together with other believers (the church – whenever and wherever).
I think Jonathan is on to something with both of these posts. Instead of trying to distinguish ourselves from other Christians, what if we sought to help one another grow in maturity in Christ no matter who, when, and where we are meeting together?
Replay: Seeing your community through the “ideal” filter
Three years ago, I wrote a post called “Seeing your community through the ‘ideal’ filter.” The point of the post is that no group of believers – no church – is perfect. We can all learn from one another. But, we must be willing to humble ourselves and listen to those who are different from us.
———————————
Seeing your community through the “ideal” filter
Yesterday, I published a post called “Paul’s Vision for the Church“. In that post, I included this description of the church (from Andrew Chester, “The Pauline Communities”, in A Vision for the Church: Studies in Early Christian Ecclesiology. ed. Markus Bockmuehl and Michael B. Thompson, Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997):
Paul’s vision for the communities that he wrote to can be summed up quite succinctly. He sees them as being a new creation in Christ, filled with the Spirit, possessing gifts of the Spirit and overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit, controlled above all by love; they are communities that should be pure and holy, mutually supportive and interdependent, completely united, transcending the oppositions and tensions between different groups within the community, and with every kind of barrier that would divide them in normal society broken down. (105)
This is certainly an “ideal” image of the church. But, I suggested that all communities of believers should strive for this ideal – not from their own abilities and methods, but by humbly admitting that they are not perfect and allowing the Holy Spirit to change them as he desires.
But, it is very difficult to “see” ourselves as we really are. It is often of great benefit to see ourselves from the perspectives of someone else – especially if it is someone who cares about us.
I think that Guy Muse, from “The M Blog“, has provided this valuable service for “traditional churches” in a post that he called “Seeing legacy churches through simple church eyes“. Guy observes and offers suggestions concerning 1) the Sunday morning sermon, 2) the offering, 3) Sunday School, 4) singing and praise, and 5) prayer. Notice that Guy is simply critiquing “traditional churches” from an idealistic or academic perspective. He has been part of simple churches in Ecuador for years. He recognizes some benefits of the churches that he’s participated in and would like to see believers in “traditional churches” come to know these same benefits.
Are those of us who are part of “traditional churches” willing to consider the perspective of someone like Guy? Are we willing to admit that we are not perfect and that there are ways that we could – and should – change to better reflect who we are as the people of God both to one another and to the world around us?
Then again, are those of us who are part of “simple churches” willing to be examined by someone who is part of a “traditional church”? Would “simple church” adherents be willing to admit that they could learn from those who are part of “legacy churches” in order to change to better reflect who they are as the people of God both to one another to to the world around us?
We can learn from one another… but only if we are willing to humble ourselves, listen to one another, and change where we need to change. It begins by admitting that we are not perfect. Then, it continues when we admit that we can learn from someone or some community that is different than we are.
Are we that humble yet? Perhaps we can start by seriously considering Guy’s observations and suggestions.
Guest Blogger: Who are we? Seeking God together without a formula.
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by JRo. You can follow JRo on Twitter (@JRo1919) and his website.
————————————-
Seeking God together without a formula
When Alan asked me to write to you guys and tell you about the group I meet with I wondered exactly what I was going to say. I mean I know what we do and what is going on but how do I communicate it to others who read this? Well, here is my attempt. May God bless you in reading this as he has us in finding community and relationships as we seek out God’s desire for what the church is and how it functions here in Jefferson City, MO.
It all started as 3 of us guys had met, all having a desire for more than what we had been getting through church. A roommate of mine, Brett who attends the Spanish church, and I began to go to coffee shops when I was a youth pastor and decided about 5 months ago over dinner we needed to hang out with more people. About that same time I started working at a coffee shop in Jeff and one of the guys I work with started talking about a Bible study. We invited some people to meet on the patio where Justin and I work and so we began.
Being primarily made up of twenty something’s we naturally ask a lot of questions of church functions, structures and how to have community but also serve others as well. We desire to build relationships that reach people’s needs being faithful to the Gospel to go. Those opportunities are being explored as we find areas in our community where we can serve, hopefully breaking down walls that generations have produced within our culture in America. In our society older people have a lot of untapped knowledge that the younger generations write off. Personally, I desire older men to invest in me and mentor me as I realize more and more how much they have that I don’t in all areas of life. I believe all in our group think this way in the directions they are headed and careers they pursue.
So, what are we? A bible study, a church, a group of friends? The answer: yes. We are all of those things. We eat a lot of meals together and with our cultural experiences that is diverse as well. Just this past weekend we trekked to Columbia, MO to eat at a new Cajun restaurant. But it’s more than different types of food. It’s about building relationships. One of my friends told me he heard a pastor say, “People in this younger generation take a solid year to build a substantial relationship with another person.” We have only been meeting for 3 months, every other week, and only a handful has known each other before we all met.
We are still meshing friendships and growing to being a group that, together and individually, reaches others with the pure love of the Gospel of Christ. We aren’t against typical church but realize the current church structure leaves us hungry… actually all of us have other congregations we attend on Sunday mornings. God is the Father and the church, being the bride, is our mom… and you don’t talk bad about my mom. We all need work, but the point lies in the searching. We don’t desire status quo and “always has been” just because “that’s what we do.” We have legit questions and legit searching and are relying on the Father, the Son and the Spirit to guide us as we continue to grow.
It’s not about formulas and to be honest we are learning that it’s ok not to structure our worship times together around what we have “always done”. Our prayer is that God would use this time in our lives to grow us. We may not last long in our small group as 3 of our girls are almost positively leaving for other countries to live for extended times to teach and one couple, Justin the co-worker, is leaving soon with his wife Kallie to attend seminary in KC. Brett, my roommate, is trying to leave as well to teach or just live in another country. Whatever result it will be for God’s glory but I’m convinced he is using us to meet a need here now and mature us for the future.
This is what it’s about right? Building relationships, living life with one another… because I think you would agree formulas get old and many times they attempt to limit a limitless God through our control. Fact is we are being pursued each moment by the Father who crafted each one of us. I agree with Donald Miller in Searching for God Knows What that God, as a perfect being, did what only a perfect being could do. He was selfless and created us to enjoy Him. He also pursues us even though we are fallen and undeserving of any grace He bestows. I just don’t find that in a formula. My prayer is that God’s children would let walls fall by the second each day so more and more we can be fluid and flexible in loving people. Remember it’s not a battle against flesh and blood and so, together, we have to rely on the Spirit to mesh our messy lives bringing a loving light into a dark world.
May God get ALL the glory!
JRo
Replay: Saturday Church?
Three years ago, I wrote a post called “Saturday Church.” In the post, I describe several opportunities that we had to meet with the church on a Saturday. A Saturday? Yes, a Saturday. In Scripture, we see more examples of the church meeting day-to-day than we see the church meeting only on Sunday. Plus, these “church meetings” may not have looked like what you expect…
———————————–
We met with the church several times last Saturday. Several times? Yes, several times. Saturday? Yes, Saturday. And, in a couple of instances, we were meeting as the church going into the world, instead of meeting as the church separated from the world. (See my post “The church meets here“.)
Saturday morning, our family and some friends went to a low income neighborhood where one of our friends lives. (See “Opportunities to serve” and “God works through my wife too“.) Did someone lead singing? No. Did someone “preach a sermon”? No. But, when the church met, we dealt with people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We only introduced ourselves to some people, and spent alot of time with other people. We helped people understand Scripture, and we prayed with people. Some people reacted with tears, some with smiles, some with gratitude, some with indifference. We attempted to demonstrate God’s love regardless of the people’s reactions.
Saturday afternoon, our family and some friends went to the nursing home to visit with Mrs. Jenny. (See I think we’ve been adopted” and “She said, ‘I’m very close’“.) Again, no one led us in songs, and no one preached a sermon. But we all loved on her and listened to her talk about her week. After a few minutes, everyone left except Margaret and me. We talked to her a little longer, giving her the opportunity to ask us questions about Christ and faith. For the most part, she did not want to ask questions that day. However, she spent several minutes telling us how God had been drawing her to himself. It was almost as if she were evangelizing us!
Saturday evening, some friends invited us and another family to their house for a pancake dinner. Each family brought a griddle, and cooked piles of pancakes, sausage, and bacon. After everyone ate their fill, we sat around and talked about what’s going on in our lives. It is amazing to see how God is at work, in different way in the lives of different people. Again, there was no organized singing or preaching. But, this was certainly an edifying time.
No singing… no preaching… and yet when we met together, we met as brothers and sisters in Christ, with a desire to build up one another toward maturity in Christ and with a desire to demonstrate the love of God toward each other and toward others. I came away from these Saturday meetings with a song in my heart and being taught by word and example how to better follow Jesus Christ – with a better understanding of the Scriptures and what it means to trust God – with a better understanding of what the Spirit of God is doing in my brothers and sisters and in the world around us.
“Whenever you come together… let everything be done for edification.” (1 Cor 14:26)
Replay: My sister spoke during the church meeting
Three years ago, I wrote a post called “My sister spoke during the church meeting.” I realize there is disagreement about whether or not women should speak when the church meets. For those who think women should never speak, then you probably don’t want to read this post. Otherwise, I hope this post encourages and challenges you.
————————————-
Each Sunday, for our church meeting, someone is scheduled to teach from a certain passage of Scripture. Last Sunday was no exception, as I taught from Matthew 8:1-17. After the scheduled teaching, we encourage others to teach from what they had studied during the week, or to share what God has been doing in their lives. Why? Because we want to give all present the opportunity to build up one another toward maturity in Christ as a way of glorifying God.
Last Sunday, after I taught, my sister in Christ spoke during the church meeting. She had made comments before, but I think this is the first time she has spoken in this manner. She told us about her neighbor. She has been building a relationship with this neighbor. She told us that she is concerned because her neighbor is not a follower of Jesus.
My sister has been demonstrating the life changing message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to her neighbor, both in word and in deed. She said that she is concerned about her neighbor because we never know when the end will come, and her neighbor doesn’t know Christ.
This sister in Christ challenged us with her testimony of evangelism and care for someone who is not a believer. This sister encouraged us with her request for prayer for her neighbor, trusting God to transform her neighbor and to reconcile her to himself.
My sister in Christ – the one who spoke in the church meeting Sunday morning – the one who is so concerned about her neighbor – the one who wanted to share this with us in order to build us up toward maturity in Christ – the one who asked for prayer that God would save her neighbor – my sister in Christ is ten years old.
Some would say she’s not qualified or trained enough to speak during the meeting of the church. I thank God that we gave her the opportunity to speak, and that He chose to teach us so much through her obedience.
Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queen (Part 2)
(This is a fictional story, inspired by a sign in front of a church building near my home. Here is “Part 1.”)
“Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queen.”
I drove by the sign in front of the church building as I pulled into the line of cars headed out of the parking lot and onto the highway. I had experienced their “Sunday,” and I hoped they would consider my “Sundae” as well.
It only took our small caravan a few minutes to drive to the first traffic, turn right on the bypass, then pull into the Dairy Queen. It was only when I stepped out of the car that I realized there was a problem. I didn’t have enough money.
I had planned to buy everyone an ice cream sundae from DQ, but I did not know that our trip would turn into lunch as well as sundaes. Catching up to the group, I explained my predicament. They all smiled and assured me that they would buy their own lunch, and they even said that I did not have to buy the ice cream. But, I did insist on that.
And, who knew! Dairy Queen makes pretty good chicken fingers. I decided to go with the chicken instead of the hamburger or hot dog. Something about the sign just looked a little more appetizing.
We found a table outside under one of the big red and white umbrellas and began to get to know each other better. Well, to be honest, I started to get to know them, and they began to get to know each other better. It was a fun group – some single, some married, but none with children unfortunately. I love children, and I love how children always brighten up a group.
It turned out that two of the people actually lived in my subdivision… which gave me a great idea. But, I would save that for later.
Eventually, I told the story that I thought about when the pastor was presenting his sermon. I was hoping that the story would be helpful, and it seemed to be. Several people used the story as a jumping off point to discuss their own walk with Jesus, both the positives and the negatives, the ups and the downs.
One lady began crying as she shared about problems at work. Another sitting near her hugged her and encouraged her. I’d always found that eating together and talking together was a great way to get people to open up about themselves so we can help one another deal with the real issues, and that was proving true in this case as well.
At some point, one of the young men said, “What about that ice cream?” Everyone else laughed, and I quickly grabbed all the papers and trays and napkins and tossed them in the trashcan near our table.
“Is hot fudge sundaes okay with everyone?” I asked, and was relieved when they all nodded. That made ordering easier, although I was certainly open to taking special requests.
It only took a few minutes for the DQ staff to fix our sundaes, and I took them back out to our table. Just then, the pastor and his family walked up.
“Sorry,” he started, “it took us a little longer than usual to eat dinner. The kids were too excited about the ice cream.”
“You’re not late,” I replied. “You’re right on time. Let’s get that ice cream.”
He asked if we could get kiddie cones for his children, and he accompanied me back inside while his wife joined the group and the kids played around the table. When we returned, I sat his wife’s sundae down in front of her and noticed that they were deep in conversation… serious conversation. The pastor noticed too and motioned to me that he and the kids would sit at a nearby table.
I joined them and laughed and joked with the children while they gobbled up their ice cream cones. They were great children – very happy, social, and well-behaved – and I could tell that they were showered with love by their parents.
Between chats and jokes with the kids, I was able to get to know the pastor better. He had only been in this area for a couple of years, having moved down from a previous church that was a couple of hundred miles north. I told him that I had just moved from another city that was a couple of hundred miles south.
As expected, he asked me about my church background, and I explained as much as possible without getting into too many details.
“Well, you really seem to have hit it off with the people here,” the pastor continued, nodding toward the group of people nearby and finishing off his sundae.
“Yeah, they’re great people,” I answered. I scraped the bottom of my bowl and made a sad face at one of the kids who giggled in response.
About that time, several people began standing and preparing to leave. I jumped up and thanked them for joining me. I told them that they truly made me feel welcomed and accepted. I also thanked them for sharing their stories with me.
“So, does that mean that we will see you again next Sunday?” the pastor asked.
Everyone stopped and waited for my answer.
“I’m not going to make any promises. But, I have decided that I’m going to invite some of my neighbors to my house for ice cream this Tuesday.” I had been paying attention to their schedules as much as possible, and it seemed that Tuesday was the least busy day – at least as far as the church calendar was concerned. “I’d love to have you all join me.” I especially looked at the two guys who lived near me, and I was glad to see at least one nod.
“Well, that’s all great,” the pastor continued, “but we’d love to have you as part of our church, too.”
“I appreciate that very much,” I said. “I’d like to talk to you about this more sometime, maybe after we get to know each other better.”
I paused a moment and looked around at the group of people who were still gathering their belongings.
“You see,” I said, turning back to the pastor, and waving my hand at the people around us, “I prefer this type of Sundae to the other kind.”
Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queen (Part 1)
(This is a fictional story, inspired by a sign in front of a church building near my home.)
“Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queen.”
I shook my head as I read the words on the sign in front of the church building. But, then, those words were the very reason that I was here… standing in front of that same building… and now falling in line behind the others walking up the steps and through the large oak double doors.
A man in a suit smiled at me and handed me a bulletin. Seeing his suit, I was glad that I had worn khakis instead of shorts or blue jeans, and that I had chosen not to wear my flip flops. While I preferred to be more comfortable, I also didn’t want them to be uncomfortable. The polo was a good compromise.
“Welcome to Community Church,” the man said and held out his hand. I shook it firmly and thanked him for the welcome. “Is this your first time here?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered. “I just moved into town and wanted to meet some brothers and sisters in Christ from the neighborhood.”
He seemed to grimace a little at “brothers and sisters,” but his smile returned as he pointed me into “the sanctuary.” “The service will start in about 15 minutes. You may get to meet the pastor before he kicks everything off.”
I thanked him again and walked into a large room with pews, stage, choir loft, pulpit… the normal furnishings. It was not the kind of place I preferred to meet brothers and sister, but I felt this was the place for me this morning.
Looking around the room, I noticed a group of people about half way up the aisle chatting together. I managed to find an empty seat right in the middle of the pack, and introduced myself. They were a nice group, mostly around my age.
It turns out that several of them had no plans after the service, and they were interested in my invitation. Just as we were talking about our plans, the pastor walked down the aisle, shaking hands and greeting people as he made his way to the front.
When he came to our group, I held out my hand and introduced myself. “I’m glad you’re here with us today,” the pastor smiled, and I genuinely believed him. “What bring you to our church?” he asked.
“The sign out front,” I answered honestly. (I had struggled with how to approach this issue, and decided direct honest was probably best.) “Did you know you misspelled ‘sundae’?” I winked at him.
“Is ‘sunday’ misspelled on the sign?” he answered surprised… I think he missed my wink. “I hadn’t noticed. I’ll make sure someone fixes that.”
“Yes,” I continued playing along. “‘Sundae’ is spelled s-u-n-d-a-e, but on the sign it’s spelled s-u-n-d-a-y.” Honestly, I was not trying to be a jerk. That’s just who I am, and it really is the reason that I was there that morning. “So, when do you serve your sundaes?” I asked.
He smiled at me… a little bigger. I hoped he understood.
“No, we don’t serve sundaes,” he answered good naturedly. “It’s a play on words.”
“Yeah, I know. But, I was wondering, would you and your family join me for sundaes at Dairy Queen this afternoon? My treat?”
“Ummm…” I think he was wondering what my angle was. What was I after?
“I’ve invited some other peope,” I pointed to the group around me. “I’m new to the area, and I just want to get to know some Christians from around here.” I checked my intentions… yes, I simply wanted to get to know my neighbors.
“I’ll check with my wife and get back to you after the service, okay?” he patted me on the back and walked up to the stage, taking a seat behind the pulpit.
I liked him. I really did. I could tell that he cared about people, and while he probably wasn’t sure about me yet, I could see us becoming good friends.
I chatted with the people around me for a while until the music started playing. The singing was really good. I knew some of the songs, and others were new to me. I appreciated the words of the songs, and I thought about them as much as possible.
The people around me, and as far as I could see the people around the room, were serious about their singing. I could only see a few people who appeared to be apathetic about the whole thing. I heard several of the men and women around me raising their voices to praise God.
When the pastor stood to preach, I admit that I was a little antsy. I had to not sat through a sermon in a long time. But, he did a very good job. His exegesis was solid, his presentation was understandable, and his application was challenging. I wanted to ask a few question – not because I disagreed with him, but because I didn’t understand something he said. Also, a story came to mind that I though would help some people with this teaching. I knew that I was not expected to say anything, so I didn’t. But, I did jot down a few things for later.
After the service was over, I talked to the people around me again, reminding them of my invitation. Several said they would meet me at Dairy Queen in a couple of hours. Some actually said they would go with me now and have lunch at Dairy Queen. Believe it or not, this was new to me. I only new about ice cream at Dairy Queen, but they told me that DQ had hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken fingers.
I made my way to the back doors and shook the pastor’s hand again.
“So, do you think you and your family can join me at Dairy Queen this afternoon?” I asked again. “It turns out that some of us are going there for lunch now, and others are joining us for sundaes a little later – my treat, of course.”
“Well, I haven’t had a chance to talk with my wife yet. She’s in the nursery. I’ll have to let you know.” He turned and greeted the person behind me as I continued through the vestibule and out the front doors.
I noticed a few of my new friends lingering around in the parking lot – waiting for me probably – but I decided to try to meet a few more people. As I met people, I issued more invitations. Eventually I made my way to the men and women who were waiting for me.
“I need to wait a few more minutes before I go to DQ,” I told them. “If you want to go ahead, I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”
One of the ladies spoke for the group, “No. We’ll wait.”
A few minutes later, the pastor walked out of the building with a woman and two children. He walked down the steps, over to our knot of people, and directly to me.
“Hey, is that offer still open?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said.
“Well, my kids heard me say Dairy Queen, so it looks like we’re coming,” he grinned really big. “Meet you there in about an hour?”
“Sounds great!” I answered.
The crowd separated, as we all made our way to our cars and headed for Dairy Queen.
(To be continued…)
Why keep the worship service?
Last week, we had a very good discussion on my post “Looking for the ‘Worship Service’.”
In this short post, I want to ask a different question: Why continue holding the “worship service”?
What do I mean? Well, most church understand that their “worship service” does not provide what is necessary for spiritual growth. Therefore, they add other programs such as small groups / Sunday school / Bible studies. They add activities for men, women, children, teenagers, and the elderly. They have special projects for singles or married couples.
Churches have learned that spiritual growth happens best in smaller groups where people can interact with one another, get to know one another, and grow toward Christ together. These kinds of things cannot happen in a larger group.
So, if people grow spiritually through these other activities and times of gathering together, why continuing holding the “worship service”?
What is gained from the worship service that cannot be gained through times of meeting together with smaller groups of believers?