If you had never been to church before, and only had New Testament scripture to study to determine what a worship service should look like, do you suppose your idea of going to church might be different? (I use the term "going to church" because we all know what this means, even though in the New Testament the word church is not used to mean a building, a place or a denomination; it describes us, believers, the Body of Christ.) There are many ways to honor God and worship him, and no particular system is necessarily right or wrong, but when early followers of Christ met for fellowship, it must have looked different, for the most part, from what many of us have experienced over the years.
A strict schedule of meeting in the same building every Sunday morning and evening and on Wednesday is absent from scripture. As the New Testament church evolved, Christians seemed to have settled into gathering for their main time of group worship "on the first day of the week," Sunday. But there are other examples, too. We read of one occasion (Acts 16:13) where there was a riverside prayer meeting on the Sabbath, which is Saturday. In their enthusiasm, the very first followers of Christ were, "Day to day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house..." (Acts 2:46). Meeting in homes was quite typical; in fact, it was the norm.
The New Testament does give guidelines for Church leadership and how those leaders are to function, but it does not seem to imply the same person was the sole speaker or teacher each time believers assembled -- there was participation by many, which provided diversity and spontaneity. "When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation." (I Cor.14:26) We all have spiritual gifts and perspectives which are meant to be shared with others.
Since there is no specific outline mandating methods for assembling together, there are certainly many ways which must be acceptable. However, settling into a rut where nothing is fresh and new is the main danger in following the same formula week after week. We shouldn't be afraid to break the chains of tradition and find freedom, but more importantly, no matter how we choose to fellowship with one another, we need to remember that "going to church" is secondary to being the church each and every day.
As the Sabbath is mentioned above, perhaps you may be interested in doing some reading at the following web site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sabbathtruth.com/
Then again, perhaps not... however, you should be given the opportunity to read and judge for yourself. :)
Daniel Hutchinson
Thanks for writing what in my mind is indisputably correct. For the last couple of years I have not been to the Bible study group I used to attend--so your blog brought me back to some of our discussions. When I left, we were reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan (http://www.crazylovebook.com/). Although a church pastor, Francis Chan sees that it is the "church" within oneself that is important, not the building one attends.
ReplyDeleteI was led to your blog by Lin Waterhouse. I don't try to be but I'm a little paradoxical -- non-Christian yet Pro-Jesus. At 65 years of age and having spent about 20 years as a college administrator, I've become very distrustful of large institutions including churches. Washington, the Vatican and BP all have some systemic problems that put them at odds with the common good. I'm getting off track but thanks for writing.
Daniel, I am familiar with most of the arguments advanced regarding the Sabbath...and I already have judged for myself. : ) (Some interesting reading though.)
ReplyDeleteOzark Uncle, thanks for sharing your views. I know how it feels to be paradoxical; I think I've felt that way for most of my life. (I will add: I wish more "Christians" were actually pro-Jesus!)