Friday, November 10, 2006
What can an assembly...
I have spent some time this week thinking about how to achieve balance between conflicting desires in our worship, work, and fellowship. It seems there is always that difficult line to walk. For example, we want our worship to be for God as his children gather to praise him. The core of our worship is to reconnect with gospel as we share the Lord's Supper, an act that by nature is for those in the family of God. In fact, it is a visible sign of our unity and of our faith. Our public worship is in many ways the inspiration for our every day worship as salt and light in this world.
Yet at the same time we have a desire to have "seeker sensitive" services that have an evangelistic thrust. So we have set up desires that seem to be in conflict. The family of God gathers to worship and celebrate what God has done- and is doing- in our lives. Or do we gather to worship in such a way as to convert the non-believer? Or can a worship assembly be both? I have always wondered if part of the emphasis on evangelistic services is because we don't know how to do evangelism any other way. Just live forgiven, ask people to visit our worship, and then let the "seeker" service convert them.
I don't want an "outsider" to feel awkward or uneasy at our assemblies. Yet I do want to remember that they are not for the non-believer. I would hope they would catch a glimpse of something the want, or perhaps be inspired to ask questions.
I guess I am just more interested in a "God sensitive" service.
What do you think?
Yet at the same time we have a desire to have "seeker sensitive" services that have an evangelistic thrust. So we have set up desires that seem to be in conflict. The family of God gathers to worship and celebrate what God has done- and is doing- in our lives. Or do we gather to worship in such a way as to convert the non-believer? Or can a worship assembly be both? I have always wondered if part of the emphasis on evangelistic services is because we don't know how to do evangelism any other way. Just live forgiven, ask people to visit our worship, and then let the "seeker" service convert them.
I don't want an "outsider" to feel awkward or uneasy at our assemblies. Yet I do want to remember that they are not for the non-believer. I would hope they would catch a glimpse of something the want, or perhaps be inspired to ask questions.
I guess I am just more interested in a "God sensitive" service.
What do you think?
Comments:
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How can we make an impression on the non-believer if the assembly is not a place where people are open about what God is doing and the worship is not a celebration of that?
Denying the authenticity of the community is a false way of influencing non-believers. What are we drawing them to then?
That being said, either way I do believe we are putting too much stock into the assembly itself. It may be different in the religious-consumer land of Abilene, but the vast majority of people who find their place in the kingdom of God do not get there by this or that aspect of the worship service.Rather it is the intimate community they find in a variety of experiences and the truth that is brought into their hearts because of relationships. I would say that what happens immediately before and after a worship service is infinitely more valuable to the non-believer.
Denying the authenticity of the community is a false way of influencing non-believers. What are we drawing them to then?
That being said, either way I do believe we are putting too much stock into the assembly itself. It may be different in the religious-consumer land of Abilene, but the vast majority of people who find their place in the kingdom of God do not get there by this or that aspect of the worship service.Rather it is the intimate community they find in a variety of experiences and the truth that is brought into their hearts because of relationships. I would say that what happens immediately before and after a worship service is infinitely more valuable to the non-believer.
I believe that one of the primary purposes of the assembly is the building up of the members (like in Hebrews 10:24). I've long maintained that the assembly is NOT the best entry point for non-Christians. I'd rather them visit a small group or other activity.
That being said, I think that 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 says that we should consider outsiders when we think about what we do in our assemblies. It seems like we need to be able to focus on our members, yet not make it something that will drive nonbelievers away.
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That being said, I think that 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 says that we should consider outsiders when we think about what we do in our assemblies. It seems like we need to be able to focus on our members, yet not make it something that will drive nonbelievers away.
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: 7:03 AM PST
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