Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Too much worship time...
OK. That's misleading. But it does seem like we are consumed with the public assembly. If we are honest, most of our Bible study time is done during the sermon. The second avenue would be Bible class, assuming your class actually spends time in the Word. But even our Bible classes are tied to the assembly.
When I hear preachers -- and others -- talk about radical approaches to Christianity in our culture, it almost always has to do with worship. We will be proved faithful if we keep worship the same. We will reach the lost if we change worship styles. If we really want to be a "faithful" church, or a "growing" church, we must do this or that about public worship.
Most of the complaints I get as an elder have to do with public worship. And that is true of members and ministers both. The reason we are losing our young people is that we are catering to them in worship. Or... the reason we are losing our young people is because we will not change with the times in our assembly. We spend most of our money on buildings so we can "go to church".
What if we have it wrong? what if the center of our lives as Christians is not found in the public assembly? After all, most of spend no more than 4 hours per week in assembly. What if real fellowship is not designed to happen in an assembly? What if that is not the best way to do evangelism? What if real study should occur outside the assembly? What if the assembly is not even supposed to be the main time of worship in our lives?
I wonder... does Satan get giddy watching us make the public assembly the center of our Christianity?
So what do you think?
When I hear preachers -- and others -- talk about radical approaches to Christianity in our culture, it almost always has to do with worship. We will be proved faithful if we keep worship the same. We will reach the lost if we change worship styles. If we really want to be a "faithful" church, or a "growing" church, we must do this or that about public worship.
Most of the complaints I get as an elder have to do with public worship. And that is true of members and ministers both. The reason we are losing our young people is that we are catering to them in worship. Or... the reason we are losing our young people is because we will not change with the times in our assembly. We spend most of our money on buildings so we can "go to church".
What if we have it wrong? what if the center of our lives as Christians is not found in the public assembly? After all, most of spend no more than 4 hours per week in assembly. What if real fellowship is not designed to happen in an assembly? What if that is not the best way to do evangelism? What if real study should occur outside the assembly? What if the assembly is not even supposed to be the main time of worship in our lives?
I wonder... does Satan get giddy watching us make the public assembly the center of our Christianity?
So what do you think?
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