what i’ve learned about [church]: part ix

This may sound a tad contrary to some of my other posts, but as much as [church] isn’t about an hour or an hour-and-a-half on Sunday morning, the weekly gathering is crucial for the Church to be the Church. From the earliest of the Church’s days, believers gathered together in homes and in a public place to worship together (taking communion, teaching the Scriptures, building relationships, singing, etc.) Acts 2:46 Scottish Theologian and Missionary Lesslie Newbigin said that “the weekly gathering for worship is by far the most important thing we [the church] do.” Another author claims that corporate worship is the most visible and profound occasion for people to encounter the gospel and the understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Regardless of your ecclesiological (church) context, whether it is a home church, mega church or somewhere in between, I think it is difficult to argue against the significance of your regular church gathering. To ignore its importance is to ignore reality, in my opinion. In a prior post I mentioned that, everything communicates something, so when you gather you are sending constant messages about who you are and what you believe.

I’ve [re]learned that when you gather, remember that being lost stinks…and not just spiritually lost. When an outsider can’t find something and basically feels like they’ve walked into a party where they don’t know anyone (ever have that feeling? it is really awkward and uncomfortable!), all they want to do is to get “unnoticed” soon….not really the feeling you want your guests to have. Being spiritually lost is just as awkward…preface: what I am about to say is NOT to water down anything or to take any power away from the Gospel. But, when a message is given it is a good idea to remember that (hopefully) there are people there that aren’t familiar with the bible, church “etiquette,” and other unspoken norms of your community. When we gather, the love we have for God and each other must spill over into the lives of those the Spirit may touch for the first time in our midst.

As a [church] leader I pray that day|twelve will be intentional about everything we do when we gather. It takes sacrifice to constantly think of someone who is not you…but, that’s sort of what we signed up for when we said “yes” to Jesus.