PART OF WHY WE GATHER

I'm quote-filing this morning after reading several books recently. I just typed this in after reading it in Michael W. Smith's book, a simple blessing.

When we continually expose our minds to the standards of the culture, those standards begin to seep into our lives. The fatal change comes so gradually that, like the frog in the kettle, we don’t even notice it. First we are no longer shocked by evil. Then we become accustomed to it. Then we tolerate it. Then it’s only a tiny step to accept it as normal.  [p.76]

It immediately occurred to me that this is one of the key reasons that we get together for worship every week!

Through the course of the week we are inundated with the impact of massive and consistent cultural change! Many of us are realizing that we can't keep up with it. It's overwhelming. We may despair over the way younger generations seem to adapt and adopt trends that we are wary of.

Debbie and I love watching good dramas on television, but so often they are beyond what we consider acceptable. If you would examine our television, you would find a host of TV series and movies that we watched for five or ten minutes and then bailed out! This is because we ran into language, sexual situations, violence or moral issues that conflict with the values that we hold as precious. So, we move on...

The internet is an 'out-of-control' issue for people today. It provides a measure of anonymity and voyeurism that is high-risk for anyone who wants to maintain godly standards and behavior! Strict controls and accountability are necessary to maintain appropriate viewing patterns!

Just watching the news can fill a person with despair! 

But before this disintegrates into a "Woe is me! - the sky is falling" diatribe, let's make a right turn.

It occurred to me - as I typed this quote into my file - that one of the reasons we meet together regularly as believers in Jesus, is to serve as a correction for this onslaught of corruption and vulgarity. 

We meet to refocus!

We meet to confess our failures.

We meet to assess our spiritual vigor.

We meet to hold one another accountable.

We meet to remind ourselves of that which is good and holy!

We meet to be challenged to stay faithful and serve as a role model for the culture.

And if we're serious about our involvement, we are likely to be rewarded by the One Who forgives, cleanses and restores our souls!

It serves as a righting of that which is wrong! 

...a clarification of our intention.

...a renewal of determination.

...a reminder of decisions we've made.

...a sharing of responsibility for those who are part of our worshiping community.

...a statement of unity with a global community.

...a submission to divine Love

[This list could go on...]

We need this! We desperately need this! There are no 'lone rangers' in the Bible! Community is essential to maintaining commitment and promises! Wise men seek accountability; I suppose wise women do the same. 

Leaders and pastors who plan worship need to review this aspect of Sunday worship and be purposeful in structuring the time to accommodate these needs. 

The structure of our worship tends to prohibit engagement. We all sit facing the front. There are only a few people who could name everyone in the sanctuary. Most of our participation is a response to directions given from those on the platform. We may - or may not - connect with people before or after worship. 

In my last novel, Never Unreachable, a retired couple are invited to attend a 'house-church' that meets in a home. He immediately meets guys from the community that he knows from the hardware store, or school days, or the gas station. He loves the fact that food is always available and you can grab some when you want it. The atmosphere is casual. The leaders sit close - on the same level. New people are introduced and welcomed. There's ample time, before the structured time begins, for people to mingle, share stories, get acquainted and establish a comfort zone. He is surprised to find that he actually looks forward to Sundays!

I digress...

We need help to diffuse the pervasive impact of the ever-changing culture in our lives! 

Participating in worship can provide that help by reminding us of the standards that we revere and the fact that we are part of a community of faith that extends around the globe!

RE-IMAGINING THE CHURCH

Ephesians 6:10-23

Eugene Peterson [in The Message Bible] gives us a fresh look at a familiar passage.  He removes the ancient references to Roman armor and weaponry – which some will miss and even criticize – but he sustains the intensity of the battle that rages daily in our lives between the Devil and God!  Sometimes a fresh rendering gives us a renewed awakening!

^10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

^13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Wouldn’t it be great if Christians could get together once a week to share how the battle is going, where they’re weak, where they’re strong, to what extent we need help and how, and to pray specifically for and resource one another in these areas? 

Okay, okay, I’ve got my tongue in my cheek.  We do get together weekly – to a large extent – but there’s very little sharing about our struggles, weaknesses, failures and needs.  Instead, we fulfill a structured form of worship and listen to the results of one person’s study and reflection on the Word.  [I was that person for over forty years.] 

Two decades into the twenty-first century, I'm thinking that it might be time for a new reformation that sends the church back into the home [where it started in the first several centuries].  I’ve said for many years that one government decision could immediately close well over fifty percent of our churches.  That decision would be to tax the church!  We are vulnerable in a liberal, socialism-drifting culture!  The unimaginable has become the expected! 

The ‘underground church’ has met for centuries in secret in homes and other hidden places.  It still meets this way in many countries.  In reality, we might be wise to begin to reorganize the church in America to survive even tougher times that might lie ahead! 

Either way, we need to recapture the kind of environment that Paul portrays in this chapter!

·         Decreased formality

·         Increased intimacy

·         Consecrated and focused, specific prayer

“Be prepared.  You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.  Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet…Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

SPIRITUAL AR-15's

Isaiah 54 is a very reassuring chapter for Israel.  God admits that He has been angry with the Israelites, but He also promises them that He is for them.  God is aware that they are suffering under constant persecution from the Assyrians.  He announces that this will soon end. 

God makes a promise to them, reminding them of the promise He made with Noah!  Essentially God says that He will protect her when bad things happen and will never walk away from her again!  God invokes images of heaven as He envisions her future!

In the midst of all this, God makes an interesting statement: 

No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper… [NASB]

I found myself searching for II Corinthians 10:4,

…for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses…  [NASB]

To be fair, you always need to check out the context of these verses!

I had never connected these verses before. 

God seems – in both contexts – to be reassuring His people [the Israelites AND the NT Christians] that He has provided us with powerful weapons that will enable us to be victorious! 

The Holy Spirit is clear as He speaks through Paul (to the Corinthian Church) that these weapons are not of the flesh.  We’re not talking about automatic rifles here!  But we are talking about divinely powerful weapons that are capable of destroying the fortresses of our enemy! 

Now, I’m thinking that if we’re destroying fortresses, then we’re not on the defense, but rather, we are on the offense!  We’re the aggressors!  We’re assaulting the strongholds of our opponent! 

In Matthew 16, Jesus affirms Peter for having the spiritual insight to see that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God!  Then, Jesus makes a curious statement:  I will build My church;  and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it  [16:18 NASB]. 

Many have observed that “gates” don’t attack;  they defend!  The implication of our Lord is that we will be the attackers!  We will assault the gates of Hell – or the enemy of our souls! 

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

We – as the Church – are to use the powerful, spiritual weapons that God has created for us to assault our enemy and his strongholds with courage and confidence in victory as promised by our Lord! 

Friends, this is happening in many parts of our world!  True believers are banding together and meeting in spite of resistance.  Attending church for many of these dear saints [biblically, saints = believers] is RISKY!  They could lose their lives for doing so!  Some DO lose their lives for doing so!  L

Check out Voice of the Martyrs for more details:  The Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com)

SO – WHAT ARE THESE POWERFUL WEAPONS?

So much could be said here, but let’s keep it brief for now:  [You know these anyway!]

1.       Prayer! 

This can be done alone or with other believers.  When it is done with other believers, it is far more powerful  [Matthew 18:20]!  It can be done anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances!  When Jesus faced His deepest trial, He spent a whole night in prayer and asked His disciples to join Him!  What does that tell us?    

2.       God’s Word!

Psalm 119:11 talks about hiding God’s Word in our hearts!  How well off would you be if suddenly someone confiscated all of our Bibles?  How much of it do you have hidden in your heart.  This hints at treasuring the Bible and it’s content!  Do you treasure it?  Do you know where your Bible is right now?

Do you read it?  Do you love it?  Do you apply it?  

Do you recall when Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted?  After forty days of fasting, His enemy came with three specific temptations.  Do you remember how Jesus overcame these temptations?  Sure, you do!  He quoted scriptures [Matthew 4:1-11]!!!!!

3.       Community!

Not enough can be said about this!  Take note:  Community does NOT equal church!  Most churches fail to provide genuine community!  The New Testament word is koinonia, for which there is no English equivalent.  The best we can do is ‘fellowship’, which connotes many wrong concepts (such as pot-luck dinners or game nights). 

Koinonia is communion by intimate participation!  It is a genuine connecting and sharing that is rarely found in our culture.  The strength that can be gained through koinonia is phenomenal!  It’s characteristic is:  when one suffers – all suffer;  when one rejoices – all rejoice  [I Corinthians 12:26]! 

Our world is desperately in need of KOINONIA!!!!!!!

_____________________________

There are others, of course, but maybe we shouldn’t move on until we’ve mastered these basic ones?  Most of us have a ways to go to do that….

BREAKING BREAD

I just read Mark 8:1-9, where Jesus feeds a crowd of four thousand people with seven small loaves of bread and a few fish.  The Message Bible reads:

Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. 

One of my favorite times in church while I was growing up was when we would have a Love Feast!  It was usually done on Sunday nights and it didn't happen real often.  

Some of the women would cut up table bread into one-inch-long strips and cover them with a cloth.  After the pastor's message, he would invite people to come forward and get a piece of bread.  Then we were to go to one another and "break bread".  I would take a small piece of your bread and you would take a small piece of mine.  Then, we would exchange some form of brief Christian greeting.  If you ran out of bread, you would simply go up front for more.  We would be given about fifteen minutes to mingle and try to get to as many people as possible.  

Children and youth were involved right along with adults.  It had its awkward moments since we didn't always know what to say, but we loved being allowed to eat in church!  When the love feast ended, we always made sure we had several pieces of that bread to get us through the rest of the service.  ;-)

It was intended, of course, to help us to mend any broken relationships we might have with those in our worshiping community.  Occasionally, there would be a very obvious healing of relationship between two people who had been arguing or avoiding one another.  These interventions were sometimes dramatic and brought a great sense of joy to the congregation!  

Eventually, concerns about passing germs increased and the practice fell into history.  However, I continued it in the churches I served by copying a shape of a loaf of bread on an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper and having people sign one another's sheet instead of actually breaking bread.  

I saw the value of connection that was increased by this practice!  Too often people enter and leave worship with little or no interaction with others.  How is this the "body of Christ?"  I also used it frequently in youth meetings and camps.  But, I haven't done so in many years now.  

I'm not suggesting we re-introduce this practice;  COVID has created a whole new package of fears that now regulate our activity.  Even back in the day, I noticed that some people didn't eat the bread that they broke from a person's piece of bread.  Instead, they were very subtle about tucking it in the palm of their hand.  That's okay.  I can understand that kind of caution.  At least they participated and didn't scoot out the back door!  

All of us have noticed that as a result of COVID, some still don't want to shake hands.  Many will stick out a fist to bump instead.  Live and adapt, right?  

But we must find 21st century ways to maintain and celebrate the community of faith!  

I loved Holy Communion Sundays and always tried to make them special for the congregations that I served.  We always had people come forward to receive the bread and the cup.  They were given an opportunity to kneel at the alter - if they so desired.  [Later, we introduced a third point of service at the back of the sanctuary for those who desired to be more discreet.]  People were encouraged to greet one another as they stood in line to receive Communion!  I used couples or pairs of singles to hold the bread and the cup to heighten the involvement of our parishoners.  We tried to always have a few people designated to pray with anyone who had a special need.  It was kind of an organized free-for-all, but packed with meaning!  

Again, if a church was not too large and if it had an appropriate space, we had fairly frequent 'cover-dish' or 'carry-in' meals!  Everyone contributed a food gift proportionate to the size of their family and we would all simply eat together.  These were wonderful!  Such good food!  I always loved them!  While in New Middletown, we had a man who made delicious chicken.  He would come before daylight to start the fires and then roast enough chicken for the whole church family.  We brought all the other stuff.  We ate in the picnic shelter.  Sometimes we had our whole service outdoors smelling the chicken as we worshipped!  Thanks, David Fitch, for your wonderful gift to us!  But, again, issues were raised about appropriate preparation, cleanliness and the passing of germs - so this practice too fell by the wayside.  

Please understand!  These ruminations are not a plea to resurrect these practices;  but we do need to find events and forms that bring us together and increase our contact with one another.  There's a chorus we often sang to express this:

We are the body of the Lord;

We are the body of the Lord.

United in Christ and working together,

We are the body of the Lord.

We are the temple of the Lord;

We are the temple of the Lord.

United in love and growing together,

We are the temple of the Lord.