Jacob, I think this is a spectacular start to the book. I can't wait to read the rest of it. I especially enjoyed learning some things that I never knew before. I have to admit, I am very low hanging fruit in regard to this topic. I have thought for several decades that the church needs to operate this way. Back in college, around 1980, I attended a smallish Bible Church that operated their main meetings this way. Fully open meeting, communion every week. I thought it was wonderful. The meeting started at 10:30. From 9:00 to 10:00 he had a teaching time that everyone was welcome to come to. But everyone knew the main meeting was at 10:30.
Hmm. An interesting concept and profitable for smaller gatherings. How would a traditional church worship setting move towards such? Is there a role for both types of services? Is the concept more driven by certain types of individual and group personalities?
How do children interact? In any group one may find those that feel “called” to dominate conversations and teachings. How to handle such.
Anyhow, i appreciate the foundation being Spirit driven.
Maybe my thoughts are to be covered in later chapters. Well written!
Thanks for your comments! I think some of this will be covered in later chapters, but here are a few thoughts:
1. As for how the traditional church setting might move toward this, I'm not entirely sure. But one possibility (which some churches have done) is to make home churches the primary gatherings on Sundays and then to meet mid-week at their building for a larger gathering like normal. This sets the precedent that the home gatherings are primary and the large gatherings are secondary.
Another possibility is simply to create space within/throughout the larger gathering for anyone to speak (both to share their gifts and to weigh what others have said), and to be highly intentional about this. It is more difficult to do this with a lot of people in the room but certainly not impossible.
2. As I said near the end, there could be a role for both types of services, but I do not think the "traditional" type should be the primary gathering, unless it is adapted to be highly intentional about open participation to meet the standards of Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 14.
3. You asked if the concept is more driven by certain types of individual and group personalities. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but I think you're wondering if the open meeting that I described is more tailored or fit to some Christians and not others. If that's what you're asking, then I would say emphatically no. There is certainly a variance in terms of who will be naturally more comfortable with this, but that makes no difference. The act of every member engaging at the level of ownership/stewardship that I'm talking about is something that, in my opinion, simply must be learned for the sake of discipleship.
4. As for children, I believe there are various solutions, and each group can decide collectively what they see fit. Our church has gone through different phases of what to do with the children, but for the last few years, we've simply had them all with us. The younger children are usually just sitting quietly, but they sometimes will pray or share a testimony. The older they get, though, the more they tend to engage.
5. As for your concern about those who may feel called to dominate, or similar situations: All these concerns are dealt with when we exercise sincerity, submission, and collective discernment. I plan to speak in depth on this in another chapter. But this is the part where Paul says, "let the others weigh what is said." And "the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets." And "let all things be done for building up." If we feel that someone is dominating and it's not helpful, then it's our job to speak up in love and sincerity. Then the church can prayerfully weigh that together, and God brings agreement. That's the gist of it anyway. It's not easy, but it's highly effective. And it's how God designed it to keep order in a Spirit-led gathering.
Jacob, I think this is a spectacular start to the book. I can't wait to read the rest of it. I especially enjoyed learning some things that I never knew before. I have to admit, I am very low hanging fruit in regard to this topic. I have thought for several decades that the church needs to operate this way. Back in college, around 1980, I attended a smallish Bible Church that operated their main meetings this way. Fully open meeting, communion every week. I thought it was wonderful. The meeting started at 10:30. From 9:00 to 10:00 he had a teaching time that everyone was welcome to come to. But everyone knew the main meeting was at 10:30.
David Gregory
Very cool, David, thanks for the encouragement!
Hmm. An interesting concept and profitable for smaller gatherings. How would a traditional church worship setting move towards such? Is there a role for both types of services? Is the concept more driven by certain types of individual and group personalities?
How do children interact? In any group one may find those that feel “called” to dominate conversations and teachings. How to handle such.
Anyhow, i appreciate the foundation being Spirit driven.
Maybe my thoughts are to be covered in later chapters. Well written!
Thanks for your comments! I think some of this will be covered in later chapters, but here are a few thoughts:
1. As for how the traditional church setting might move toward this, I'm not entirely sure. But one possibility (which some churches have done) is to make home churches the primary gatherings on Sundays and then to meet mid-week at their building for a larger gathering like normal. This sets the precedent that the home gatherings are primary and the large gatherings are secondary.
Another possibility is simply to create space within/throughout the larger gathering for anyone to speak (both to share their gifts and to weigh what others have said), and to be highly intentional about this. It is more difficult to do this with a lot of people in the room but certainly not impossible.
2. As I said near the end, there could be a role for both types of services, but I do not think the "traditional" type should be the primary gathering, unless it is adapted to be highly intentional about open participation to meet the standards of Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 14.
3. You asked if the concept is more driven by certain types of individual and group personalities. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but I think you're wondering if the open meeting that I described is more tailored or fit to some Christians and not others. If that's what you're asking, then I would say emphatically no. There is certainly a variance in terms of who will be naturally more comfortable with this, but that makes no difference. The act of every member engaging at the level of ownership/stewardship that I'm talking about is something that, in my opinion, simply must be learned for the sake of discipleship.
4. As for children, I believe there are various solutions, and each group can decide collectively what they see fit. Our church has gone through different phases of what to do with the children, but for the last few years, we've simply had them all with us. The younger children are usually just sitting quietly, but they sometimes will pray or share a testimony. The older they get, though, the more they tend to engage.
5. As for your concern about those who may feel called to dominate, or similar situations: All these concerns are dealt with when we exercise sincerity, submission, and collective discernment. I plan to speak in depth on this in another chapter. But this is the part where Paul says, "let the others weigh what is said." And "the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets." And "let all things be done for building up." If we feel that someone is dominating and it's not helpful, then it's our job to speak up in love and sincerity. Then the church can prayerfully weigh that together, and God brings agreement. That's the gist of it anyway. It's not easy, but it's highly effective. And it's how God designed it to keep order in a Spirit-led gathering.
God bless you!
So good, if the first chapter is suppose to get you excited to read what is to come, nailed it!
This gets me pumped!
Can’t wait!