"Custom without truth is error grown old."
-Tertullian
My friend over at Words Less Spoken and I have been speaking about what C/church is and what its roots are, and we have had some really great conversations that most people I know would have labeled as "heretical". I believe that in order to be the C/church God would have, we must first know the original design He instituted. I believe He gave the design to those closest to Him, the apostles, while here in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. These early C/church planters(lets include Paul of Tarsus here as well) had a simple plan, lets do with others what Jesus did with us, ie build community with other believers and build relationships with non-believers(in the hope of loving them into the "God-life" intended for all). Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Well, here we go. One of the questions that WLS and I have asked is, "How do you do a community celebration, once or twice a month, without falling into the same mold of the 'three songs, offering, sermon, prayer' mentality?" The answer to that question I believe I have found in chapter 1 of Pagan Christianity (see previous post for website and ordering info). According to biblical scriptures, there are no "orders" of worship. We see the community of believers, ministering to one another in all things, and having a meal in commemoration of Jesus' life/death/resurrection. As far as we know there are no set guide lines that were followed. Today we have very predictable "services" that do not, in my opinion, stimulate growth, much less alertness(it's almost comedic to watch people doze off during a Sunday service!). So the question screams to be asked, WHY?!
The order of worship has gone through several hands through the last 2000 years, including Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, D.L. Moody, and other C/church reformers, but the "order" is still there. I am not abdicating anarchy, but do we have to have an "order" of worship (seems like an oxymoron to me).
Frank states that this is corrosive to the Body of Christ because of several reasons. They are:repression of mutual participation and growth of Christian community, strangulation of the Headship of Jesus Christ,boredom, and hindrance of spiritual growth. Frank also states, "The purpose of the first-century church meeting was not for evangelism, sermonizing, worship, or fellowship. It was rather for mutual edification through manifesting Christ corporately".
So dear reader, what will we do? Will we ride a wave that will drift us far off course or will we be daring enough to grab an oar and try to steer a truer course? In Frank's words, "Is the church of Jesus Christ the pillar and ground of truth or the defender of man's traditions (I Tim. 3:15)?"
As Frank closed his chapter, I wish to close this post, with a quote of Jesus. "Full well do you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition (Mark 7:8)".
The SIM Church...presbyter?
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Over at the Gathering, the church plant my family and I attend, we did away with the typical structure within a year, and then within a few months made the creative and active decision to reengage it. It's true there's no order of worship in the church, but I think there's something to be said for years of tradition as well. Leonard Sweet calls tradition the "anchor" for the church in "AquaChurch". Innovation is necessary to be sure, and interaction doubly so. Abandoning the Socratic method of sermoning is a great idea, but abandoning the sermon? Hmmmm...
I'm fond of a little story I heard one Sunday morning at the church I work at, where a man berates his pastor with the statement that he's attended this church for X number of years and he can't remember any of the sermons preached, so he's leaving. The pastor replies, "What did you have for supper last year today?" The man replies that there's no way he could remember that. The pastor then asks about last month's meal. The man again replies he cannot recall. Once again, the pastor asks, but in reference to the prior week. The man thinks for a bit, but can't recall for certain. The pastor then says, "you can't remember the meals you've eaten over the past year, yet without them, you would have surely died."
I believe it is the role of teachers in the church to teach. And of pastors to be spiritual leaders or facilitators and directors. And since it is not directly our responsibility as leaders or pastors to see change occur (though it is our hope) in the hearts of our people, we need to do our jobs as well as we can and wait for the person to respond to the Holy Spirit.
At any rate, you've intrigued me with this Pagan Church book. Might have to pick it up.
Thanks for the mental gymnastics Jared.
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