Greg Beech’s message last Sunday reminded us of the need for flexibility and adaptability in responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our Services, and the importance of congregational input. He also challenged us on the point of relevance to the times and culture in which we live. Evidence from around the world indicates that, while traditional church numbers are declining alarmingly, where the Spirit of God is at work, and where church life is relevant to the lives of the people, there is significant growth.
Greg referred us to the passage in 1Cor 14:26 which speaks of the Christians in Corinth coming together and “everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” This is far from the “one man band” pattern of church that is found in many places today. However, it is also important for everything to be done “in a fitting and orderly way.” (1Cor 14:40) Achieving a balance between freedom and order has been the challenge of the Church for two millennia, with the Quaker approach on one extreme and the Catholic/Orthodox liturgy on the other.
The Scriptures do not give any clear instructions for how Christians should conduct their gatherings, but they do emphasise certain elements that should be present. In Acts 2:42 Luke gives a summary statement, which seems to be a pattern for the early church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” The four elements here are ‘teaching’, ‘fellowship’ (i.e. Personal interaction), ‘breaking of bread’ (which probably means having a meal together, not just ‘Communion’.) and ‘prayer’ (this is literally “the prayers” and seems to suggest some sense of formal prayer).
The passage in 1Cor 14:26, referred to above, mentions the contributions from different members of the congregation and says that “All of these must be done for the strengthening (or ‘building’) of the church.” In 1Tim 2:1,2 Paul mentions the importance of prayer, and urges: “that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.” While he does not specifically say that this is “in church,” that is the natural interpretation of the passage. The other relevant passage is Heb 10:25, which exhorts Christians to meet together to “encourage one another.” There is no passage in Scripture that says Christians should meet together to “Worship”. However, since worship should be a part of everyday life, ‘Corporate Worship’ is appropriate and helpful when Christians meet together.
The way in which these various elements have functioned in the life of the Church has varied with place, time, culture and the level of Holy Spirit anointing. At times there has been too much rigidity that quenched the Spirit, at other times there has been so little order that all ended in chaos. We look for somewhere in between!
While the church should always be open to the new things that God is doing, and the new challenges of a changing world around us, it is neither wise nor helpful to abandon everything of the past.
When the fresh wind of Reformation reached England in the 16th Century, Archbishop Cranmer totally revised the Services and Ceremonies of the English Church. He faced a situation where some could not accept any change, because they were: “so addicted to their old customs”; while, on the other side “some be so newfangled, that they would innovate all things, and so despise the old, that nothing can like them, but that is new.” The principle he followed with his new Services was to retain that which was biblical and helpful, and to remove anything that was not, and that all things done in the Church should be judged by whether “they pertain to edification.”
This principle has stood the test of time and can serve us well as we seek to move forward with God into the Church of Tomorrow.