Friday, November 14, 2008
10 Things That Should Still Happen in Church
Service was only half finished, but a visiting couple eased from their pews and quietly slipped out the back door. I’m sure they were great people, but evidently the passionate worship and preaching was too much for them. It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while someone will attend an apostolic church service and discover that they are out of their comfort zone.
This is an understandable reaction since centuries of “religious morphing” has resulted in typical worship services looking and feeling more like a ceremony than a dynamic interaction with the living God. It is really quite surprising to find out how many people become uncomfortable when a church service starts looking like the kind of services Jesus’ own disciples experienced. In such cases, it should be noted that the things that are happening may be out of some people’s comfort zone, but they are not out of the Bible zone.
Since there is such a wide range of opinions as to what church should be like, it might be most honest for us to defer to the Bible and its record of church history when trying to establish what should take place in church. Below you will find a list of things that were recorded to have happened in the first century church. This list is not based on denominational traditions or personal preferences but, rather, on scripture:
1. Powerful times of prayer (Acts 1, 4)
2. Rejoicing, clapping, singing and dancing ( Ephesians 5:17-19, Colossians 3:16)
3. Repentance and public baptisms (Acts 2, 8, 10 & 19)
4. People speaking in “other tongues” (Acts 2, 10, 19; I Corinthians 12)
5. Emotionally overwhelming experiences - to the point of appearing drunk (Acts 2)
6. Emotional and physical healings, and exorcisms (James 5:14-15, Acts 5,8)
7. Visible manifestations of God’s presence (Acts 4)
8. Apostolic words of rebuke and encouragement (Acts 5, 13)
9. Generous giving (Acts 2, II Corinthians 9)
10. Supernatural gifts and the laying on of hands (Acts 13, 21)
A simple review of early church history quickly reveals that going to a church in the first century was an adventure. Early believers had life-changing services -- services that may have been out of many people’s comfort zone. The above 10 things should still be happening in church. I would propose that a good church service is one in which God is so evident that some people squirm in their seats. A church that never challenges or stretches it members is like a gym that never challenges its members to do strenuous workouts. Church should be a divine encounter. If we are too comfortable it is probably evidence that we are not really letting God do his thing.
There is an interesting story in the Old Testament about Moses and his congregation. Moses talked to God face to face and tried to get his parishioners to do the same, but the people didn’t want to – it was too intense. They said, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." (Exodus 20:19) A real encounter with God will be intense. Real church will be intense.
Shouldn’t church still be exciting and unpredictable, like it was for St. Peter and his colleagues? Doesn’t it make sense that God still wants to His power and change lives in a very tangible way? Won’t our services be much more powerful when they are focused on what God wants, rather than on a ceremony that fits into man’s comfort zone? How many people do you suppose have the stomach for that kind of encounter with God?
This is an understandable reaction since centuries of “religious morphing” has resulted in typical worship services looking and feeling more like a ceremony than a dynamic interaction with the living God. It is really quite surprising to find out how many people become uncomfortable when a church service starts looking like the kind of services Jesus’ own disciples experienced. In such cases, it should be noted that the things that are happening may be out of some people’s comfort zone, but they are not out of the Bible zone.
Since there is such a wide range of opinions as to what church should be like, it might be most honest for us to defer to the Bible and its record of church history when trying to establish what should take place in church. Below you will find a list of things that were recorded to have happened in the first century church. This list is not based on denominational traditions or personal preferences but, rather, on scripture:
1. Powerful times of prayer (Acts 1, 4)
2. Rejoicing, clapping, singing and dancing ( Ephesians 5:17-19, Colossians 3:16)
3. Repentance and public baptisms (Acts 2, 8, 10 & 19)
4. People speaking in “other tongues” (Acts 2, 10, 19; I Corinthians 12)
5. Emotionally overwhelming experiences - to the point of appearing drunk (Acts 2)
6. Emotional and physical healings, and exorcisms (James 5:14-15, Acts 5,8)
7. Visible manifestations of God’s presence (Acts 4)
8. Apostolic words of rebuke and encouragement (Acts 5, 13)
9. Generous giving (Acts 2, II Corinthians 9)
10. Supernatural gifts and the laying on of hands (Acts 13, 21)
A simple review of early church history quickly reveals that going to a church in the first century was an adventure. Early believers had life-changing services -- services that may have been out of many people’s comfort zone. The above 10 things should still be happening in church. I would propose that a good church service is one in which God is so evident that some people squirm in their seats. A church that never challenges or stretches it members is like a gym that never challenges its members to do strenuous workouts. Church should be a divine encounter. If we are too comfortable it is probably evidence that we are not really letting God do his thing.
There is an interesting story in the Old Testament about Moses and his congregation. Moses talked to God face to face and tried to get his parishioners to do the same, but the people didn’t want to – it was too intense. They said, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." (Exodus 20:19) A real encounter with God will be intense. Real church will be intense.
Shouldn’t church still be exciting and unpredictable, like it was for St. Peter and his colleagues? Doesn’t it make sense that God still wants to His power and change lives in a very tangible way? Won’t our services be much more powerful when they are focused on what God wants, rather than on a ceremony that fits into man’s comfort zone? How many people do you suppose have the stomach for that kind of encounter with God?
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