i have been thinking lately (and for those of you who know me well, take cover) about the church tradition of sunday morning services.
here's my question: why do we do church the way we do? that is, why do we have "church" on sunday mornings as a gathering of a small to large number of people with singing and praying and teaching and all that? what is it's purpose? now i don't mean why is it on sunday's rather than saturdays or whatever...i know the church history about that. i mean why do we have this gathering of people in this way that we call church?
here's my reason: i don't always enjoy church on sunday mornings. oh there is the occasional truth that sticks out at me, and there is the connecting with friends that i haven't seen for a week, and i like the music, but really all that can be accomplished more effectively in a small group that i attend on thursday evenings.
here's my problem: i've been taught sunday mornings "aren't about me" so according to that line of thinking my attitude of not getting much out of it is essentially self-centered and wrong. ok, i can see and accept that. so sunday mornings are about gathering to worship God together. about what i can give, not what i can get. how i can serve, not how i can be served. that makes sense, and after all, doesn't the bible say something about not giving up meeting together? however, don't i worship God most effectively by doing what he says to do ("you love me when you do what i say") throughout every day of the week? and can't i worship corporately (meeting together with other believers) in a small group on thursday evening, or by giving and serving in other practical ways? indeed, if i connect better with other believers, learn more effectively, and am able to express my love toward God and people more thoroughly in small group on thursday evening, then what reason is there for me to go to church on sunday?
i'm not wanting to give up going to church on sundays. i may not always enjoy it, but sometimes i do. i am wanting to find a good reason for going. am i doing it merely because tradition and a lifetime of training dictate that all good christians go to church on sunday mornings? or is there a better reason? honestly i hope there is a better reason, because otherwise i'm going to have some serious decisions to make and issues to work through.
i also recognize the possibility that if i actually stopped going to church on sunday mornings that i might feel a lack of something in my life and would realize that i really do need that time with people and God. maybe i should try it.
this is an honest question. i really want to know. ap, sic your theological training on me. other readers, lend me your thoughts. i need help with this one; i'm stumped. why do we "do church" the way we do?
11.17.2005
i need help
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9 comments:
Good questions, Brando... Personally I've been of the opinion for a while that if someone is in both a small group as well as a church, that if he had to choose between the two, maybe the small group would be the better option. The way we do church is not the "only" way to do church. What's important is being a part of a church. Whichever a person chooses (if one must choose), it should be where the are able to have a ministry as well as be ministered to. Of course, the question then is raised, "am I doing my part?" In other words, if you're unsatisfied with Sunday worship, what can you do to minister to others there (rather than getting out altogether)?
I agree with you to a certain extent regarding small groups. The term "small group" is used too loosely, I think. I believe that small groups could replace Sunday morning church, if they were approached as a time of true corporate worship and not just fellowship. Worship is all about giving back to God, of course we all know this, and in turn, we are blessed through it. I think many times the motivation of going to a small group is more to "fellowship" than to truly give of ourselves in "worship". Personally, I love the act of going to church, walking into the sanctuary in which you can just sense the Holy Spirit, and mentally tuning my heart to focus on Him!
First of all, God definitely did set aside a special day once a week to dedicate to rest and glorifying God. WE should live lifestyles of worship, of course. However, there is a distinct reason why the apostles and early Christians began meeting together for worship. I think setting aside a special scheduled time once a week solely to worship God is the least that we can give back to Him!
I could go on and on about the benefits of corporate worship-benefits which I'm just not sure that everyone would receive in a small group setting (as a generality).
I am more than convinced that there is a strong precedent set in the Bible for corporate worship. I know you would agree with me. Let's not forsake the meeting together.
In light of all of this and thinking toward the future, I would ask yourself, what sort of a precendent do you want to set for your family? We all want our children to see in us one thing- that we love God with all our hearts, soul, and mind. I truly believe this means more than not that we have to get over our selfish nature that wants to make worship "cushiony" and easy. Love is hard work. The more work we put into it, the more it honors God.
To sum it all up, I know God does not want Christians to be legalistic about worship in a church; however, He also wants us to put Him above ourselves. So instead of asking, This is what I want. Is it ok?,,, maybe we should ask, "What does God want of me?"
Good thinker, brother.
You are commanded to fellowship with other believers. How you choose to accomplish that is up to you. I like your plan of 'quitting' sunday morning church to see if you miss it.
Another idea, Brandon, is to take this time to visit MANY different churches on Sunday morning. Get to know the whole body of Christ. See what different parts are all about. I'd love that chance, but don't have the opportunity you have.
Brando, I like the way you think (I think because I find myself having similar thoughts as you)
I could explain to you the things I think about 'sunday church' but I think it's just an issue you have to wrestle through yourself. I wish you could experience "Church" in a close country as I am right now. It has revolutionized my view on many things, including the Sabbath.
hey b. no theological training here...just my own thoughts.
i'd say the best reason to keep meeting sunday mornings is the reason you don't like--tradition. it's the earliest celebration of Jesus' resurrection and connects us with this movement. it's part of what makes Christianity this faith and not another.
i think your desire to be with other believers on other occasions is not necessarily related to your frustration and dislike of sunday mornings. i didn't like going to church in seminary because i rarely heard the good news...just some thoughts thrown together. even though the music was terrific, i stopped going to that church and went to another.
i guess my opinion comes down to this: it's better that you meet with your friends on sunday than it is on thursday...for no other reason than the tradition. it need not be in a local church--i think that form is on its way out. but sunday is the more "Christian" day (for the reason above).
hey b. another thought came to me. perhaps we can think of the Sunday timing not in terms of tradition (because of what we have done with the word), but in terms of "inheritance." this day is one we have *inherited* and as such is a gift...given first by God, shaped by his people.
it's like receiving a serious heirloom. perhaps while a more recent relative has treated it with contempt, that does not negate its sacredness/beauty. we have the choice (honestly, i think you're more in the struggle of taking it seriously than i am) of treating it like the heirloom it is, or stuffing it in a jewelry box and letting it mean jack squat.
again, this is not about local church stuff. it's about Sunday. i hope this conveys what i'm thinking.
hey everybody, thanks for your thoughts.
whitey, thanks for your thoughts.
warrior, what experiences have you had where your at now that have transformed your view of the sabbath and the way we do church, and how have they transformed your view?
angela, you said, "there is a distinct reason why the apostles and early Christians began meeting together for worship" - what was that reason?
matt, yeah, i have thought about visiting other churches. the problem is that now i'm getting involved in one that i'm really beginning to like, and i'm actually beginning to rediscover enjoying sunday morning services, so i find myself not wanting to miss one there. but i am free to visit around, so i probably will try to do that to a certain extent.
caleb, thanks. i also want the truth, and a faith that is genuine and where i know that every expression is a meaningful expression.
ap, thanks for your challenges to my thinking. i respect you and always am changed from our discussions. in my struggle to find a genuine faith i find i often don't give tradition the respect it probably deserves. after all, it is in the wesleyan quadrilateral... i like your heirloom analogy. it was very apt and helpful, and i think part of my questioning could be seen as a search for how i can best understand, respect, and put to practical use the heirloom that has been passed to me.
Brando,
For the past two months I've been in a culture that is predominantly Islamic, whether in practice or just cultural. I've found that since being placed in an area where God is not common, a country that for years has not heard the Good News, my desire for God is stronger. I yearn for the sabbath day, because I know that it is a day given to me by God just to spend with him. I also know that my brothers and sisters all have that day given to them for the same thing. When we come together with the same heart and spirit and worship Him....Wow. God...Wow.
I've realized it could be anyday. God could have told us to make sure everyweek we set aside one day. But I think when he declared a specific day, it was for the communal aspect.
And another thing has made sense while I've been here. The idea that we are not to work. I don't want to do any work on the sabbath because I just want to spend it with him, learning from him, worshipping him, talking with him, etc. I never thought this way when I was at home in America, but I didn't really understand sacrificial love either (not that I now understand it, but I have grown in that area).
These are my experiences. Keep wrestling with it though, cause that is what God wants us to do with these things.
As someone who's job is to make Sunday morning happen, the biggest question I always face is WHY. Other than my paycheck being on the line, usually I don't have a good answer.
We say we do it to reach others, but when we do it on the terms of those who fund the church, generally it doesn't. We say we want to do it for fellowship, but people come, they sit, and then mostly they just go.
I see value in Sunday mornings in terms of corporate worship, and modelling worship. I see value through the expositing of the word for those who need to see that done in order to incorporate that kind of study into their own life (though do they? probably not).
BUT, generally I'm more passionate about every OTHER component of "church" over Sunday morning, I've got to say. As a pastor, it would be so freeing to have the pressure of Sunday morning gone, so that I could do what the Bible says my REAL job is - to train the saints to do the work of the ministry.
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