This is the fifth and final meeting template that I’ve been working on in recent months. (Check out part 1 for the background and the first template, and parts 2, 3 and 4 for the others.)
This meeting pattern is good to insert into the program at least every month to six weeks, in my view. It’s a change of pace—a morning of more extended singing and prayer—an opportunity to pause and give thanks and celebrate God’s goodness. It’s thrillingly called ‘Extra singing and prayer’.
I have a friend who has an adolescent daughter. Surprisingly, there are moments when the relationship is more rocky-road than dairy milk, if you follow me. As he described his current set of frustrations, it suddenly occurred to me that adolescence is the new black.
Here’s the fourth in our series of meeting templates that seek to tease what a Christian gathering might look like if it was based on the Bible’s theology of Christian assembly. (See part 1 for a summary.)
Today’s pattern of meeting (which I very unimaginatively call ‘The two-parter’) is especially suitable when the passage/sermon raises a ‘big issue’, either doctrinally (e.g. predestination) or ethically (e.g. euthanasia, work, raising children). Or it could be just a tough passage that requires a bit of extra background and thinking to wrap our minds around. The basic idea is to divide the sermon or teaching content in half to allow extra time either for sketching in background or for teasing out implications. Perhaps Part 1 might cover some essential Old Testament background, while Part 2 focuses on the passage itself. Or Part 1 might involve the exposition of the passage or topic, and Part 2, a more extensive discussion of its practical implications.
It’s easier to do dark than light. Angst seems stronger than joy. Evil is more exciting than good. And so the preacher has a problem: how do you convey the riches of heaven and the glory and goodness of God?
Parts 1 and 2 of this little series contained some basic templates for a 75-minute Christian gathering. This third variation is especially good for those occasions where the content of the Bible passage or sermon is relatively simple and straightforward, but contains a powerful challenge with numerous implications for our lives. It has the sermon quite early in the meeting, followed by a more extended time for prayer, reflection, discussion and other things (such as celebrating the Lord’s Supper together).
This can also be a useful pattern to follow where the sermon is longer and more demanding, but is not amenable to the ‘two-parter’ template (which is part 4, to follow).
In marriage preparation, I generally begin with Jesus’ words in Mark 10:6-9 (where he quotes Genesis 1:27 and 2:24). One of the things I tell couples from this passage is that the best gift they can give any children that God gives them is their own strong ‘one flesh’ relationship. After all, the leaving of father and mother indicates that the husband-wife bond takes precedence even over the parent-child bond.
But how often do parents find themselves running around after their children (precious though they are), struggling to find time for each other in their busy lives? That leads me to my wife’s first great idea for strengthening families.
Some doctrines are better than other ones. Some are more flexible; some are better at offence; some at defence. Some are just great at covering sinfulness.
We’re looking at some templates for running Christian assemblies. Here’s the second—a slight variation on the standard meeting that’s very suitable when the sermon naturally leads to confession, or when you have a wildcard or 14:26 item that you want to introduce closer to the start of the gathering. (‘14:26’ items are opportunities for congregation members to bring exhortation and encouragement to the whole gathering—as in 1 Corinthians 14:26.)
My goodness, ‘Jesus advertising’ annoys me. When people I knew at Bible college do it (as they currently are), it annoys me even more. (No link is provided because, frankly, no matter how funky it is, I don’t want to know and I’m not interested in having others know either.)
In a recent post on ‘Why we gather’, I suggested that there were three basic purposes for the Christian assembly: as testimony to Christ, for fellowship in Christ, and to build towards maturity in Christ. Or if you wanted a more catchy one-sentence summary, you could say that in our gatherings, we meet with Christ in each other’s presence as a testimony to the world and as a spur to godly living.
Now before you even think of quibbling with this definition, or asking how the ‘W’ word relates to it, that’s not the purpose of this post! Instead, I’d like to share a few examples of how a Sunday gathering might be structured if these were its theologically driven purposes. In this post (and over the next several), I’ll be sharing five ‘standard meeting templates’ that I’ve been working on and trialling over the past few years. Each one has a theological movement or trajectory to it, and they also strive to connect the various elements in a way that flows and makes sense.
I’m interested in your comments and feedback—especially if you are bold enough to give some of them a fly and see how they go!
What is goodness? What does it mean that God is good? Do we really believe in a good God, and if we do, how can we even begin to talk to other people about him? Paul Grimmond investigates. (more…)
The concept of liturgy can feel stuffy and constricting, but as Anthony Douglas points out, it need not be so: when done well, liturgy actually serves the church. (more…)
It starts with trying to read the microwave instructions on the back of the packet in the kitchen, and having to move into some better light. Then you notice you’re habitually setting the zoom in Microsoft Word to 200 per cent. The crunch comes when it starts to affect the really important things: you’re some distance from the television and realize you can’t quite make out the score at the bottom of the screen.