Just something that I was pondering yesterday - as I was contemplating what elements, according to scripture, are necessary when Jesus followers gather together. This is by no means exhaustive, but I think this covers the basics. There seems to be a blessing or, if you will, benefit, to following a method God has put in place which the early church adopted with Kingdom effectiveness.
This loosely follows Acts 2:42-27...
SPIRIT
Everything - EVERYTHING - starts here. Before the account in Acts 2, we read about the Holy Spirit falling upon the gathered believers. This was the direct fulfillment of the promise Jesus made just before He ascended. He clearly told his followers that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and baptize them and give them power that would aid them in reaching the world with the gospel. The Holy Spirit is not an "add on" (like you get with a software program or new media device.) The Holy Spirit is like the gas in your car - no gas and you ain't goin' nowhere! You can certainly get out and push the car but after a while your arms will get tired! You're better offer filling the tank! The Holy Spirit is where it all begins.
SIGNS
At the risk of making some readers nervous, we read clearly that one of the ways the Holy Spirit works is through signs and wonders. Healings. Manifestations. Encounters. Whatever words you want to use - this is a reality of operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. I don't personally believe that there MUST be specific signs (ie: tongues, physical healings, laughing in the spirit, words of knowledge, etc.) but I do completely believe that we must allow for the possibility of these to occur in our gatherings - there must be a freedom within our houses of worship for the Holy Spirit to operate completely apart from whatever plans we have devised for the worship service. And I will add that I have always felt more aligned with God's presence and power in a gathering where this type of Holy Spirit awareness was present. Allow the Holy Spirit to operate in the gathering.
SERMON
A devotion to the teachings of the primary pastors and elders. A devotion to their leadership. A choice to pay attention to their wisdom under the joyful assumption that they have been called and ordained by God to lead the flock. Yes, all teaching is to be measured against the Bible - so, my charge to you, if you don't like what's being said, is to do exactly that - research the preached topic in God's Word on your own and see how it measures up. Don't simply choose to ignore the teaching because you disagree with what is being said. Be devoted to the pastors and leadership.
SERVICE
The early church went out of their way to love and serve one another. There was no special quarterly campaign for one specific need that a few could support if they felt like it. The regular, day-to-day, posture of these people was to serve others. They actually sold their belongings to help those in need. By my reading, this was not limited to only those in the church but outside as well. There was an underlying attitude of generosity and delight within the body. One other comment on this point - and this is a little delicate - when we bring our own personal wants and wishes; our agenda for what constitutes a "better" worship service - then we are actually being selfish and, in no way, thinking of others ahead of ourselves. Can we please stop doing that? Personally, I think that this attitude of love towards one another was the direct result of the joyful and eager welcoming of the Holy Spirit in their gatherings. Love and Serve one another above yourself.
SONGS
I realize that this passage in Acts is not necessarily a sequential, step-by-step process to be followed. In other words it's not A = B = C... At the same time, it seems clear that the singing these early Christ followers engaged in - and - they DID sing - was more of a response than a "pre-show." They praise God with singing and with glad and sincere hearts - that's what it says. And they were loud in this activity - so much so that they could be heard outside the walls of the church! This was a very loud, joyful, expression of praise and joy and delight BECAUSE of Who God is and what He had done for them! Off the top of my head, I think they must have recalled some of the great miracles they read about in scripture, as well as the most recent re-birthing in the power of the Holy Spirit. They rejoiced in their singing! And this was very, very, VERY infectious! In no way were they hoping to replicate whatever style of music they imagined David using when he composed his psalms. They were not trying to emulate whatever was "popular music" in their period. The songs were not sung to delight the people, in other words. The songs were song as prayers, and declarations, and victorious announcements, and proclamations to the glory of God - and God alone. Wow...
SACRAMENTS
They took seriously certain sacraments taught by the apostles, disciples, teachers, leaders... among those was communion. They did what Jesus said - they remembered Him - whenever the partook of the bread and wine. They also extended this beyond the sacrificial table and actually gathered for meals together. This was a huge part of their life as followers of Jesus - community. While it doesn't specifically mention an "offering" in this passage, there seems to be ample proof that they were generous for the good of their Kingdom partners. Perhaps we need to view our offering times in our modern gatherings with a similar attitude. No, we may not sell our boat to pay someone's mortgage, but we gladly offer part of our wage to the "church vault" and let the leaders distribute the money as needed. In our time, this means things like maintaining the facility and staff, funding missionary work, funding programs that minister to the lives of children and teens, providing leadership for a worship service that helps those gathered encounter all that was talked about earlier. God gave us the sacraments for a purpose and they are to be followed.
SOLUTION
Well, this was the best "S" word I could fine... the meaning here is result, or outcome, or benefit, or blessing... "Solution." And - what is that solution? We read it in Acts 2:47 - that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. That numerical (and, by inference, financial) growth came about as the direct result of Surrendering to the Spirit and allowing for His moving during the gathering, Devotion to the Leadership, Love, Service and Generosity to one another, Singing Songs of praise in response to God's power and might, gathering together in community and obeying sacramental practices. No mention of program, strategic planning, guest speakers, high tech, well-performed music, slick media, theater lighting... If you want to see growth, follow the plan.
SIMPLICITY
The final "S" for me - is SIMPLICITY. As you read Acts 2:42-27 one things that should be obvious is how simple this format was. It all flowed from one source - the outpouring and power of the Holy Spirit that included miracles and more. That is what paved the way for devotion to the leaders and to the other followers. It opened the door to loving and serving one another. It helped create an attitude of generous giving. It was the reason those who gathered felt a strong desire to shout and sing songs of praise to God. They chose to obey sacraments modeled by Jesus and the first apostles and teachers. None of this was "man-made" or created by man's intellect, wisdom or experience. People FOLLOWED as the Lord led through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words - the burden of "making church happen" was lifted completely off of their shoulders because they trusted that God knew what He was doing and had imparted that to their leadership. Keep it simple...
As I said at the outset, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of what must be followed all the time in order to ensure an effective ministry. You will need to examine your own church and see if these various "S's" fit your paradigm. I do believe that the more a church does follow this format - because it has been mapped out for us in scripture - then you will get closer to fulfilling the call to impact the world (city, community) around you that Christ has given to each of us.
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