Comments on: The Purpose Behind the Action

By: Matt Cook

Matt Cook — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:45:31 +0000

Great post–I’m going to throw it in our bulletin too. We have a “fellowship” meal this Sunday so it might cause folks to think!

By: David Kirk

David Kirk — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:48:43 +0000

“But we’ve always done it this way!” Great post, Matthew!

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:41:52 +0000

I would be honored if you did Jonathan. Jim, great thoughts.

By: Jim Sexton

Jim Sexton — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:03:18 +0000

When we just go through the motions we are no better than the examples of 1Cor 13… we are nothing, mean nothing, and contribute nothing.

The stagnation of the Lord’s Supper in so many congregations has bugged me for years. I will attend somewhere while visiting my family and watch perhaps the most important thing that has ever been done for us be treated like something that has to be moved along as quickly as possible. No comments, a brief prayer and a swarm of servers come out of the woodwork so that we can make it happen quickly so as to move on to the next item of worship.

Just one example of how something of great importance can become mundane and mindless. When that happens it becomes a mockery. We need to find some way for huge congregations to still find the significance of Christ’s sacrifice, focus and dwell upon it, and still not turn it into ‘dead air’, to use a broadcast term.

When functionality, ritual, and repetition become the norm, then we have lost the passion, the love, and the reason for what we do. That applies to all things ‘religious’, and frankly it infects too many things that congregations do in worship.

Jimbo

By: Jonathan Jones

Jonathan Jones — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:45:40 +0000

Excellent post. I have really appreciated many of your most recent posts. I would like permission to reprint this post in our church bulletin.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:51:47 +0000

Great story Terry. Also a great point.

By: Terry Laudett

Terry Laudett — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:05:00 +0000

Your post reminded me of the time I visited a Greek Orthodox Church during a Greek culture festival in my city. A priest was telling the audience about Greek Orthodox Christianity. One person in the audience raised her hand and asked why the Greek Orthodox burn incense during their worship assemblies. The Orthodox priest explained that during the early years of the church, Christians had to meet secretly in catacombs where dead bodies were buried. In order to make the catacombs bearable, the early Christians would burn incense to try to cover the smell of the rotting bodies. Although the need went away, the practice remains to this day. True story. I like to imagine what would have happened if the early Christians had access to Lysol.

By: Pontus

Pontus — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:19:16 +0000

I have gone to churches such as the ones you mention all my life. I also think that while these activities can become routine that the life of a church goes through periods of stagnation, revival, and back again, depending on “new blood” that comes and goes.

By: Rex

Rex — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:15:35 +0000

We love our golden calves… That is what makes reevaluation and potential change so difficult.

Rex
Ithaca Church of Christ
Ithaca, NY

By: Alan Bell

Alan Bell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:38:52 +0000

As I read this post the word “routine” jumped out at me. Being humans, a lot of us like and work better with routine. This is not always for the best. How do we collectively and individually avoid the pitfalls of “routine”? I realize the most common answers would be study and prayer. I just wonderd if someone had more specific input that helped them avoid the pitfalls of “routine”.