One of the greatest burdens that a pastor has is when he sees people treat Sunday worship as incidental to their lives. I've taken the last two weeks to speak about the importance of Sunday worship. I must admit that I have a hard time conceiving that there are Christians who can dismiss this so quickly.
Having grown up in the 60's and 70's, I can remember a day when stores were closed, neighborhoods were quiet, and it was pretty easy for Christians to devote the day to corporate worship. Those days are long gone, and we find ourselves in competition with expanding work schedules, household projects, kids' sports programs, and just staying home to rest because it's been a busy week.
Part of the problem - from my point of view anyway - is that we've dumbed down the entire Christian experience. There was nothing sacred about Sunday School followed by a morning worship service followed by an evening worship service followed by Wednesday prayer meeting. That traditional schedule has gone the way of the horse-drawn carriage in our church, and instead we emphasize Sunday morning, Sunday school and small groups. I do wish I had the opportunity to reclaim Sunday nights - at least on occasion - but people have been out of the habit of Sunday night attendance for years now, so I am not optimisitic about the prospects of recovering it, but it would be nice . . .
I was reading some blog entries from people who are "disillusioned with the institutional church" and have stopped going altogether. I think they are wrong, but at least they are thinking about it. So many of our people aren't thinking.
I have blogged infrequently for the last several months, so the only person reading this may be the person who is writing it. But that's ok. I feel strongly about the need to recover this commitment, and I'm going to post some thoughts and ideas about this over the next few days and weeks. I've taken two weeks to teach our people about the importance of Sunday worship, and I have developed an even greater commitment to it than before I started. I hope you'll stop by and read why.
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5 comments:
Peter,
You're in my feed reader, so I know when you post something, whether it is often, or not often.
I think it is extremely important for believers to worship God every moment of every day by living lives of obedience. I think it is extremely important for believers to get together with other believer in order to encourage one another and build each other up toward maturity in Christ. I do not think it is important for gathering to happen at a specific time (on Sunday mornings) in a specific place (church building). So, maybe I'm "one of them"... if so, I hope you won't disparage me too much. By the way, I do get together with other believers on Sunday mornings at a location that we rent. But, this is not necessary. It is simply the time and place that we currently gather together.
-Alan
Alan, I will not disparage, you, but I do have another perspective that I'll share over the next few days. Thanks for stopping in!
Hi Peter, we had an evening service until two summers ago, then we moved it to the afternoon. What we do now is AM worship, Bible Study/Sunday School, lunch [potluck], and afternoon service. We made the change for a specific series we were working on, but it has proven so beneficial that we are sticking with it. I suppose it would not be possible in every church, but it has been a great blessing to our church. We are seeing our afternoon service averaging about 75% of the morning service, as opposed to 50% [or less] that we used to have in the evenings.
Two major benefits: Increase in personal fellowship among the church members and an increased interest in personal Bible reading and study.
Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Glad to see you blogging again, Peter. I've missed your writings and look forward to reading your thoughts over the next few days. Peace.
By the way, Peter, this time next month you and I will be neighbors. My family is moving to North Wales July 1, and I'll be preaching for the North Penn Church of Christ. Reckon we could get together for lunch?
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