No one can fault me for writing about my assignment here in Port O’Connor. I came here just over 17 years ago to help six people begin a church, and we have been steadily ever since trying to build a stable congregation in this community we love.
Now the history of churchgoing is not all flowers – it has quite a lot of thorns. Reformer John Calvin had three men arrested for laughing during one of his Geneva, Switzerland services. Puritans passed a law making December 25 an official workday and fined several people five shillings for frolicking that was deemed to be related to Christmas. In the Church of England, women had to either stand or bring their own seats. They usually brought stools. Puritans required their sermons to be at least two hours long and any preacher who was “short-winded” was considered a slacker. At New Haven Colony, the only excuse for nonattendance was illness and violators could be fined or whipped. The church organ was more controversial than drums have ever been. Our hymns were the Christian rock songs of their era.
Today we have made room for many variations in churchgoing. Churches of senior citizens always look different from churches that are predominantly made up of young people. Cowboy churches and biker ministries have distinctions that separate them, as do various other interest groups and ethnic groups. But genuine churches have certain non-negotiables that every attendee should expect.
When we go to church, we should expect to hear God’s Word. The Bible is life’s guide! Unfortunately, in some congregations, the Bible is being squeezed out, little by little. In its place are a surfeit of movie clips, skits, and other salutes to the culture. It is not wrong to use various means to illustrate a Biblical message. Illustrated sermons can be powerful. But it is a problem when time spent on illustrations greatly exceeds the ministry of the Word. Some postmodern-oriented groups no longer direct attendees to Scriptural references, focusing more on simply moral stories.
While some are cutting back on the use of the Bible in many free nations, Christians continue to risk their lives to own and read this Book in restricted lands. Read some of the materials published by “The Voice of the Martyrs” (www.persecution.com) and the Bible will take on a whole new value!
We should go to church to hear from God. If all we want is a recitation of today’s news or an individual’s personal opinion, there is no need for the pulpit. Those who listen to preachers have the right to expect to hear something from God that is relevant to their life. John Calvin said, “It is certain that if we come to church we should not hear only a mortal man speaking, but we shall feel that God is speaking to our souls, that He is the teacher. God calls us to Him as if He had His mouth open and we saw Him there in person.” When the Word of God is opened, there should be evidence that the speaker has been in God’s presence and has a word from the throne room.
When we attend church, we should expect to have no punches pulled and no stones thrown. If one finds a church with a pastor who is a compelling speaker, always lifting you up and making you feel better about yourself, yet never challenging you or mentioning sin, you have found a church with a serious problem. Churches must do what they can to reach the culture, but we are in a day when accommodation has become more likely than judgementalism. Both are wrong. Someone has said, “It is not the business of the church to adapt Christ to men, but men to Christ.”
Church services should make the attendees desire to participate in the life of Christ outside its four walls. I am firmly convinced that we praise God with lips and we worship God with our lives. Therefore, church services should help us praise God.
Church should use several different things to encourage praise. The music must be excellent, but never showy of talent! Musicians must be both gifted and godly or they do not qualify for services. The style of music should be what will cause the attendees to want to participate. Having studied and led music for many years, I believe simpler and easily followed melodies with steady beats are best to cause people to want to be a part. More complicated musical scores should be reserved for choirs, who have spent much time in practice. Hearts should be lifted and voices raised in church services.
There should be a time for an offering – an opportunity for us to give of our living to expand the ministry of the Lord through His church. There should be a time for corporate and private prayer. There should be opportunity for fellowshipping with fellow churchgoers.
But, most importantly, I believe that those who attend church should be inspired to live out their faith the other six days of each week. We should want to leave a service and find someone to help in the area that we have learned about that morning. We should find a new cause to deliver the love of Jesus Christ – that is true worship! We should be inspired to live as Christian gentlemen and ladies, whatever our age. We should take Christ with us into every situation in which we find ourselves.
