I was edified by yesterday’s discussion. It’s what I would love to see happen all the time, not just on this blog, but around the Internet. I saw little to no anger, no name calling, no harsh words. And I was shown to be wrong in something I said! While I don’t enjoy being wrong, I do like to learn. This Kitchen is meant to be a place where one can present “half-baked” thoughts for evaluation, critique and even correction.
Some of the debate centered around form and function, trying to separate what is done from why it is done and accepting the fact that the same thing can be accomplished in more than one way. I still think that today’s sermons are a form of teaching that grew up over the last few centuries; they fulfill the function of teaching God’s Word, but it’s not wholly impossible that the same function could be fulfilled in other ways. If we look at 1 Corinthians 14, there is little there that looks like our traditional preaching, yet its a description of the public teaching that went on during the assembly in Corinth.
I hope we can explore ways in which we can restore a balance to our worship services, rather than making them so sermon centered. That was one of the main things that came out of yesterday’s discussion. We need more focus on the reading of God’s Word, more focus on the Lord’s Supper. I’d like to see more times for interaction: sharing prayer concerns, confessing sin, offering words of encouragement, seeking and giving forgiveness. I fear the unthinking routine that I see myself falling into at times. We get into a rut and, as my high school choir director used to say, “A rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out.”
I like to preach. No, I love to preach. As I’ve said before, I would love for the whole service to be centered around the preacher and the preacher to be me. But I don’t think that’s what the assembly should be. That doesn’t fit what I see in the Bible.
But I’m definitely open to being corrected. :-)
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