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Is church too boring? |
Is church too boring for you? Then go back about
2000 years to create the amazing meetings of early
Christianity.
What they did then was so radical that Christianity swept
the world. It certainly wasn't boring. The people loved
it then -- and you'll love it now. It was exciting stuff.
Scripture shows that back then you didn't have to be
a preacher to be allowed to speak. Any church member
could take a small part of the meeting. The ancient
documents say,
So in their worship, if you had something to say,
you could say it. If you had a song to sing, you could
sing it.
In New Testament times, people didn't sit silently in
sermons. Preachers asked their audience questions
(Matthew 13:51). Listeners asked the preacher for
clarification (John 14:5, 8). And listeners asked the
preachers what to do about the information they had
given (Acts 2:37).
And when you do this, it ends the boredom
caused by not participating.
On one occasion the discussion was so good it lasted to midnight (Acts 20:7).
(Some people think that on this occasion Paul preached a very long sermon.
But the word in
the original language is that he "held a discussion with them" [NRSV].)
Two or three preachers
Most modern churches have just one preacher. But it
was different 2000 years ago. With them, "Two or
three...[would] speak" (1 Corinthians 14:29). So just as
the early Christian worship had a succession of
speakers, shouldn't our churches have a succession
of speakers too?
Obviously, if you have two or three
speakers, each needs to talk for a much shorter time
than the length of our usual sermons today.
So how does this biblical system reduce boredom? It is
far less boring to listen to three 10 minute talks from three
different speakers, than to hear one speaker for 30 minutes.
That especially applies today. Television has taught
us to concentrate for 10 minutes, then have a commercial break.
Personal testimonies were part of Biblical meetings.
Jesus told one person to, "tell others how much the
Lord has done for you" (Mark 5:19). Psalm 9:11 says,
"Declare his deeds among the people." And Psalm -105:1-2
says, "Tell of all his wonderful works." So if
God does something amazing for you this week,
there should be an opportunity for you to tell everyone
about it on Sabbath.
It is incredibly uplifting to week-by-week hear church
members tell how their prayers have been answered. It
encourages you in your own prayer life.
It is incredibly uplifting to week-by-week hear church
members tell how God has blessed their evangelistic activities. It
encourages you in your own evangelistic activities.
It can make boredom in worship a thing of the past.
Discussion was part of ancient Christian meetings.
Acts 20:7 says, "Paul was holding a discussion with"
with the church members at Troas. In Seventh-day
Adventist Churches we do this in our Sabbath School
lessons. But surely the concept of church member
discussion should not be limited to one topic each
week?
Sing a new song
The Scriptures talk a lot about singing in meetings.
"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs," says Ephesians 5:19 (NIV). It even says doing
this is a way of being "filled with the Spirit" (verse
18).
"Sing a new song to the Lord." says Psalm 98:1. So
if you have written a new religious song, what a
blessing to be able to come to church and sing it.
Thus, the singing at church should not be just singing
the songs of a generation now dead. (The Scriptures
have no command to sing an old song!)
"Clap your hands, all you peoples," commands
Psalm 47:1, indicating a role for clapping in meetings.
No musical instrument unacceptable
The Bible recommends musical instruments as part
of worship. Psalm 150:3-5 lists seven or eight musical
instruments, suggesting an orchestra. Other verses list
one musical instrument only, suggesting solo playing.
Psalm 81:2 says,
Mention of a drum in this passage shows that percussion
was an approved part of ancient worship music.
The word here translated "drum" is the Hebrew word "toph." The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary says, "The toph was
a hand drum, made of a wooden hoop and very probably had two
skins. It was beaten by the hands, and must have made a kind of
tom-tom sound."
Including percussion in church music reduces the boredom. The
left side of the brain listens to melody and the right side
listens to beat. So right-brained people (about half the
population) need beat to make music attractive. Without it,
they often find church music boring.
Psalm 150:3-5 reads:
So if you play a music instrument and want to praise
God with it, these verses say there should be an
opportunity. In fact, there is nothing in Scripture that
suggests that any type of musical instrument, or any
style of singing, is unacceptable to God.
Pray for one another
James 5:16 says, "Pray for one another," and the
context suggests this is part of the group activity. It
seems any church member could pray in the meeting.
And prayer for each other was recommended prayer. So
at church, you should have an opportunity to pray for other church members. And
if you want, others there should be able to pray for you too.
Sit in a circle
In New Testament times, worshippers often sat in a
circle or semi-circle. Mark 3:34 reports that while Jesus
was speaking, his listeners "were sitting in a circle."
When people in a meeting sit in a circle, there can be
more interaction between them.
Putting chairs in a circle lets everyone see anyone
in the circle who is talking.
(There is no record in
Scripture of congregations sitting in rows of parallel
seats.)
The Scriptures show that when Jesus taught he was
usually sitting down. For example, he himself said,
The fact that the person speaking was seated
probably made two differences to the meeting. An
audience was less likely to interrupt a person standing.
But when a speaker was seated, other people seated were
likely to cut in. This allowed feedback during the
sermon. If someone didn't understand, they could say,
"What do you mean by that?"
A second advantage of the speaker being seated was
that it was far easier to have a succession of speakers.
One person might speak for a few minutes on a theme
he wished to present. Then another person would speak
on his theme (1 Corinthians 14:26-29).
Share lunch together
After meetings in the early days of Christianity, they
ate lunch together. And Adventist churches which have
a shared lunch each week are usually the friendliest
churches. In fact, it is sometimes said of such churches
that what happens there after midday is better than what
happens before.
Orderly worship
Ancient worship does not seem to be as rigid and
formal as most modern church services. But there were
limits on each type of presentation to the congregation.
Only two or three people could speak for each type of
presentation (1 Corinthians 14:27-29).
So while there was order in worship ("for God is not
a God of disorder" -- 1 Corinthians 14:33), that order
didn't mean rigid, pre-planned formats.
Is church too boring for you? Suggest to your church
that they gradually introduce these biblical techniques
into your Sabbath meetings.
It worked in Bible times.
And since I attend a Seventh-day Adventist
Church which follows these guidelines, I
can testify that it works today too.
________________________
Author:
Phil Ward.
"When you come together,
each one wants to present a hymn, a lesson, a
revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let them
all be done" (1 Corinthians 14:26).
Start the music,
strike the
drum,
play the melodious harp and lyre.Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise
him with lute and harp!
Praise him with drum and
dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him
with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing
cymbals."I sat daily with you
teaching in the Temple" (Matthew 26:55).
Even his famous "Sermon on the Mount" was delivered
sitting down (Matthew 5:1).