The Weekly Liturgy
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: The rhythm of the week. The importance of the church in daily life used to be higher. Now it isn’t so much. The numbers reported for this church in 1996 were high, above 300. Not just for Sunday morning but all of the activities for the week. Now it seems like we are in a struggle to get people to come on a regular basis. We struggle with the outreach activities, with missions conference with Sunday service with everything. Is it a lack of importance, or are there a lot of other things that are more important?
Church life in 1996 seems to have been more important than now. But what was it like for the early church? Acts 2:42 tells us what the rhythm of the early church was like.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
This rhythm of life for the early church was created by a need for the first believers to be together and share their lives. Now we have a huge number of other possible activities that fight for our attention and perhaps our brothers and sisters in Christ are not as important as they once were. This apparent lack of importance creates the need to combat the problem. It creates a need for Encounter groups. Encounter groups can give us the opportunity to come together with a small slice of the greater body to live at least for a short time more like the early church. In community with our brothers and sisters throughout the week sharing scripture, prayers, bread and ourselves through fellowship.
So, Let’s take a look at a couple reasons for encounter groups.
I can’t care for everyone...
Two biblical examples of Small groups for two different reasons.
Moses couldn’t do it all....
a. Moses Appointed Exodus 18:21-23
21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
22 “Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
23 “If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”
Jesus needed a team that would spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
b. Jesus Appointed Matthew 10:1-3
1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Jesus had His 12. The best size for an encounter group. He trained them up and sent them out. Encounter groups can be perfect places to raise up new leaders.
And then the last reason for encounter groups, the building itself. This place is static, it requires people to come to it and for some it is a threatening place.
c. Homes are less threatening.
Homes move the body of Christ into the neighborhoods. It allows light to shine in places that might otherwise be all darkness. Homes are more comfortable and the hospitality within a home can help people who might otherwise feel threatened or be very uncomfortable in a church building to be comfortable and at ease. Well that is if you actually use the encounter group as a way to bring others into the body.
Now that I have talked a little bit about the encounter groups for changing the way we look at ministry, let’s look at the weekly rhythm and how encounter groups fit into the life of the church.
2. The weekly liturgy - What was and what is:
What was - August 18, 1996
a. Sundays...
8:30 A.M. Worship Service
9:45 A.M. Sunday School for all ages
11:00 A.M. Worship Service
6-7 P.M. Kid’s Choir Practice
7:00 P.M. Evening Service
b. Through the week...
Wednesday 10:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. Prayer and Bible Study
6:30 P.M. Uncle Charlie Counselors Meeting
Thursday 7:00 P.M. Teen Fellowship
c. Annual Happenings - ? (What kinds of things were going on?)
What is...
d. Sundays
9:45 A.M. Sunday School for all ages
11:00 A.M. Worship Service
5:00 P.M. Evening Gathering...
It looks like the rhythm of Sundays has down sized with the downsizing of the body. The only change of an item was to change the time of the Evening Gathering.
e. Through the week
Wednesday 10:00 A.M. Prayer and Bible Study
The change of the weekly rhythm is very obvious. Unfortunately the loss of the Teen Fellowship shows the change in the dynamic of the church body.
3. Now that we have looked at how things have changed over time, let’s take a look at how things can be. The addition of encounter groups will change the rhythm of Sunday mornings and through the week. In rethinking Sunday mornings we can move away from Sunday School for all ages. I know, this is a tough one for a lot of you. This church was founded on Sunday school. But it isn’t 1895 anymore.
Currently we are struggling with two things - Sunday School for the children and youth and children’s church during the worship service. The answer is to combine them. We no longer offer both. We have children’s church. Now I know some of you are thinking but that is only 30 minutes or so, however with the change we also change children’s church.
A new paradigm for Sunday mornings...
a. Sundays
10:30 A.M. Worship service
10:30 A.M. Children’s Worship Service
5:00 P.M. Evening Gathering
This doesn’t mean that groups of adults can’t get together and study the bible - we simply don’t advertise that we have Sunday School.
That would be a Sunday.
b. Through the Week
Wednesday 10:00 A.M. Prayer and Bible Study
Encounter Groups - Location, day and time dependent upon the host and leader of the group. In moving the discipleship of the body away from Sunday morning and the church building we increase the opportunities for members of the body to participate.
Teen Fellowship - If the idea is that every member of the body participates in a corporate worship service, an encounter group and serves the church regularly in some way we have to provide an encounter group for the teens.
This can also provide an opportunity to have a night of the week where families can get together for fellowship. Encounter groups can meet together on the same night as the teens to encourage full family participation. A family ministry night.
But how is this going to happen - well we need an advocate for the teens. How many of you know the Dr. Seuss story the Lorax? Explain - The Lorax spoke for the trees. We need someone who will speak for and guide the teens and children. This is something the Chapel hasn’t had since....?
Jeff Crosby was the last youth pastor and he left in 1995. That’s about 28 years. Far to long. So to remedy this deficit we are working towards hiring a Director for Children’s and Youth ministries. This will be a bold faith filled risk, but we can’t keep struggling along trying to disciple children and youth without someone who is willing to work for the children and youth.
Exit:
It’s time to change. It’s time to move the church into the community with encounter groups. It’s time to start discipling our children and youth again. They are the future of the church. Without them the church will shrink down to nothing.
The church has slowly dropped in number and the rhythm of the church has dropped with it. It’s time to turn it around - not by just adding the same things back but by changing how we do things.
Change the way we disciple the children and teens by having one good time of worship and learning for the children. And get an encounter group going for the children and teens so they have the same minimum disciplining available as the adults. One worship service, an encounter group and a way to serve.
We can’t keep doing things the same way they were done in 1996 anymore. We have to try something new.
18 “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
Just remember one thing - Achieving God’s purposes means taking faith-filled risks. This always involves change.
PRAY!
