We are told the reason why we should not neglect to meet together and that is we are to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Does our assembly do that? I say it does not. I see no place in the New Testament where it says the purpose of the assembly on the first day of the week is to worship. Paul told the church in Rome they were to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—which was their true and proper worship.
While a church should ensure that its services (did the first Christians attend "services?") are reasonably organized, it is not biblical for a church service to be so structured that it prevents participation and freedom. I see no place in the New Testament that supports our style of preaching. It appears people asked Jesus questions as they did Paul and possibly others. As I have mentioned before you have no idea who agrees with you and who does not. That means you have no idea if you have successfully explained your reasons or if you have not. While in the past you have said Christians need the church it is apparent you have not been convincing in your arguments.
The idea that a Christian can unenthusiastically sing a few songs, listen to rote prayers, inattentively listen to a sermon, eat the smallest piece of bread they can find and drink a minimal amount of juice, and reluctantly give an offering – and thereby fulfill his/her role in the church – is completely unbiblical. The church is intended to be a place of healthy fellowship, active participation, and mutual edification.
The Bible clearly shows that God’s Word is to be taught. One problem is that churches fall into the trap of one man being the sole teacher. The lack of opportunities for others to teach and/or the lack of willingness to teach can be a problem. One of the goals of the church is to make disciples, not pew-warmers. Churches should be encouraging and training individuals to teach.
There is no “house of the Lord” today. Making such a statement today encourages people to think of the building as sacred. For the first few hundred years church buildings were very rare. It was not until Constantine and succeeding Roman Emperors made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire that Christians began to build temples. The Bible neither encourages nor discourages the idea of Christians meeting in buildings that are specifically designed for corporate worship. I see nothing in the New Testament that justifies pilfering the collection intended for the poor saints in Jerusalem to buy buildings, pay preachers etc. Considering we claim to follow commands, examples and “necessary inferences” we do take license. We may disagree when it comes to kitchens and pianos but we agree that we all like our buildings.
I like your disturbing statistics. When I read those statistics years ago I was surprised. Up to that point I had thought the mother had more influence than the father and I was wrong.
And as I have mentioned before church to this congregation is 5 lectures a week looking at the back of the head of the people in front of them and that is not how it should be. Look at our classes. Nothing is expected of the “students” and nothing is what we get. I love it when the teacher says, “time is up are there any questions or comments.” I call that a joke.
I see no reason to believe attendance will change without other changes occurring first.
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
http://alumcave.blogspot.com/
“Everything happens for a reason and that reason is usually physics."
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