Sunday Service Trilogy
Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 1
This evening as I sat in my chair, sipping
my lukewarm coffee, the pleasant sound of the
telephone
reached my ears. Upon answering it I heard a greeting from someone
speaking in behalf of Chapel. The person asked me how I had been and
that they had not seen me (paraphrasing here) at Chapel lately, to which
I replied that I had been taking a hiatus from chapel. The person paused
then asked if everything was ok. I said it was just fine, that I had
been fellowshipping with some brethren elsewhere and had been hosting
some brethren from out of town. He responded, “oh, ok... I just wanted
to make sure everything was ok.” He asked if I had found another Church,
to which I answered no, there is only one Church. I then said, “I am not
a big fan of Chapel's Sunday morning services, nothing against the
pastor, I just don’t care for the way our society does ‘church’ on
Sunday morning.” At these words the gentleman cleared his throat and
said, “well, I was just calling to make sure everything was alright.” I
said, “yes, everything is just fine. Thank you.” We politely hung up
soon after.
Just a couple observations and questions: Why would one assume because I
have not attended on Sunday mornings to a certain church building that I
have fallen into sin or that something is wrong? For over a year I
attended Chapel, and not received so much as a peep from them, until I
stopped going for a few weeks. Continued in Episode 2...
Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 2
If someone thinks I have
fallen into sin because of a lapse in attendance, why cannot that person
be honest and come out and say so to me, to rebuke me for it? Why play
silly, sectarian religious games with one another? Why is there so much
weight on one showing up on Sunday morning, and very little weight
placed on men meeting together on a regular basis, which the Scripture
specifically commands; do not neglect the assembling of yourselves
together (Hebrews 10)? Would I be considered a rebel if I decided I
would attend Sunday service every couple months?
As I told my fellow brother on the phone , I have been in continual
fellowship, fellowshipping with brethren nearly every weekend and at
times preaching on the streets with them and shall continue to
fellowship with them. If this man tonight had called and asked, “are you
in fellowship with brethren and can I have their names and phones
numbers?”, I would have gladly given them. Also if he had asked, ‘are
you struggling with sin’, I would have answered him willingly. I believe
a brother has the right to be his brother’s keeper, in accordance with
the Scriptures, not abusing his power. Frankly, I am tired of playing
church. If one would show me from the Scriptures where I have gone wrong
I would be more than willing to take a look at it. If the question is:
Do i think myself better than others or view myself above others? The
answer is No. I just want to taste the real Church, and the power which
He has bestowed upon His body.
Sunday Service Trilogy - Episode 3
I am tired of tasting the salt-substitute;
it is like the difference between a delicious, vine ripe tomato that has
been nourished by the sweetening Son, verses chewing on a flat and flaky
dried tomato that has been long on the shelf. Or, it is like laboring
hard in the field, sweltering in the sun, and someone hands you a warm
Coke, when all you crave is a tall glass of ice water, cool and
refreshing.
I am not complaining about the gentleman who called me, he just doing
what he has been trained to do. I am just not convinced that God is
honoring this lukewarm manner of playing church. I look down the road
and I see persecution coming and hardship for the Body of Christ, and
yet we seem to be asleep at the wheel, and no matter how one may yell
warnings the drug of covetousness has induced a deep slumber.
I would love to be able to fellowship with more brethren, but the way
that modern christendom has designed things seems to go against that, in
that we go to church and then go home, or that we have pagers, phones,
ministries, families, work and all other sorts of distractions, or that
we have better things to talk of than Christ. When we do gather outside
of our Sunday church building the fellowship is confined to the regular
groups of people who have become clannish and been dogmatized into
believing that regular attendance on Sunday is godliness.
Although I may not agree with some methodology I have seen at Chapel, I
am convinced that God has a specific purpose for all these things and
that my eye is too short to see it, and my hand is too short to save,
but by the grace of God go I.
- Steven
We encourage you to email the author to prove or disprove, from the Scriptures, the intent, meaning, purpose or doctrine of this piece. email Steven