songsofjesus.com

the gathering: Let my people participate!

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One of the main things missing in the traditional churches is “body participation”.  I have held this view for a long time and have thought about it at great length for many years.  As one who as traveled extensively the last 25 years among the churches singing and preaching I have come to a firm conclusion: we are robbing the body of Christ of one of the key elements to growth, maturity and joy in the Lord by failing to allow true PARTICIPATION.

Anyone who’s ever served in some kind of “ministry” capacity knows exactly what I’m talking about.  The one who’s doing the ministry gets the most excited and the most out of it!  Why do you think the guy that’s standing up front can go on for an hour while those in the pews are drifting into sleep?  The one who’s doing the ministering is actively engaged.  The one who is actively engaged is actively engaging God!  THAT’S when things become interesting!  I know what I’m talking about… I’ve done plenty of sitting in the pew, and plenty of standing before the church “ministering”.  It’s when we get active with God and active in the church that things began to heat up and our faith begins to get real.  How can we get excited about a God we’re not engaged with, or a church we’re not allowed to participate in?

God gave the church “leaders” not for the purpose of “doing everything”, but rather to “equip the body of Christ for works of service.”  Ephesians 4:11-14 is as clear as the noon day sun when it comes to the subject:

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching…”

Notice, the role of leadership… God gives leaders to the church “to prepare God’s people for works of service.”  When leaders take on the role of “doing everything” in the church they effectively rob God’s people of the joy, growth, and maturity that comes from serving the Lord: the clergy/laity class system has made God’s people perpetual infants when God’s Word tells us we’re to produce mature adults in Christ.

It cannot be overstated how important every member participation is to the body of Christ…

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”   1 Corinthians 14:26

How do we justify ignoring what scripture says about these things?  Serving as a “greeter” or serving coffee, or any number of other created church positions does not fulfill what God has in mind here!  When are we going to let God’s people play a major role in our gatherings?  The clergy/laity distinction is engrained in the thinking of virtually every traditional church including Charismatic and Pentecostal groups.  Simple organic expressions of church life are at the forefront of returning this lost dimension of body participation to the church.  In my opinion, it can’t come soon enough!  I’ve seen Christians come out of their shell, thrive and grow, when simply given the opportunity to actively participate.  Do we want to see the body of Christ come alive?  Then let’s quit robbing God’s people of the God given call to actively be a functioning member of the body of Christ.

Tags: body ministry, body of christ, body participation, church, church leaders, Ephesians 4:11-14, every member, God's people, robbing the body of Christ